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WWE News: Emma Injury Update And Plans For Her Short-Term Replacement

By Andy Slawecki
Published on: 10:27 PST, May 19, 2016

Emma’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Australian superstar. Emma suffered a back injury last Sunday, May 8, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, competing in a tag-team match alongside newcomer Dana Brooke against the team of Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. The injury was apparently so severe that it required surgery to repair a ruptured disc, according to WWE, and it was an aggravation of an injury she had suffered prior. Emma confirmed on Wednesday, via Twitter, that the procedure was a success.

There has yet to be an official word from WWE on how long they expect Emma to be out of action, and there are varying degrees of timetables for recovery time after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured disc. For those who do not have a physically strenuous job, they can return to work within four-to-six weeks. But due to the nature of Emma’s profession, it could take several months-to-a-year to return to full mobility, which she would obviously need to get back in a wrestling ring.

Emma’s popularity was evident on social media Wednesday and Thursday, as many of her peers showed their support. Practically the entire WWE Women’s Division reached out, including her EnD partner, Dana Brooke, current rival Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Natalya, and Paige, among others. But it wasn’t just the women showing their support. Emma’s real-life boyfriend, Zack Ryder, took a flight to be with his girlfriend during and after the surgery, taking to Instagram to showcase his dedication to her.

Emma hadn’t trended like she has these past two weeks in her entire career combined. She clearly turned her career around and was rewarded with a main-roster promotion. The Inquisitr reported that all the work to turn things around hadn’t gone unnoticed and she had earned a ton of support backstage from WWE officials. She’d even gotten to a point where it wasn’t inconceivable to nominate her name when it came time to discuss the next WWE Women’s Champion.

In a division where it’s somewhat difficult to crack some television time if you’re not involved in the title program, Emma and Becky were building a complimentary rivalry that was clearly adding layers (Dana Brooke) as the weeks went on. There were plans in place for Becky to eventually recruit a tag-team partner to even the odds against Emma and Dana, and that was believed to be Sasha if the live-event matches were any indication.

Word is that WWE wants to continue pushing Dana in a secondary feud, and now Ringside News is reporting that WWE may have Emma’s replacement already in mind. It looks as if Eva Marie will slide into the spot vacated by Emma, to team up with Dana in her attempts to take down Becky at every turn. This move would keep the heat on Dana, and allow WWE to continue using Becky in a meaningful way, while eventually setting up for Sasha to make a triumphant save.

The Eva/Dana pairing would even allow WWE to keep the EnD team name in tact if they were so inclined, which would certainly leave the door open for an Emma/Eva Marie feud down the line. Joey Styles said on Twitter that “Evil Emma is money.” It certainly appeared headed in that direction for someone who was used as a comedic sidekick two years ago. But now it will be a little while longer until we see if Emma can regenerate all the momentum she was accruing over the last two months.

[Image via YouTube]

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