Major WWE Champion Hospitalized Following Brutal Attack
A current WWE Champion was hospitalized after enduring a surprise attack by his future opponent.
For weeks, NXT World Champion Tony D’Angelo has been involved in a psychological battle with Naraku, who signed with the developmental brand in late April.
Naraku initially protected D’Angelo from potential threats, taking out multiple wrestlers in the process. The Japanese superstar prophesied that he and D’Angelo were fated to go to war against each other.
Naraku emerged as the #1 contender for D’Angelo’s NXT title after defeating Mason Rook on the June 9 taping of the show, with the title match now finalized for the Great American Bash.
Last week, the two were featured in a GAB contract signing segment, but only D’Angelo signed it. Naraku said that he would sign the contract during the June 23 edition.
The show opened with Tony and NXT GM Robert Stone arguing about Naraku not having signed the contract yet. Later in the evening, the two WWE talents came face-to-face outside the building.
Naraku claimed that he had signed the contract and handed the folder to D’Angelo. Just as the champion opened it, he was hit with a fireball, which sent him staggering back in pain.
The 31-year-old champion was rushed to the hospital shortly afterward.
Tony D’Angelo Returns To WWE NXT; Attacks Naraku
Throughout the evening, the commentators provided updates on Tony D’Angelo’s health following Naraku’s fireball attack on him.
At one point, the WWE NXT Champion was seen being attended by medical professionals while he had a bloodied towel on his face.
Robert Stone also had the NXT Championship in his possession, leaving fans to speculate about a potential change in the Great American Bash main event line-up.
The show’s final segment featured Stone announcing Naraku’s challenger at the June 28 PLE. It led to multiple wrestlers like Mason Rook and The Vanity Project’s Jackson Drake staking their claim to the spot.
After a brief back-and-forth, both wrestlers began throwing hands at each other before taking their fight backstage. Naraku then demanded that Stone tell him who his opponent was.
Stone claimed that the title match had not been changed and he would still face Tony D’Angelo, who now appeared with a portion of his face bandaged. Tony entered the ring and attacked Naraku, ending the show.
The Great American Bash card includes 6 more matches other than D’Angelo versus Naraku.
Here’s how the remainder of the NXT premium live event’s card looks:
- NXT Women’s Championship: Lola Vice (c) vs. Kendal Grey
- NXT Women’s North American Championship: Zaria (c) vs. Tatum Paxley
- NXT North American Championship: Myles Borne (c) vs. Tavion Heights
- WWE Women’s Speed Championship: Wren Sinclair (c) vs. Arianna Grace
- Saquon Shugars vs. Dion Lennox
- Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels
Viewers in the United States can stream the event on CW on Sunday, June 28, at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. Fans outside the US can watch the Great American Bash on Netflix.