There is bad luck, and then, there is really bad luck. Tonight on SmackDown LIVE , there was a huge battle royal to determine the new number one contenders for the tag team titles currently held by The Wyatt Family. A number of teams were in the match and gave it their all, but the match had to be won by someone and it was ultimately the Hype Bros who emerged with a victory. Unfortunately, an injury was suffered during the match and it may have been all for nothing.
As recapped by the official website of WWE, a tag team battle royal took place on SmackDown LIVE to determine who would go after the titles next. Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley were just two of those in the match as American Alpha, Breezango, The Ascension, The Vaudevillains, and the team of Rhyno and Heath Slater battled it out.
It was pure chaos, but the Hype Bros ended up outlasting all of those teams and winning the match.
Shortly after the battle royal was over, news got out that some bad luck had fallen down on the new number one contenders. Wrestling News Source reported that Zack Ryder had suffered a knee injury in the match, but it isn’t exactly known when it happened.
It also wasn’t entirely known if the injury was all part of a storyline or legit, but that was soon cleared up. The official website of WWE soon confirmed the injury to Ryder who was carried to the trainer’s room and seen on crutches backstage. WWE’s Chris Robinson hopes it isn’t too bad, but some tests are going to be done.
“We think he injured his kneecap or his patella. We think it popped out and then popped back in, so we’re just going to do an MRI to make sure that there is not cartilage damage or some tendon tearing, stuff like that. Hopefully, there’s not and it’ll be a shorter rehab period. If there is, there’s a different road we might have to go down that may take longer to get him to recover.”
The tests will determine just how serious the injury to Ryder’s knee is, and there is hope that it isn’t too bad. Still, anything keeping him out any length of time will kill the momentum that the Hype Bros. have.
Bittersweet night. Won a battle royal on #SDLive for the #HypeBros to become No. 1 contenders…Injured my knee in the process. MRI tomorrow
— Zack Ryder (@ZackRyder) December 14, 2016
The SmackDown LIVE Tag Team Titles are held by The Wyatt Family and they are said to be defending them under “The Freebird Rule.” For those not aware, that means that any combination of members of the family can defend the titles in a match — Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, or Luke Harper.
Over on Monday Night Raw , The New Day have been defending their Raw Tag Team Titles in that very same fashion for the past year and a half.
After the battle royal was over, Mojo Rawley tweeted out that the Hype Bros were ready to face off with The Wyatt Family and show them what “family really is.” That tweet came out before the severity of Zack Ryder’s knee injury was really known.
#HYPEBros : #1 Contenders. @ZackRyder isn’t just my tag partner. He’s my brother. We’re ready to show the Wyatts what family really is. @WWE
— Mojo Rawley (@MojoRawleyWWE) December 14, 2016
Before any decisions are made on the number one contenders for the Wyatt’s titles, WWE is likely going to wait and see what happens with Zack Ryder. If Ryder is going to be out for any length of time due to injury, another team will need to step in and challenge for the belts.
For now, the Hype Bros are the next in line to take on The Wyatt Family, but the full extent of Zack Ryder’s injury will go a long way in saying what happens in the near future on SmackDown LIVE .
Zack Ryder has really climbed the ladder in WWE and become a much bigger priority on the roster than he used to be. His big Intercontinental Title win at WrestleMania 32 was short-lived, but it was an awesome moment. Now, he and Mojo Rawley had become the new number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles held by The Wyatt Family. Unfortunately, Ryder’s knee injury happened and the only hope is that it isn’t anything too serious.
[Featured Image by WWE]