WWE has a few banged up talents heading into WWE WrestleMania 40 weekend. This past January at WWE Monday Night Raw: Day 1, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins suffered a Grade 2 tear in his MCL and partially tore his menial meniscus. With surgery for that type of injury resulting in 3-4 months of recovery, Rollins has opted to rehab his knee in order to make the WWE WrestleMania 40 card. Rollins’s anticipated opponent for that event, CM Punk, wasn’t as lucky, as the Second City Saint tore his triceps at WWE Royal Rumble and was required to go under the knife in order to heal up. Punk is not expected to be back in the ring until late summer.
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As WWE inches closer to April’s Showcase of the Immortals, another notable name finds herself medically disqualified from competition.
Shotzi Suffers Torn ACL, Out For “About Nine Months”
Shotzi has tore her ACL.
2020’s NXT Breakout Star of the Year hurt her knee during an NXT TV match against NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria. The match was taped on February 13th and is currently scheduled to air on tonight’s WWE NXT broadcast. When Shotzi went down during the match, WWE officials called off the contest and tended to her.
Taking to Instagram, Shotzi confirmed that she has suffered a torn ACL and will be on the shelf until the end of the year.
“I tore my ACL which means I will be out of action for about nine months. Thank you to everyone who has checked up on me. I am so sorry if I haven’t responded. I am just extremely devastated and angry,” Shotzi wrote. “Some of you know, I have been through a lot the last few years and it has been so hard to keep up with what I think is expected of me and honestly my mental health had been at an all time low. But l’ve pushed through and I was feeling motivated and like myself again.”
Shotzi signed with WWE in November 2019 and saw immediate momentum. Just two months into her tenure, she competed in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match. She joined the main roster in 2021 and competed on WWE SmackDown, working her way up to a WWE Women’s Title match against then-champion Ronda Rousey at WWE Survivor Series 2022. Shotzi began competing for WWE NXT again this year with an ambition to “build back [her] confidence.”
“I was hoping to go to NXT to prove myself again, earn some respect, build back my confidence and start putting the heartache from the past 2 years behind me,” Shotzi continued. “I feel defeated right now but I’m simultaneously feeling the most motivated I have ever been. I have been through way worse. I’ve watched my sister, who is fighting cancer, fight tougher battles. I’m just taking this as a sign to slow down. I didn’t take time off when both my stepdad and my dad passed and that really affected me. Now I am looking forward to coming back not just physically stronger, but mentally also.”
