Kevin Owens, who last wrestled at the 3/1 Elimination Chamber PPV, announced on tonight’s Smackdown that he has been dealing with a neck issues for four months and it was finally determined he would need neck surgery.

It was announced he would miss Wrestlemania 41 and his match against Randy Orton at the PPV is off.

More as we confirm.

To respond to the MASSIVE amount of emails we have received since Smackdown went off the air, all accounts that we have heard is that the neck issues Kevin Owens spoke about in his promo are 100% legitimate.

One WWE source described the situation as “awful”, noting that Owens is expected to get surgery as he mentioned in the promo.

Another source said the word among talents tonight was that Owens was looking at fusion surgery in the future.

There’s no word if and when Owens could return.

For those who have asked if the announcement was a work, the reaction among those we’ve spoken to in the company has been sympathy and sadness for Owens, not that this was storyline.