Shotzi Reveals Hand Injury, Timetable For Return
The list of injuries continues to grow on WWE SmackDown.
Last month, Natalya took a nasty knee to the face from “The Queen of Spades” Shayna Baszler during a bout on SmackDown. As a result, “The Queen of Harts” sustained a dislocated nose. She would undergo nasal surgery a few days later to center it back, and will reportedly miss at least three months of in-ring action.
A few weeks later, Raquel Gonzalez fell to a similar fate. Ahead of Survivor Series: WarGames, Gonzalez was slated to team with Shotzi in a tag team match against SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, and her ally, Shayna Baszler. On November 25, Rousey and Baszler attacked Gonzalez backstage before their scheduled match, rendering her unable to further compete. WWE later announced that Gonzalez had suffered a broken arm and a dislocated elbow, effectively sidelining her for four to six weeks.
It was later reported by Fightful that Gonzalez’s injuries were “purely storyline.” Gonzalez was recently seen bandaged and taped up during her win over Shayna Baszler at a WWE live event in Charleston, West Virginia this past weekend.
Last week on SmackDown, Shayna Baszler was scheduled to square off with
“The Ballsy Badass” Shotzi, but things didn’t go as planned. Prior to the show in Pittsburgh, Ronda Rousey joined Baszler in assaulting Shotzi in the arena parking lot, slamming her hand in a car door as Shotzi writhed in pain.
Following the attack, Shotzi revealed an x-ray of her broken hand, indicating she would be put on the shelf for six weeks. A six-week turnaround would accordingly put Shotzi in line to return ahead of, or maybe at, WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 28, 2023.
