Over the weekend, Bobby Fish — one-third of the Undisputed Era faction and one-half of the current NXT tag team champions alongside Kyle O’Reilly — went down with a knee injury at a house show in Indianapolis. WWE offered no confirmation of the injury or its severity, but Fish was not expected to compete at the latest NXT TV tapings, so many were bracing for the worst.
Well, unfortunately, the worst is here, as Dave Meltzer is reporting Fish blew out his knee during the match. As a result, he is having surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, this week.
No further news is available on what exactly the injury is, but knee surgery is generally a pretty serious procedure with a lengthy recovery period — arthroscopic knee surgery takes a minimum of four to six weeks before the patient can walk without crutches, with swelling typically lasting for three months up to a year afterward. Needless to say, this means Fish will be not be cleared to go for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Fish’s injury throws a pretty major wrench into the build-up of TakeOver: New Orleans. The 2018 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic started on NXT TV last night, with this year’s tournament reduced to eight teams and configured to crown a No. 1 contender for the tag titles. Whichever team won the tournament was initially slated to face off against Fish and O’Reilly at TakeOver: New Orleans, though that plan seems likely to change given this news.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD, SCROLL CAREFULLY.
NXT has not yet officially announced what will become of the tag titles — Meltzer commented that Fish and O’Reilly would be stripped of the championships, but there is conflicting information coming out of last night’s NXT TV tapings. It’s possible an announcement could come as soon as next Wednesday, or perhaps even sooner via NXT’s social media channels. Whatever happens, we’ll be sure to let you know about it.
