Injured WWE Star Not Expected Back For “Quite Some Time”

It has been ten months since Robert Roode laced up his boots and well over one year since he competed in a televised match. The former NXT Champion was dealing with a neck injury that ultimately required spinal fusion surgery, the second surgery that Roode underwent within a span of two months. His previous procedure was not specified. Roode’s surgeries went down at the tail end of 2022, leading WWE and fans to hope that the Glorious One would be back in the squared circle sooner than later. While there have been no whispers about the 46-year-old being forced to retire as a result of these injuries, the latest update does not spell optimism.

As reported by Fightful Select, Roode is “still expected to be out quite some time.” It’s unclear as to what Roode’s specific timetable looks like.

Roode has been a member of the WWE roster since 2016. He was shown in the NXT Takeover: Dallas crowd and teased that he was going to be part of the black and gold brand for the next couple of months. Roode officially debuted that summer and accumulated enough victories to get him in the title picture. He went on to defeat Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship at NXT Takeover: San Antonio and reigned with the prize for about seven months before dropping it to Drew McIntyre at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III.

From there, Roode was called up to the main roster and found himself in a prominent position on WWE SmackDown. He feuded with the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton, capturing the WWE United States Championship along the way. His main roster singles spotlight burned out shortly after WWE WrestleMania 34 as he would make his way to the tag team division. Roode found success alongside Chad Gable, winning the Raw Tag Team Titles on two occasions. 

The past three years have seen Roode aligned with old rival Ziggler, winning both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Titles with the Show-Off during their three years as a unit. Roode’s last WWE TV appearances came alongside Ziggler in NXT while Ziggler was reigning with the NXT Championship.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Robert Roode’s WWE return.