WWE Raw: Status of Injured WWE Champions Confirmed

This week’s Monday Night Raw opened with Kevin Owens returning to WWE after being on the shelf for a few weeks with an injury. Between Owens’ injury (reportedly a fractured rib) and Sami Zayn’s elbow injury (bursa sac), it looked like the fan favorites might have been forced to relinquish their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships after the pair were kept off the SummerSlam card earlier this month. However, with Owens back and Zayn’s elbow no longer taped up, it looks like the pair are fully back in action going forward. They challenged any two members of The Judgement Day to a match later in the night, though it doesn’t appear to be a title defense. The New Day would later win a top contender’s match for the titles against Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle.

Owens and Zayn won the tag titles back at WrestleMania 39, serving as the culmination of Zayn’s months-long saga with The Bloodline. They’ve since successfully defended the gold five times. 

Sami Zayn Reflects on Crucial Loss to Roman Reigns

Raw took place in Quebec on Monday, marking the first time Zayn has wrestled in front of his hometown crowd since the Elimination Chamber event back in February. That show saw Zayn fail to beat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship despite having a massive wave of fan support behind him.

“It was a little hard, if you want the truth,” Zayn said in a recent interview on Out of Character while reflecting on the match. “I don’t think I’m being controversial when saying this, but I’m not the chosen guy, obviously. I’ve been handed a lot of opportunities and I’ve delivered on a lot of those opportunities throughout my time in the company and I’m grateful for all of it. I don’t think anyone would say like, ‘Oh, clearly he was being positioned to be the top guy or to be the most popular guy on the show.’ Obviously, that’s not the case, and that’s fine.”

“I don’t have bad things to say about anything involving that story, but if you’re asking me was it a tough pill to swallow to come that close and not quite make it? I’d be lying if I said no, it didn’t bother me at all,” Zayn continued. “There was a part of me that had problems digesting that.”

WWE’s Premium Live Event Schedule for The Rest of 2023

WWE has four premium live events left for the remainder of 2023. That includes Payback at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh (Sept. 2), Fastlane at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (Oct. 7), a yet-to-be-named Saudi Arabia show on Nov. 4 and the annual Survivor Series show at Allstate Arena in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois on Nov. 25.