From The WWE Rumor Mill: Former champion possibly injured
What's the story?
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer reported on the recent installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that former RAW Women's Champion Bayley might have been injured on last night's RAW. Nia Jax and Bayley had a very physical match ahead of SummerSlam where Bayley will face Alexa Bliss for the championship belt.
Dave Meltzer, the co-host on the show, refused to comment on the matter saying that he hasn't heard anything regarding Bayley's injury but added that it doesn't mean that the reports are false.
In case you didn't know...
Bayley is one of the biggest names to have emerged from WWE's developmental territory, NXT, alongside Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks, and were all members of the Four Horsewomen. Bayley lost her RAW Women's Title to Alexa Bliss at Payback and since then has been in pursuit of regaining it.
The heart of the matter
On yesterday's episode of Wrestling Observer Radio right after RAW, Bryan Alvarez said:
“Well, I gotta talk about this [Bayley vs. Nia Jax] match real quick. Maybe Bayley is just like a tremendous worker, and she does a great job selling, but I think she separated her shoulder in this match. There was a spot where Bayley got thrown to the mat, I mean, Nia was just throwing her outside, and Bayley landed right on her shoulder, and went outside and started selling it, or was really hurt.
Alvarez recalled the moment he was really convinced the injury was real:
“And then later, Nia gets her up in a double chicken wing, and just drops her right on her shoulder, and at that point, in a match that already had no heat, that already nobody cared about, Bayley rolled outside and just sat there for like 30, 45 seconds. And the referee is talking to her, he’s fiddling with the gimmick on his belt where he sends word to the back. Maybe she’s just really great and this is a storyline, but I’ve separated my shoulder, and I bought this, I’ll just say that."
What's next?
If what Alvarez is speculating is correct, Bayley might not be able to face Alexa at SummerSlam and it will be interesting to see what WWE's plan B is for the RAW Women's title.
Author's take
A lot of us have been waiting to see Bayley reclaim the title at SummerSlam and let's just hope the injury is just a really well-sold part of the storyline.