Kevin Owens hasn't exactly been the biggest superstar in the WWE as of late, but with his technical skillset and awesome presence on the microphone, he's never more than a few matches away from disrupting the main event scene. Fans like myself may have expected to see him building towards a storyline meant to peak via an upcoming match at Survivor Series, but it's looking like potential plans for his pay-per-view future may be put on hold. Owens was recently injured at a house show, and based on what's being reported, it's possible he'll be sidelined for the upcoming WWE event.
WWE superstars were entertaining fans in Madison, Wisconsin for a house show on Sunday, November 13th, with Kevin Owens taking on Austin Theory in a one-on-one match. F4WOnline.com reported that Owens planted his right knee at some point during the fight and appeared to "blow it out." Though he was able to finish the match and defeat Austin Theory with The Stunner, the athlete reportedly required a referee's help to get out of the performance area. It doesn't appear to be formally confirmed at this point, but Owens is rumored to have suffered an MCL sprain, and it's indicated the injury could be worse than initially thought.
Even in the event that Kevin Owens is "only" suffering from an MCL sprain, the timetable for his return would still be very much up in the air. Depending on the severity of the sprain (via Sports-Health.com), and providing it would be remedied nonsurgically, Owens could be looking at a recovery time from anywhere between a few days to two months.
With twelve days to go until Survivor Series, it would likely need to be an extremely minor injury for Kevin Owens to be ready to go 100% for the pay-per-view. It seems far more likely that he'll end up without any matches at the big event, though he could perhaps participate in some way that doesn't require him to do anything too physical. I wouldn't imagine he'd be able to handle a match similar to what Cody Rhodes did with his torn pec, as the injury could get aggravated with activity and further delay his healing. Can't mess around with knees like that.
If there is any upside to this news for Kevin Owens and his fans, it's that the WWE's pay-per-view schedule is pretty light for the next couple of months. The cancellation of Day One means the only confirmed WWE pay-per-view up after Survival Series is the Royal Rumble, which is set for January 28th. So theoretically, Owens could take over 2 months to recover and still return in enough time to make an appearance there, Though, again, we don't really know how severe this injury is.
Kevin Owens signed a big contract with the WWE at a time when it seemed the company was hemorrhaging talent, either by pruning its own roster or by losing stars to AEW. At the time, it was rumored that the company had big plans for Owens down the road, but with the returns of big names like Bray Wyatt, Owens has remained a mid-card talent. Still, he always seems ready to bring his best when the WWE does call his number for a big match, so it's disappointing he may miss out on taking part in Survivor Series.
Monday Night Raw airs on USA Network on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Kevin Owens may be out for the count for a while, but anyone with a Peacock Premium subscription should definitely revisit his debut matches with John Cena to remember why he's one of the integral wrestlers for the WWE.
