CM Punk Talks Retirement; WWE Rumors on Kevin Owens' Neck Injury, WrestleMania 41 Card

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Punk Not Currently Thinking About Retirement

Ahead of his first career WrestleMania main event, CM Punk has no immediate plans to retire from pro wrestling.

During an interview with Metro UK (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Punk divulged that the thought of retirement isn't something he's concerning himself with right now, saying: "No, because you never know what's going to happen. If you would ask me when I was 26 if I would be wrestling when I was 46, I would have been like, 'No way.'"

Punk went on to explain that even though he is in his mid-40s, he is no longer absorbing as much punishment as he did earlier in his career, saying: "The business has changed so much, the miles that we put on our bodies for years and years and years, and now we're here, and we're wrestling maybe once a month, we're doing one show a week."

Punk left WWE in early 2014 and was out of the pro wrestling business until 2021 when he signed with AEW.

After two turmoil-filled years with AEW, Punk was released, and his future in wrestling was very much in question.

It was unclear if he and WWE would ever be willing to do business again, but those questions were answered at Survivor Series 2023 when he made a surprise return in his hometown of Chicago.

Since then, Punk has been one of WWE's top stars, and he has consistently been among the best parts of WWE programming from his matches to his promos.

On top of that, everything he does feels fresh since Punk was away from WWE for about a decade.

At WrestleMania 41, Punk will face Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a star-studded Triple Threat that will headline Night 1 of WrestleMania.

Punk has long made it clear that he desired to compete in the main event of WrestleMania, and while it is about to happen, it seems as though there is still plenty more beyond that he wants to accomplish.

Owens Reportedly Already Underwent Neck Surgery

Kevin Owens has reportedly started the road to recovery after announcing last week on SmackDown that he would miss WrestleMania 41 due to a neck injury.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Upton), it is believed Owens underwent neck surgery on Monday.

Meltzer noted that while the recovery timeline for the surgery is typically between 12 and 15 months, there are other forms of the surgery that can allow wrestlers to return more quickly.

He continued by reporting that Owens himself believes he will be back in six to eight months. However, if it takes longer, KO doesn't envision it being any longer than a year.

The exact nature of Owens' neck injury is unclear, but during a promo on SmackDown, he said he required fusion surgery.

Owens had been scheduled to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 in a match that would have culminated a rivalry that began months ago.

KO put Orton on the shelf with a piledriver, but The Viper returned last month at Elimination Chamber by preventing Owens from inflicting further damage on Sami Zayn.

Orton vowed to exact revenge on Owens at WrestleMania, but with KO out of commission, Orton will require a replacement opponent.

As for Owens, his absence will be sorely felt in WWE since he is among the best all-around performers in the company, but it will make for a feel-good moment if and when he is able to return.

Reported Details on WrestleMania Card Size, Additions

With WrestleMania 41 just over one week away, WWE is putting the finishing touches on the card.

Prior to SmackDown on Friday, 12 matches had been officially announced for the two-night event in Las Vegas.

According to WrestleVotes, sources indicated there will be 14 matches overall, meaning there are still two matches left to be added.

Randy Orton vs. a yet-to-be-announced opponent is reportedly one of those matches, along with a World Tag Team Championship match between The War Raiders and New Day.

Orton vs. Kevin Owens had been scheduled for the show, but Owens had to pull out due to a neck injury. On last week's SmackDown, general manager Nick Aldis said Orton was off the WrestleMania card, which prompted The Viper to hit Aldis with an RKO.

There has been speculation that the segment could lead to Aldis having his first WWE match against Orton at WrestleMania, but there are several other Superstars currently without a Mania match as well.

On this week's episode of Raw, the world tag team title match between The War Raiders and New Day ended in a disqualification, so the next natural step is for them to settle the score at WrestleMania.

One potential match conspicuous by its absence in WrestleVotes' report is a WWE Tag Team Championship defense by The Street Profits.

The Motor City Machine Guns are No. 1 contenders, but several other teams have been going after the titles as well, including DIY, Los Garzas and Pretty Deadly.

If there is no WWE tag team title match at WrestleMania 41, perhaps it will occur on the go-home episode of SmackDown the night before WrestleMania instead.

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