Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno on Monday Night RAW this week. After the match, he declared his entry into the Royal Rumble match and says that he is going to eliminate John Cena first.
It turns out that Joe is injured.
Update: WWE posted the following:
“During his match, [Samoa Joe] felt a pop at the bottom of his [right] foot,” explained WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann. “We took a look and believe he has a plantar fascia rupture, which is a thick tissue rupture under the foot. We will get an MRI to confirm. Treatment includes a period of immobilization in a boot with crutches and platelet rich plasma injections.”
Kurt Angle first broke the news on Twitter saying that Joe won the fan vote to be Bayley’s partner in the WWE Mixed Match Challenge. Due to an injury, Joe is unable to compete. Elias will now be Bayley’s partner.
It turns out that this is not a work. Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that WWE sources have confirmed that it is a legitimate injury to Joe. It is unclear exactly the nature of the injury so we will let you know when we hear more.
Thank you all for voting for @itsBayleyWWE partner in #WWEMMC, but due to an injury suffered on #Raw @SamoaJoe is unable to compete…
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 9, 2018
…therefore the runner-up @IAmEliasWWE will be Bayley’s partner. #WWEMMC
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 9, 2018
Hopefully, it is not too serious! Keep checking back for updates!