The injury bug has hit AEW once again as two roster members have been added to the injured list — Yuka Sakazaki and The Blade. They join several AEW stars also battling injuries, including Kenny Omega who had a severe case of diverticulitis; Julia Hart who was reportedly injured on AEW Rampage recently (though she continues to wrestle); RUSH who tore his hamstring; Adam Cole who’s still healing his leg; and Jamie Hayer who’s been out of action for over a year.
On the latest episode of AEW Rampage which aired last night, Yuka Sakazaki faced off against Emi Sakura, someone she’s squared off with several times in AEW and most recently, TJPW. At one point during the match, Sakazaki attempts a springboard but fell awkwardly to the outside of the ring. She favored the leg throughout the match and at another point, falls off the ring apron straight onto her leg. Despite her injury, she managed to pull out a win with a suplex off the ropes. At this time the severity of her injury is unclear, but according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, it was a legitimate injury.
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Meanwhile, Blade revealed that he’s been off the road due to a back injury with two bulging discs and two rupture discs. He thanked AEW President Tony Khan for allowing him the time off to heal his body. His last match in AEW/ROH was in January on Honor Club but he did wrestle a single independent show in February before taking time off.
“Hello Instagram 😃 My apologies, it’s been awhile. I’m currently off the road nursing a lower back injury. 2 bulging discs, L2 L3 and L4 L5. Plus two ruptured discs, L3 L4 and L5 S1,” Blade wrote. “I’d like to thank @aew and @tonyrkhan for giving me this time off to heal. Plus, I’ve got the Buffalo,NY magic man pictured with me here, @anthony.albano.dpt. Time off can be a rough place for athletes mentally. Anthony’s physical therapy is helping me stay on track and I can’t sing praises high enough about the sweet science behind his training. I’m not sure where this journey I’m on is gonna lead. But, I have a lot of options and a great team around me and that’s a beautiful thing. Love ya everybody.”
Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for update on AEW.
