Backstage Update On Kevin Owens' WWE Status

Here's why Kevin Owens is returning from "time off" on next week's SmackDown.

by Andy H Murray
Kevin Owens
WWE

As announced by WWE, Kevin Owens will return to SmackDown for this week's show (2 July), competing against rival Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing match for a spot in the upcoming men's Money in the Bank ladder match (18 July).

This is despite Owens himself suggesting that he would be taking time off from the company after losing to Zayn at Hell In A Cell 2021 (20 June). The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer followed up on this, noting that KO's absence was due to storyline reasons.

The upcoming Zayn rematch means a prompt comeback for KO, who will have missed only one episode of SmackDown. This may have caught some by surprise, though Meltzer notes that this was always the plan, writing in the latest Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer Daily Update that Owens only asked for just under two weeks off.

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The former Universal Champion was only ever pegged to miss a single show, hence his return this week.

Big E has already qualified for the men's Money in the Bank match on the SmackDown side, joining Raw's Riddle, Ricochet, and John Morrison.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.