WWE Superstar Undergoes Neck Surgery After Serious Injury

Neck injuries are some of the most concerning when it comes to professional wrestling, and one young WWE Superstar is unfortunately dealing with one.

Elton Prince, one half of the WWE SmackDown tag team Pretty Deadly, has been out of action since May 2025 due to unknown causes. On Friday, the 28-year-old performer revealed he had been dealing with a neck injury since a May 2 match, which saw Pretty Deadly face Fraxiom (Axiom and Nathan Frazer). He underwent a neck fusion surgery on Thursday.

“Back in May I took a bad landing in the ring, the top of my head hit the mat and what felt like burning hot electricity exploded through my neck and my arms, I lost control of my hands as all my fingers curled in and were stuck for a moment. It was pretty terrifying and what followed has been 7 months of tests, questions and well pain,” Prince wrote on Instagram. “But thanks to the efforts of the WWE medical staff and Dr Kanter, Gina and the Hoag team we found the problem and yesterday I successfully underwent a 2 level neck fusion. Not exactly where I hoped to be at 28 but we are owed nothing in this life and I am just grateful to be on the road to recovery.

“I want to thank everybody who has messaged or commented to ask how and where I am its been nice to not feel forgotten and I will try my hardest to overcome all the obstacles and get back in the ring for you.”

Prince, whose real name is Lewis Howley, went on to acknowledge the hard work his romantic partner, WWE NXT personality Kelly Kincaid, has done as a mother to their infant son. He also shouted out his Pretty Deadly tag team partner, Kit Wilson, who is now being presented as a solo act in the wake of Prince’s injury.

“But my focus right now is just getting healthy and reclaiming the basics like being able to be the best dad I can be for my daughter as [Kelly] is long overdue a good nights sleep!” Prince wrote. “I Can’t thank her enough for the support and help during all this and while im recovering im excited to watch my brother [Kit] crush everything he does and get a well deserved spotlight shone on him.”

Wilson spoke out on X about Prince’s “devastating” injury, noting he still hopes that the two will one day wrestle as the Pretty Deadly act again, as they’ve wanted to be “a tag team for life.” But right now, he’s mainly glad that his friend is “on the road to recovery.”