It is always awful to hear the news about someone being injured, but that is particularly true when the news comes with the extra heavy burden that a WWE Superstar's career may be over, especially just a few weeks before they were set to wrestle on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Unfortunately, that appears to be the case revolving around Kevin Owens, as previously reported to be rumored, as there was a segment on tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown dedicated to announcing just that.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis invited Owens to the ring to make the announcement himself, and The Prizefighter cut a short promo about how he's been in the business for 25 years and that it takes its toll on people's bodies, with now being his turn. It turns out Owens has a serious enough neck injury that he's not only going to be pulled from his scheduled WrestleMania 41 match against Randy Orton, but that there's no telling when or even if he'll be able to return. Owens thanked the crowed and said he was sorry.
Randy Orton then came out, and obviously, due to the severity of the situation, there was no angle of writing Owens off television or anything physical. Instead, they shared a few words that weren't audible on the ring apron before Owens walked off, leaving The Viper in the ring with Aldis.
Aldis then informed Orton that because of this situation, this means Randy doesn't have a match for WrestleMania anymore. That news didn't sit well with The Apex Predator, who gave the general manager an RKO out of nowhere.
It is important to note that no sources have spoken about this being any sort of work or an angle for storyline purposes. This appears to be a legitimate injury, and it goes without being said that we should all keep Owens in our thoughts and hope for a speedy recovery that can ideally bring him back into the ring healthy and safe as soon as possible.
In regards to the angle with Aldis, there is no information at the moment explaining if this was done to set up a story between the two to pivot with a different plan for Orton, or if it was done simply to give the fans something to pop about rather than feel sad on a downer. For all we know, WWE could be planning to have Aldis himself step back into the ring and wrestle Orton instead, which would be a surprising impromptu change-up to see him put down the suit and tie for his wrestling gear and make his WWE debut on such a huge stage.
More on that and anything else regarding Orton, Aldis, WrestleMania, and more importantly, the wellbeing of Kevin Owens whenever there is something to report.