Johnny Gargano not medically cleared to compete against Finn Balor at WarGames 2019
Earlier in 2019, it was Tommaso Ciampa who would miss time due to a neck injury and now, according to Ryan Satin on WWE Backstage, it appears that Johnny Gargano has suffered the same fate.
During a segment during WWE Backstage, insider Ryan Satin announced that Gargano was "not medically cleared" to compete in his proposed match with Finn Balor at TakeOver: WarGames due to a neck injury.
The injury bug strikes again
After Balor made a shocking return to NXT on its debut on USA, many thought that Balor would resume being the smiling babyface that everyone loved. While he did maintain that aura during his first appearance and by facing down with Adam Cole, things changed once he appeared on the Black and Gold Brand again.
As Roderick Strong retained his NXT North American Championship in a Triple Threat match against both Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic, the Undisputed Era took it upon themselves to continue the attack on the challengers. It didn't take long for back up to arrive at the ring as the likes of Ciampa, Gargano and lastly, Balor showed up to showdown with TUE.
Instead of aiding the former DIY against TUE, Balor instead hit Gargano with a Pele kick as the members of the Undisputed Era attacked Ciampa in the middle of the ring. Balor quickly left the ring with his sole focus on Gargano. He then threw the former NXT Champion onto the ring barricade before hitting Gargano with a 1916 DDT on the steel entrance ramp.
It appears that the physicality was too much as Johnny Wrestling will now be unable to keep up the moniker of Johnny TakeOver.
Gargano's future
Satin's news didn't elaborate on the severity of the injury to Gargano, but it must have been serious enough to cancel what would have been a great match between two of the greatest faces in NXT history.
Now that Gargano is out for at least the next few weeks, how will that shake things up regarding TakeOver: WarGames and Survivor Series? Balor's role in Survivor Series hasn't been addressed on any of WWE's shows, but this injury will force a change in plans. It wouldn't be the first time that the WWE has had to call an audible due to an injury.
Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Don't miss out!!