Cody Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match to close out Sunday’s premium live event – but the match nearly didn’t happen at all due to a serious injury.
The WWE Universe were hotly anticipating the Hell in a Cell main event. And when Rollins walked out in a Dusty Rhodes-inspired outfit, the crowd were even more fired up.
However, when Cody came to the arena, he showed horrific bruising around his right pectoral muscle.
Rumours circulated before the event that Rhodes may not be competing due to an unspecified injury. In an unusual occurrence, WWE put out a statement before Hell in a Cell to update fans on the wrestler’s condition.
They said: “What is accurate is Rhodes suffered a partially torn right pectoral during a brawl with Rollins this past Monday on RAW.
“Rhodes kept this very quiet, but on Friday, while weight training in preparation for his match, the tendon tore completely off the bone.
“Nonetheless, being the man and the competitor that he is, Rhodes has vowed to still face Rollins inside Hell in a Cell tonight.”
Despite the horror injury, however, Rhodes ploughed on. He recorded one of the most incredible victories of his wrestling career. HeBeforeailing a sledgehammer to Rollins’ head, he landed Cross Rhodes twice.
Fans watched in awe as the WWE star battled Rollins in one of wrestling’s most unforgiving structures – with one arm.
But the WWE Universe will likely not see too much of Rhodes for the foreseeable future. Torn pectoral muscles generally take between two weeks and eight months to heal, depending on the severity of the tear.
But Rhodes has suffered a completely torn muscle, which could put him on the upper end of that spectrum.
Why WWE cleared Rhodes to face Rollins despite injury
According to Wrestling News, the ‘American Nightmare’ could not have done more damage to his pectoral muscle by wrestling. The decision was made to go ahead with the match on that basis.
In addition, it is reported that Rhodes insisted on competing at the Allstate Arena. He was informed that he did not have to compete. If that had been the case, WWE would have changed their plans for the match, and given Rollins a different opponent. The injury meant a change to several planned spots for the match.
Cody Rhodes put on arguably the performance of a lifetime. That was whilst battling a torn pectoral muscle injury. If he hadn’t earned the respect of the entire WWE Universe before, he certainly has now.
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