Kevin Owens still has plenty of fight left in him. Seventeen months after a neck injury that nearly cost him his professional wrestling career, Owens made an emphatic return at Night 2 of 2026 WWE SummerSlam on Sunday.The show began with what had been advertised as a match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn for a No. 1 Contendership to the Undisputed WWE Championship, currently held by CM Punk. Nick Aldis, recently reinstated as SmackDown general manager, had other plans. Moments before the match started, Aldis added Gunther and a returning Owens to the match.The Minneapolis crowd welcomed Owens back with a roar of excitement and a sigh of relief. After all, there was once a concern that Owens would never wrestle again. He had not performed since beating Zayn in a physically grueling unsanctioned match at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 3, 2025. Owens was preparing for an encounter with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 that never materialized. On April 4, he revealed that he’d been dealing with nagging neck and spinal cord injuries that required surgery.
KEVIN OWENS IS BACK!!!! 😱😱😱THIS IS MADNESS!!! pic.twitter.com/W1BWKhNuVb
— WWE (@WWE) August 2, 2026
