The latest episode of the WWE SmackDown turned out to be quite a disappointing one for Rey Mysterio. Santos Escobar and Mysterio faced each other on last week’s edition of SmackDown to decide a new number-one contender for the United States Championship. The battle was interrupted after Mysterio suffered an injury. Many had initially thought that the injury was a part of WWE’s storyline. As per the official Twitter handle of Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the WWE Hall of Famer’s injury was not scripted.
“After speaking with additional sources, we've learned the Mysterio injury was not storyline as originally suggested. Santos Escobar was scheduled to go over clean and there was to be a backstage segment follow-up that got nixed. We're wishing Rey Mysterio a speedy recovery,” read a tweet shared by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
Match referee Jessika Carr had to stop the fight after Rey Mysterio’s head hit the floor while colliding with Santos Escobar. Medics rushed to the spot as the Latino wrestler was seen in deep pain. The officials determined that Mysterio was in no position to continue the bout. Media reports revealed that Mysterio appeared to be “dizzy before" the dive. Mysterio’s unfortunate injury resulted in Escobar’s victory. The win guaranteed him a spot in the United States Championship fight on the August 11 episode of WWE SmackDown.
{{/usCountry}}Match referee Jessika Carr had to stop the fight after Rey Mysterio’s head hit the floor while colliding with Santos Escobar. Medics rushed to the spot as the Latino wrestler was seen in deep pain. The officials determined that Mysterio was in no position to continue the bout. Media reports revealed that Mysterio appeared to be “dizzy before" the dive. Mysterio’s unfortunate injury resulted in Escobar’s victory. The win guaranteed him a spot in the United States Championship fight on the August 11 episode of WWE SmackDown.
{{/usCountry}}The PWTorch reported that Rey Mysterio suffered a suspected concussion at ringside after Santos Escobar completed his dive. The report also suggested that Escobar was the planned winner so The Master of the 619’s injury did not alter the course of the United States Championship title decider. The manner in which Escobar won the fight did not quite please the Mexican wrestler as he seemed visibly disappointed following the conclusion of the encounter.
Reigning United States Champion Austin Theory said that he was shocked to see his “childhood hero” Rey Mysterio getting injured. “I’m shaken. You know, I thought I had this figured out. I went out there, I enjoyed my popcorn, but I didn’t get to finish it. I thought, LWO, not just friends, family. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar, they are family. But they didn’t take it easy on each other. That’s what I thought, but what happened? Santos Escobar just knocked out Rey Mysterio, my childhood hero. Do you know what that means? Santos Escobar, he’s a bad guy. And I’ll take care of that,” Theory had reportedly said on the SmackDown Lowdown.
Mysterio’s injury, needless to say, will prevent WWE from projecting him as a key figure at the SummerSlam 2023. There was no certainty on what kind of a role Mysterio would have got at the SummerSlam but the injury, undoubtedly, has jolted his WWE career.