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WWE veteran R-Truth is reportedly expected to miss some time after suffering a "very serious injury" Tuesday night on NXT.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Truth is believed to have torn his quad during a match against NXT star Grayson Waller.
If Truth did indeed tear his quad, Meltzer noted that it would potentially keep him out of action for "a long time."
Despite being a Raw Superstar, Truth has made a few appearances on NXT in recent weeks, which led to him having a match against the cocky and villainous Waller.
Shortly after returning from a commercial break during the bout, it was announced that the referee decided to stop the match and award it to Waller since Truth could not continue.
A replay showed Truth attempting a dive over the top rope on to Waller, but he failed to fully clear the ropes and landed awkwardly. Truth was unable to put much weight on his leg and had to be helped to the back by referees and other personnel.
During his current run with WWE, the 50-year-old Truth has been under contract since 2008. While he has largely been a midcard character and comedic relief during that time, he has still thrived.
Truth is a two-time United States champion and one-time WWE tag team champion. He has also held the 24/7 Championship a record 54 times, and he made the title a huge part of his character over the past couple of years.
While the 24/7 Championship has been phased out since Triple H took over as head of creative in July, Truth has seen a significant increase in television time lately, including appearances on NXT.
Truth isn't a main eventer or world title contender at this point in his career, but he is still a valuable performer who brings entertainment value and often succeeds in putting other talent over.
If Truth misses significant time because of injury, WWE will be without one of its top utility players and a beloved fan favorite.
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Rhodes Provides Update on Pec Injury Recovery
Five months after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, Cody Rhodes provided an update Tuesday on Twitter.
Rhodes called physical therapy "awful" and described the pain he has gone through, but he suggested his family has been a source of inspiration to keep pushing:
In the days leading up to his Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins at the Hell in a Cell premium live event in June, Rhodes tore his pec, which left his status for the show in doubt.
Despite the injury causing severe bruising, Rhodes decided to fight through it and compete at Hell in a Cell. In one of the gutsiest performances in WWE history, The American Nightmare overcame the injury to defeat Rollins.
Rhodes was ultimately put on the shelf after another attack at the hands of Rollins, and he has been trying to work his way back into the fold ever since.
When Rhodes initially landed on the shelf, WWE announced that he underwent surgery and would be out for nine months.
That would put him on track to return in March, meaning he could be back in time to begin a program ahead of WrestleMania 39, which is set for April 1 and 2, 2023.
WWE tends to extend injury timetables in order to create surprise scenarios and make its Superstars look better for returning sooner than expected, and that could be the case with Rhodes.
If the nine-month timeline is exaggerated, the overarching assumption from most is that Rhodes will try to make it back in time for the Royal Rumble near the end of January.
Rhodes is making it clear that his recovery has been no picnic, but everything he is going through may ultimately be worth it for the massive reaction he is sure to receive when he returns.
Moss Names Zayn as Preferred WrestleMania Opponent
If Madcap Moss receives a singles match at WrestleMania 39 next year, he wants it to be against Sami Zayn.
During an interview with WWE Deutschland (h/t WrestlingInc's Dakota Cohen), Moss made his choice and explained why he wants to get in the ring with Zayn:
"Sami Zayn, the Honorary Uce. I just can't decide how I feel about him because I just can't take my eyes off of him. He's so entertaining. But, at the time, I have my fist balled up every time I watch him and I just want to punch him right in the face at the same time. ... Either way, he's an unbelievable performer, you know, all craziness aside he's one of the best on the mic, in the ring. You know, what he did this past year at WrestleMania with Johnny, Johnny Knoxville, how fun was that match? An absolutely all-time match right there."
Few figure to argue with Moss' assessment of Zayn, as he has been receiving consistently strong reactions from the WWE Universe throughout his storyline with The Bloodline.
Zayn was initially a sniveling lackey, and while he may still be that to some degree, he has earned "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns' respect and become known as the Honorary Uce of The Bloodline.
Thanks in large part to Zayn, The Bloodline's segments have consistently been the most entertaining and intriguing ones on WWE programming, and the company is doing all it can to capitalize on the momentum.
Any Superstar would be wise to hitch their wagon to Zayn and The Bloodline, and that may partially explain Moss' desire to face Sami on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
WWE may have bigger things planned for Zayn in the form of breaking away from The Bloodline to face Reigns or perhaps team with Kevin Owens against The Usos, but a match against Zayn would undoubtedly raise Moss' stock if he can find a way to make it happen.
T-BAR Reportedly Undergoing Name, Gimmick Change
After an ill-fated run with Retribution and receiving little television time after the group's dissolution, T-BAR is reportedly getting repackaged.
According to PWInsider.com (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), T-BAR is now being listed internally under the name Donovan Dijak, and he is preparing for a return to NXT.
Prior to getting called up to the main roster and being given the name T-BAR, Dijak competed in NXT under the name Dominik Dijakovic. He made a significant impact during his initial NXT run, taking part in a WarGames match and having a memorable feud with Keith Lee.
Despite his impressive size and in-ring acumen, things didn't work out for Dijak on the main roster, but he could be in line for his biggest push yet.
In recent weeks, WWE has been airing vignettes on NXT showing T-BAR's mask getting burned. On Tuesday's episode of NXT, a silhouetted figure spoke, and it clearly seemed to be Dijak.
Prior to signing with WWE, Dijak wrestled under the Donovan Dijak name in Ring of Honor, so wrestling fans will be familiar with it if he utilizes that name in NXT.
As Donovan Dijak, he won the ROH Top Prospect Tournament in 2015, which gave him a ton of exposure and ultimately set the stage for him to make the move to WWE in 2017.
Talent has never been a question for Dijak, but opportunity has. The opportunity wasn't there for him on the main roster, but that figures to change in NXT, where he has a chance to be a main event-level performer.
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Wyatt Reportedly Surpasses Bloodline in Merch Sales
Bray Wyatt has only been back in WWE for about three weeks, but he is reportedly already making a hugely positive impact on the company's bottom line.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Shivangini Rawat of Ringside News), Wyatt has quickly become the top merchandise seller in WWE, surpassing the Roman Reigns-led Bloodline.
Wyatt made his highly anticipated WWE return at the Extreme Rules premium live event after weeks of teasers for the arrival of the "White Rabbit."
Last year, Wyatt was shockingly released by WWE amid a firestorm of budget cuts, and he remained a free agent until his WWE return. There was some thought that the retirement of Vince McMahon and ascent of Triple H to head of creative played a role in Wyatt coming back.
Before his release, Wyatt was one of the most popular and accomplished Superstars in WWE, having held world titles on three occasions.
Wyatt remained relevant and beloved through several different iterations of his character, including leader of the Wyatt Family, the Firefly Funhouse and The Fiend.
Now, Wyatt seems to be an entirely different character, which should only help WWE in terms of moving merchandise and generating interest.
Meltzer noted that some thought has been given to a rivalry between Wyatt and Reigns' Bloodline since they are perhaps the two most popular Superstars in WWE currently.
It was suggested that no such program is imminent, but it does seem likely that WWE will explore it at some point.
Sheamus Reportedly Taking Some Time Off
The Bloodline's attack on Sheamus on last week's episode of SmackDown was reportedly done as a means of writing The Celtics Warrior off television for the time being.
According to PWInsider.com (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Sheamus is taking some time off to get married this weekend.
The Bloodline's attack occurred after Solo Sikoa defeated Sheamus in a match, and it was later announced by WWE that Sheamus suffered a non-displaced fracture near his elbow.
While it is unclear how long Sheamus will be out, his injury is entirely driven by storyline, meaning he should be able to return whenever his personal life allows.
The 44-year-old Sheamus has been a key figure in WWE since 2009, and he has undoubtedly carved out a Hall of Fame career for himself.
Few Superstars in WWE history are as decorated as the Irishman, who is a three-time WWE champion, one-time world heavyweight champion, three-time United States champion, five-time tag team champion and one-time winner of the Royal Rumble, King of the Ring and Money in the Bank.
Sheamus was recently involved in a feud with Gunther over the Intercontinental Championship, which is one of the only major titles he has never held in WWE.
While Sheamus fell short in two attempts to beat Gunther for the IC title, he and his Brawling Brutes teammates defeated Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Fabian Aichner of Imperium in a Donnybrook match at Extreme Rules.
When Sheamus returns, it stands to reason that he could have The Bloodline and WWE universal champion Roman Reigns in his sights.
Chelsea Green Possibly Returning to WWE?
WWE has reportedly shown interest in signing Impact Wrestling star and former NXT Superstar Chelsea Green.
According to PWInsider.com (h/t Sunil Joseph of Ringside News), WWE officials expressed "significant interest" in bringing Green back to the company earlier this month, and there has been "a lot of talk" about her going back to WWE since then.
It was also reported that Green filmed a vignette at the most recent set of Impact television tapings, indicating that she would be leaving the promotion.
The 31-year-old Green is an eight-year veteran in the wrestling business. She competed on a season of WWE Tough Enough in 2015 and later signed with WWE in 2018.
Green spent much of her time in WWE as part of the NXT brand, but various injuries cost her a significant amount of time.
She was seemingly called up to the main roster in November 2020 when she competed in a Survivor Series qualifying match, but she suffered a broken wrist and was released by the company in April 2021 amid a flurry of budget cuts.
Green, who held the Impact Knockouts Championship during her first run with the company from 2016 to 2018, returned to Impact following her release and won the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championships with Deonna Purrazzo, holding them until Oct. 7.
In addition to her work in Impact, Green is active on the independent scene where she often accompanies her real-life husband Matt Cardona, who was known as Zack Ryder during his lengthy run in WWE.
WWE has signed many of its former talents that were released in 2020 and 2021 since Triple H took over as head of creative after Vince McMahon's retirement in July, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him potentially target both Green and Cardona, as he attempts to rebuild the roster.
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WWE Superstar Tommaso Ciampa said Wednesday that he underwent surgery to repair a hip injury.
In an Instagram post, Ciampa shared photos of himself in a hospital bed next to his doctor, and noted that it was determined that his hip labrum was the cause of glute and back pain he had been experiencing.
Ciampa thanked his doctor, the WWE medical team, his wife and his daughter, and noted that the "road to recovery begins."
The last televised match Ciampa competed in was on the Aug. 22 episode of Raw when he teamed with The Miz against AJ Styles and Bobby Lashley. He had a few live event matches after that with the final one being a United States Championship bout against Lashley on Sept. 17.
Ciampa's absence from Raw was explained by The Miz, who said Dexter Lumis had kidnapped him, but Johnny Gargano challenged that notion this week.
Gargano, who was Ciampa's tag team partner and rival in NXT, said he texted Ciampa, who told him that he was actually out with an injury.
Ciampa confirmed Wednesday that the injury is legitimate, and while he did not provide a timeline for his return, his caption suggested that it won't necessarily be a quick recovery.
The 37-year-old Ciampa is perhaps more synonymous with NXT than any other Superstar, as he debuted for the brand in 2015 after a successful run with Ring of Honor.
Ciampa remained part of NXT until earlier this year, holding the NXT Championship twice and the NXT Tag Team Championship once with Gargano as DIY during his tenure.
While Ciampa experienced plenty of highs in NXT, he also went through some lows, missing significant time due to knee and neck injuries.
After initially being on his own on Raw after getting called up, Ciampa aligned himself with The Miz in July, and began teaming with him and accompanying him during singles matches.
The pairing seemed to be working well for Ciampa, as he enjoyed some success and had an excellent U.S. title match against Lashley on Aug. 8.
While it is unclear when Ciampa will be back, the injury could allow WWE to wipe the slate clean and bring him back as a babyface when healthy, perhaps in an alliance with Gargano, who returned to WWE in August.
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