Top WWE Star Removed From Huge Raw Match
A former WWE World Champion won’t be getting his opportunity in the King of the Ring tournament due to an injury.
At the WWE Backlash PLE on Saturday in France, the company announced that the King & Queen of the Ring tournaments would begin on the May 6th edition of Raw from Hartford. It’s also the beginning of the new WWE rosters following the recent draft.
That also led to the announcement of the following qualifying matches taking place on Raw. These women’s matches for Queen of the Ring are set to take place.
Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile
Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega
Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka
IYO SKY vs. Natalya
On the men’s side, these matches are part of the King of the Ring qualifying tournament.
Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor
Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio
Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov
Gunther vs. Sheamus
However, there is a change to the lineup because, in a video featuring WWE Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, it was announced that former WWE World Champion Drew McIntyre isn’t medically cleared to compete on Raw.
“WWE Universe, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce here from beautiful Hartford, CT, where Raw will emanate tonight with King and Queen of the Ring qualifying matches. On that note, a bit of unfortunate breaking news as Drew McIntyre is not medically able to compete tonight. That’s right, Drew McIntyre medically disqualified from competition tonight here in Hartford.
As a result, Drew will be pulled from the King of the Ring tournament. More news as it becomes available. Raw tonight at 8/7 Central live on USA. Unfortunately, that’s official.”
That means the Drew McIntyre-Finn Balor match isn’t happening as advertised. The company did not choose to name a replacement for McIntyre, but Fightful Select is reporting that it will likely be Jey Uso taking McIntyre’s spot.
What Injury Is WWE’s Drew McIntyre Dealing With?
While Adam Pearce didn’t specify what injury Drew McIntyre is dealing with, the powerful Scottish Warrior recently told Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show that he was dealing with a fractured elbow.
“You know what happened at Mania when [CM Punk] attacked me from behind and swept my legs out? He fractured my elbow. Broken bones in it. You know what I did the next day? I wrestled in a four-way match, and I would have won if it wasn’t for CM Punk.”
“I’ve been taping up every week. I did a European tour where I wrestled Jey Uso every single night. He’s sitting on his couch, collecting his big paycheck, thinking he can kiss corporate arse and keep cashing those checks while I’m putting in work. Why is the bad guy? Who is the delusional one? Who is the hypocrite?”
There’s no word yet on how much time McIntyre will miss due to the injury.
TJRWrestling will have full coverage of tonight’s episode of Raw later this evening.