SPOILER: Kevin Owens’ Return Teased During WWE SmackDown Taping

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Cody Rhodes stated that he could not understand how Sami Zayn was best friends with KO. He opined that unlike The Underdog from the Underground, Owens would have stabbed him in the front. He further pointed out that the other difference between the two was that The Prize Fighter was a former WWE Champion.

“What do you expect of me just to keel over and hand you the WWE Championship? That’s not how this works! You know something that I can’t wrap my head around? The fact that you are best friends with Kevin Owens. Oh no! Let’s go there, right? That you’re best friends with Kevin Owens because there’s two main differences I see with you and him. One, Kevin Owens would have come out here, said what he meant, and stabbed me in the front, not the back. And the other, at least Kevin Owens has been WWE Champion,” Rhodes said.

Earlier this month, several pictures of Owens from his appearance at IGN Live 2026 in Los Angeles surfaced online. The 42-year-old appeared noticeably slimmer in those photos, suggesting he could soon be headed back to WWE programming. Cody Rhodes namedropping Owens during his feud with Sami Zayn has now added more fuel to the speculations that the veteran performer could soon be headed back to SmackDown.

Kevin Owens opened up about his neck fusion surgery amid WWE hiatus

Kevin Owens was scheduled to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41. Unfortunately, two weeks before the show, the Canadian star showed up on SmackDown to reveal that he had to pull out of the match due to a severe neck injury that required surgery.

During a public event, Scotte Sprinkle of Short Track Scene asked Owens about his injury and the subsequent surgery he underwent in July 2025. Owens revealed that going into the neck fusion surgery was very stressful. He added that although the surgery was successful, the doctor told him that there was no guarantee that the bones would fuse.

“I did get a neck fusion. It was very stressful going into it because we’re not really sure how severe the fusion was gonna be and how many levels and all that stuff. Thankfully, it ended up being only one level, which was the best case scenario. Surgery was successful, and my doctor says we have to see how the bones fuse, and there’s no guarantee that it’s gonna work. It’s how my body heals. Some guys were successful. Fingers crossed, I get to come back to wrestling in the next year,” Owens said.

It will be interesting to see when The Prize Fighter makes his highly anticipated return to WWE programming.