This past Wednesday night, WWE brought forth its yellow and black brand to television with the USA Network debut of NXT . The show was an absolute hit and fans loved seeing the “non-developmental” developmental talent in the spotlight and on a big stage. Unfortunately, there were some issues with some of the hard-hitting action on Wednesday night and it resulted in a number of superstars landing on the injury report.
No one really has any doubt that NXT truly delivered with their first-ever televised episode, and it is believed that they will continue the momentum next week. It’s just a shame that the action brought forth some injuries, which is just what happens in professional wrestling.
The official website of WWE had a video from Matt Camp which detailed some of the injuries that took place on Wednesday night.
Obviously, the biggest one is to Velveteen Dream who lost the NXT North American Championship to Roderick Strong of the Undisputed Era. Dream’s exact injury was not revealed, but he did land on the “not cleared” list after he was seen “walking gingerly” once the match was over.
Another interesting injury was reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet and it is Joaquin Wilde who will end up needing surgery. The wrestler formerly known as DJZ in Impact Wrestling suffered a “freak accident” during training and will need surgery to repair a broken eye socket.
Wilde apparently put off the surgery for the last few weeks as he was hoping it would heal up on its own and go away. It has been decided by NXT trainers and Wilde that surgery is the best option and he will likely be out for a few more weeks, but no exact return date has been announced.
In the video from WWE, Camp also revealed that Arturo Ruas suffered an injury to his hand after his match against Pete Dunne. X-rays were needed for his fingers, but it also landed him on the “not cleared” list for NXT .
Kona Reeves is the third NXT superstar on the injury report, but he wasn’t actually on TV. Reeves faced off against Damian Priest in a dark match and he was cut open the hard way. That required him to get stitches and he may have suffered possible orbital damage which will be determined by further evaluation.
As reported by The Inquisitr , the next WWE Superstar Draft is taking place next month, but NXT is not expected to be a part of it.
NXT is certainly looking to show that they are not the developmental brand and that they deserve to be called “main roster” along with Monday Night Raw and SmackDown . The injuries suffered by Velveteen Dream and others are unfortunate as the show is just getting started, but hopefully, things aren’t too serious.