I was torn between opening this post with “that escalated quickly” or “life comes at you fast,” because both things are painfully appropriate in this case. On Tuesday, Zack Ryder won a battle royal on Smackdown Live, winning the No. 1 contendership to the Smackdown Tag Team Championship for his team, the Hype Bros. Unfortunately, he injured his knee right at the end of that battle royal, so the celebration was short-lived.
WWE didn’t immediately announce the extent of the injury, saying only that he was scheduled to undergo an MRI. However, on Thursday, Ryder tweeted out that he was heading to Birmingham (where WWE’s preferred orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, is based), and later revealed that he would be undergoing knee surgery immediately.
Everything happens for a reason…?
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) December 15, 2016
Flew to Birmingham, Alabama this morning…and not for a vacation.
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) December 15, 2016
Getting knee surgery 2day & missing #RogueOne…but everything happens for a reason…I'll be back…WrestleMania 32 was just the beginning!
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) December 15, 2016
It is still unclear how long Ryder will be out of action, or what will happen to the Hype Bros’ tag title shot. Smackdown will almost certainly arrange for a new set of No. 1 contenders, because even if Ryder only needs arthroscopic knee surgery, recovery time can still take up to six weeks or more.
In the backstage fallout video of Ryder’s injury that WWE released, Ryder sure didn’t seem to be in good shape.
Get well soon, Zack. It’s hard to get hyped OR stay hyped without you.
