Although it seems as if WWE is trying to downplay the Achilles injury Xavier Woods reportedly suffered during a live event in Australia, the latest backstage updates suggest that the New Day member is more seriously hurt than what has been claimed by the company.
As recalled by WrestlingNews.co , Woods went down with the apparent injury at a house show in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday night, as he “collapsed” in the ring while running the ropes. This prompted the referee to break from the script and make an “X” gesture, signaling that Woods was legitimately injured. The longtime SmackDown star was then helped to the back, as a subsequent report published by WWE claimed that he had suffered an Achilles injury, with no specific mention of a tear. It was also noted that Woods will have to miss the rest of WWE’s Australian tour.
Unfortunately, it looks like Woods might have to miss much more than just the remainder of another overseas tour, as a new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter — as cited by WrestlingNews.co — suggests that the multiple-time tag team champion appears to have torn his Achilles tendon. That could force Woods to miss several months of action, with the latter publication writing that fans shouldn’t look forward to seeing him back in the ring until the “first quarter of 2020,” which gives him a chance of returning in time for WrestleMania 36 in April.
Sorry #WweSydney pic.twitter.com/qawAmenlq3
— Austin Creed ?? Pax East (@AustinCreedWins) October 21, 2019
According to Cageside Seats , Woods’ injury came about a week and a half before WWE’s scheduled Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia, where The New Day is set to take part in a nine-way Tag Team Turmoil Match against Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, The B-Team, The O.C., The Revival, The Viking Raiders, and Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. As further noted, this match does not have any championships on the line, though it functions similarly to last year’s “WWE World Cup” as it is meant to determine the “best tag team in the world.”
Currently, it remains unclear how WWE’s creative team will book The New Day following Woods’ injury, or whether the three-man stable will field its other two members — Big E and Kofi Kingston — for the upcoming match at Crown Jewel . The group’s most recent televised match took place on the October 18 episode of Friday Night SmackDown , where they teamed up with Heavy Machinery members Tucker and Otis to defeat the four-man group of Roode, Ziggler, and Revival members Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.
