5 Recent updates on injured WWE Superstars
Injuries are part of WWE and professional wrestling. At any given moment, a few superstars are usually inactive because they have been sidelined. It's inevitable for nearly every star to suffer one, no matter how safe they are in the ring.
This list focuses on five particular top stars and the latest updates on their injury. Some of the updates have come from a while ago, and certain superstars may not return for the rest of the year, while one may not return at all.
Let's look at five currently injured superstars and the latest updates regarding them.
#5. Queen Zelina - Out with a knee injury
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Queen Zelina was quietly taken off WWE television in May 2022. It was revealed that she had suffered a knee injury, and not much noise was made around it. But from the look of things, it isn't a long-term setback.
PWInsider reported nearly two months ago that Queen Zelina could be back in WWE around the summer:
"The belief among those we've spoken to is that she'll likely be out of action another 6-8 weeks, which means she'd be available to return around Summerslam. There has been talk about her receiving a push upon her return as sources have noted her willingness to do what was requested of her and her hard work has been noticed behind the scenes."
Given that the report was from late May 2022, it's pretty clear that she won't be back for SummerSlam. That doesn't mean she isn't ready, but there simply isn't much known otherwise. However, it wouldn't be surprising to see her return post-SummerSlam.
#4. Cody Rhodes - A long way away from a return
Few superstars have impacted WWE in just two months as much as Cody Rhodes did. His trilogy of matches against Seth Rollins will go down as iconic, especially the conclusive Hell in a Cell match.
Rhodes tore his right pectoral tendon before Hell in a Cell and continued anyway in what has been described as one of the bravest performances in modern wrestling history. He defeated Rollins in an all-time classic, and the next night on RAW, he was written off after an attack from his rival - presumably to set up an angle upon his return.
WWE revealed that Rhodes will be out for at least nine months, although there is speculation that they are simply exaggerating the number so that he can make a surprise return in early 2023.
On Busted Open Radio, Rhodes revealed that he wasn't given a timeline for his WWE return:
"I was told the last time I was there for my check up, after PT [physical therapy], they are not going to give me a timeline just yet for when I'm going to be back because they are afraid that if they give me that timeline, I'm going to try and jump it by a month or two. The surgery was really... I almost hemorrhaged in the surgery because there was so much blood. People have seen the picture of it in the match. It was pretty gnarly," said Rhodes. [H/T - Fightful]
It's hard to say whether this is true, but it will be interesting to see how his recovery progresses moving forward.
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#3. Rhea Ripley - Expected to return to WWE very soon
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Rhea Ripley was set to challenge Bianca Belair for the RAW Women's Championship at Money in the Bank 2022. However, it was announced that she wasn't medically cleared to compete, and Carmella replaced her.
Her absence has left a void in the Judgment Day stable. Rhea Ripley revealed that she suffered a brain and dental injury, which is why she is out of action.
Dave Meltzer went into detail about the injury, stating that she had a concussion:
"Her teeth were knocked loose in a match and she had braces put in. The braces were evident on her the last time she was on TV. The other thing must've been when she says her brain that usually means a concussion. As we've said before, we said it on Monday when we announced it. The two things that WWE doesn’t like to talk about are COVID and concussions. I've known people in WWE who have both who have [said] outright, 'We're told not to say that.' She said it. She didn't quite use the word concussion, but she had a brain injury is what she said."
He also stated that Ripley wouldn't be out for too long. However, given WWE's strict concussion protocols, the star will likely remain sidelined until she's better.
#2. Big E - Uncertainty over his in-ring future with WWE
In perhaps the most unfortunate injury on this list, former WWE Champion Big E may never wrestle again. This hasn't been confirmed, however. The truth is that, as of this moment, there simply isn't enough to know just how severe his injury on SmackDown was.
It came at a terrible time, and it's likely going to be a while before we even find out his potential future in WWE.
In an interview with TMZ, Big E stated that he would be at peace if his in-ring career with WWE ended. With that said, he also revealed that he will find out about his future in March 2023:
"It's really one of those 'wait and see' things. I really can't say. I don't know whether I'll be back in March at 100% or if they'll look at say, 'Maybe you should be doing something else with your life.' For me, March of next year is very far off, so I don't want to spend a lot of time worrying and stressing about that," said Big E.
Big E stated that he is currently enjoying having the chance to spend time with his friends. He likes how he can just be human, something many fans take for granted about superstars' sacrifices.
#1. Randy Orton - Out of action for the rest of 2022?
Randy Orton recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of his WWE debut. He has accomplished everything there is to do in the company. He was still going strong throughout 2022, but he went down with an injury. It's not known whether he has undergone surgery or not, but given that he was written off in May, one can only presume that he had the procedure.
It's a shame because Orton was reportedly penciled in to face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2022. His absence is also rumored to be one of the reasons why the company brought Brock Lesnarback.
In mid-June, a report from Fightful revealed that Randy Orton could be out of action for the rest of the year:
"Fightful reported that Randy Orton could undergo surgery soon, which could keep him out of action for the remainder of the year."
From the looks of things, he isn't returning to WWE anytime soon. However, given all that he has sacrificed, we can only hope he takes this time to fully recover.