WWE fans might not be seeing Friday Night SmackDown superstar Elias for quite a while, as reports suggest the wrestler suffered a legitimate injury that could potentially keep him from competing for quite some time.
On Sunday, WrestlingNews.co cited a report made earlier that day by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , which suggested Elias recently suffered a torn pectoral muscle. It isn’t clear, however, when or where he sustained the injury.
As further pointed out, the new update comes a few days after a segment on Friday Night SmackDown , where it appeared as if Jeff Hardy had accidentally crashed into Elias while driving under the influence. It was later revealed on the show that Hardy was actually sober and that Sheamus was the one who had attacked him and Elias.
This was followed by an update on the WWE website that stated Elias also sustained broken ribs, on top of his torn pectoral muscle. As explained by Post Wrestling , the former injury was included for storyline purposes as it appears the segment was aired in order to write the SmackDown star off television and allow him time to recover. On Friday’s episode of the show, Michael Cole explained that Elias “could miss a couple of months,” though there is still no definite timeline for his recovery as of this writing.
So many questions are raised tonight after @IAmEliasWWE appears to have been the victim of a hit-and-run. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/tWTkbqcZEF
— WWE (@WWE) May 30, 2020
Prior to his recent injury, Elias’ last match took place on the May 15 episode of SmackDown , where he defeated King Corbin in the first round of the tournament for the Intercontinental Championship that was recently vacated by Sami Zayn. With Hardy also forced out of the tourney by Sheamus — the same man he defeated in the first round — the vacant title will be contested by finalists AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown .
This isn’t the first time in which Elias has been taken out of a tournament due to injury and expected to miss at least a few months of action. As noted late last year by Pro Wrestling Sheet , the 32-year-old was pulled from the King of the Ring tournament in September 2019 due to an ankle injury. He ended up missing close to three months of action and returned on the November 29 episode of SmackDown , switching to a babyface role as he performed an insulting song he wrote for the then-villainous Drake Maverick.
Given the nature of his musician gimmick, it isn’t clear whether Elias will be used in a non-wrestling capacity as he recovers from his latest injury.