Hi folks! Today, I bring you an updated wrestling injury and absentee report for November 2022. Reasons for absence can include suspensions and unexplained inactivity. This covers the WWE, AEW, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling promotions. Feel free to let us know if anyone is missing.
WWE
This section covers WWE Superstars from all brands, including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK.
Big E — As many will know, he suffered a serious neck injury from a belly-to-belly suplex during a match involving Ridge Holland. Despite this, he was in good spirits, and later said he wouldn’t need surgery. A former WWE doctor said there is a chance he would need to retire, given the seriousness of fracturing his C1 and C6 vertebrae. There remains a slight chance if his C1 vertebrae don’t heal properly.
There are positive signs, though, as we reported Big E has removed his neck brace. It may still be a while until we see him return to the ring, but at least he’s on the road to recovery.
Cody Rhodes — One of the most obvious injuries because of its graphic nature. Despite the grossly discolored bruising from his right pec and up his arm, he worked the Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins and has since had surgery. He’s expected to return very soon.
Gable Steveson — He recently won the NCAA Heavyweight Championship for a second time and then teased a WWE appearance before removing the tweet. Gable appeared on both nights of WrestleMania. On night 2, he confronted Chad Gable and gave him a suplex. He has since been training, and recovering from a heart procedure after it was found he had Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome.
Logan Paul — Following his title match against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, it was reported that Paul had seriously injured his knee. Logan says that he has torn his meniscus, MCL and probably his ACL as well.
Randy Orton — About a year ago, Orton made comments about the bumps he’s taken over the years catching up to him. With all the times he’s landed on his back delivering the RKO, the impacts have taken a toll, and he knew that eventually, he would need to take time off. After RK-Bro lost the Raw Tag Team titles to The Usos, Orton took his time to allow his back to recover.
Robert Roode — In September, it was reported that he underwent a medical treatment at an orthopedic facility. No further details have been given.
R-Truth — During a NXT match with Grayson Waller, Truth attempted a tope suicida to the outside, and the match had to be stopped because he tore his quad. He is expected to be out for 4 to 6 months after undergoing surgery.
Rick Boogs — We couldn’t miss what happened to him, as he suffered a torn quad patella at WrestleMania 38. He posted this recovery update video in the Summer.
Tommaso Ciampa — As of the end of October, Ciampa was back in the gym only days after hip surgery. There is no time set for his return.
Becky Lynch — During her title match with Bianca Belair at SummerSlam, she suffered a separated shoulder injury. Despite this, she did not undergo surgery. Doctors say she was likely to be out for several months, and while WWE is said to be hoping she will be back by the end of 2022, that is likely too optimistic.
Carmella — In August, she suffered a concussion and was pulled from action. A little over a week ago, she opened up about having an ectopic pregnancy after a miscarriage in September. WWE has likely given her extra time to deal with this.
Charlotte Flair — The notably absent Queen of WWE has been away for a long time. Her last match was at WrestleMania Backlash in May, when she lost the SmackDown Women’s title to Ronda Rousey. Her boyfriend Andrade El Idolo recently told us that she has been away for personal reasons, and she’ll let us know why in later interviews:
“It is difficult at the same time because Ashley (Charlotte Flair) has time off due to personal reasons and she will specify them in future interviews. It was very heavy because she worked on Thursdays to work on Weekends while I travelled on Tuesdays and returned on Thursdays as soon as she was scheduled to leave. Right now we are good because I get to see her more, I hope she comes back soon.”
Sasha Banks & Naomi — You’d have to be living under a rock to not know what’s going on with the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They were suspended for walking out on an episode of Raw because of creative differences. It has been reported that they may return soon, but nothing has been confirmed.
All Elite Wrestling
Adam Cole — Last month, it was noted by Dave Meltzer that there has been no change in Cole’s injury status, and he remains out of action because of a concussion. The concussion has been described as “really bad,” and due to the nature of the injury, there are some concerns that Cole might never wrestle again.
CM Punk — While Kenny Omega & The Elite look to be returning to television, it has been reported that he may be done with wrestling. There have been rumors he may try to return to WWE, but I wouldn’t take any of it literally. The backstage incident at All Out has possibly cost CM Punk a proper last run in wrestling, and has undoubtedly hurt AEW’s business too. For now, he is still featured front and center for AEW’s upcoming video game “Fight Forever”.
Darius Martin — He’s majorly unlucky. After breaking into AEW with his younger brother Dante as the Top Flight tag team, he picked up an injury that sidelined him for many months. Darius returned and had some success, but picked up an arm and neck injury shortly after. Meanwhile, his brother Dante has wrestled many matches and continues being featured against some of AEW’s best. His injuries were not wrestling-related, as he was involved in a nasty car accident.
“Hangman” Adam Page — During his title match with Jon Moxley on Dynamite last month, he took a nasty bump that knocked him out. Medical staff were quick to react, and the match was stopped. He was later revealed he has suffered a concussion, and Tony Khan praised the swift response to the incident.
Jeff Hardy — This has to be the most frustrating entry on the list, as Jeff was caught driving while under the influence earlier this year. It’s more of a disappointment than a surprise. Reby Hardy was furious about fans claiming that she & Matt are “enablers”, which I admittedly found harsh.
Kyle O’Reilly — In early September, Kyle posted to his social media that he had neck fusion surgery. On top of that, he revealed he had several other nagging injuries, and wouldn’t be wrestling any time soon.
Santana — While most fans will have read about the heat between him and tag team partner Ortiz, some may have missed that he is out with an injury. Chris Jericho revealed it in an interview:
“He f**ked up his knee from doing a simple Rock Bottom. That’s not on top of a cage, that’s not falling off a cage, that’s not getting hit with a barbed wire bat, or whatever. It’s doing a wrestling move, and he’s out eight months.”
Kris Statlander — Like Darius Martin, Statlander is one of the unluckiest wrestlers in AEW. Her run of injuries has continued to hurt her momentum. She suffered a torn ACL in the Summer and underwent surgery to get it fixed. The injury typically takes between six to eight months of recovery time.
Leyla Hirsch — She suffered an injury during an AEW Dark: Elevation taping on April 5th. A few months ago, she posted an update on Twitter: “On April 5th, during AEW Dark Elevation, I suffered an injury. After landing on my feet from a moonsault, I tore my ACL. Today I was finally able to get my surgery. Thank you to everyone for the support. I promise to come back an improved, leaner, meaner more Legit Athlete.”
Mercedes Martinez — Another injury that may have gone unnoticed by some, although there aren’t any details other than it was around the time of Death Before Dishonor. Tony Khan stated: “The Women’s World Champion of Ring of Honor is actually out with an injury but will be back soon.”
Ruby Soho — This one is better told visually. She recently gave us an update on social media.
Finally! After a month since breaking my nose at All Out. The countdown begins until I can breathe again, can’t you see my excitement?! 😂 pic.twitter.com/AffnyQPonx
— Ruby Soho (@realrubysoho) October 4, 2022
Thunder Rosa — The AEW Women’s Champion is out with a back injury, yet there have been reports of her faking an injury. She responded by saying:
“It’s really hard when people are approaching you and are still asking me if I’m faking an injury. These rumors were started by one or two people and they spread. I don’t feel like any other wrestler has gone through this. When someone gets hurt, ‘Oh, they’re hurt.’ When it was me, it was immediate. It was a flood of disgusting things that were not true that came out. I’m sick of it. It’s hard for me to manage some of this stuff, but I have to face it. I am hurt.
If you have something to ask, go watch my YouTube videos. I’ve posted every time I’m in a doctor’s office showing and explaining what’s going on with me. In another week or two, I’m getting another epidural so I can go back to training because I want to get back in the ring. I want to show you when they put the needle in my back so they can shut the f**k up in saying that I’m not hurt. That hurts.”
Impact & New Japan
Joe Doering — One of the toughest pieces of news to digest this year has been the return of Joe Doering’s cancer. Many in the industry have reached out to him and donated money to his treatment. Here’s his statement not long after he made it public:
“They told me in 2016 that I would never wrestle again, and I proved them wrong. Guess I’m going to have to do it again. I try to not get too sad or emotional about it. Staying positive really helped me the first time, and that’s what I’ll do again.”
“Please keep me in your thoughts and spirits. I hope to get back in the ring again very soon. To the IMPACT Wrestling locker room: you are family to me and I look forward to seeing you again very, very soon.”
Laredo Kid — During a match with Hijo del Vikingo for Lucha Libre AAA, he unexpectedly suffered from ruptured intestines. Someone on his behalf posted the following:
“Laredo is stable, complying with the doctor’s orders. Today he is with more energy and his intestine begins to show signs of function. He is still delicate and under observation. They will wait for the next 2 days for more satisfactory progress and begin with the removal of probes. Thank you for all your messages, I’ll try to respond as much as I can.”
Su Yung — It was announced several months ago that Su Yung (aka Suzie or Susan) was pregnant with her husband, Rich Swann’s baby. She was due in February, and they confirmed it during a video of Swann holding their new bundle of joy. Swann continues to wrestle on Impact, while Su is at home on maternity leave.
Kota Ibushi — According to New Japan, Ibushi suffered a right anterior dislocation of the shoulder and joint lip damage in a match with Kazuchika Okada. His estimated recovery time was listed as two months, so they expected him to return for Wrestle Kingdom 16. This didn’t happen, and New Japan was pushing him as the face of the company leading into its 50th anniversary. As a backup, Kazuchika Okada won the IWGP World title and paid respect to the former title.
It has since been revealed that Ibushi did not want to return to New Japan because he claims there have been cases of sexual harassment. He also does not get on Kikuchi, who is part of their talent relations department. The company responded by respecting his claims, while also punishing him by reducing his pay because he breached his contract. New Japan will look into his issues. There is more to come from this story, and Ibushi remains sidelined until there is a conclusion. An update in September told us his recovering has been “very slow”.
Also Read: The Definitive Guide To Pro Wrestling Hand Sign
And this concludes the injury and inactivity for WWE Superstars and professional wrestlers from AEW, Impact & New Japan Pro Wrestling. Thanks for reading!
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