Hard day for fans of Tommaso Ciampa. The current NXT champion is facing major neck surgery to help correct the effects of spinal stenosis. For those unfamiliar, Sheamus is currently dealing with a mild case of that and it’s the same physical aliment that caused Edge to retire. There are various degrees and regions of the spine that it can affect; in Edge’s case he has cervical spinal stenosis, which affects his neck. In other cases it can be lower down the back. It’s unknown the extent of Ciampa’s or what area of his spine this is causing issues with.
Sheamus has essentially been moved into tag team work to limit his exposure and bumps throughout his WWE tenure. I’ve long heard that even if The Bar disbands, Sheamus will most likely never get a single’s run again, due to the uncertainty of his back and neck. Most consider Sheamus to be near the end of his career due to his condition.
PWInsider, WrestleZone and The Observer all reported aspects of this story originally. This injury was also the reason why Ciampa and Johnny Gargano were held off of SmackDown this week and didn’t compete.
Obviously it’s unclear at the moment how long Ciampa will be out for, or if he’ll be able to return. Wrestlers like Jason Jordan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and others seemingly retired overnight and without ceremony due to the nature of neck injuries. While Jordan isn’t technically retired, yet, things are growing bleak about a possible return.
In Other News…
IMPACT Wrestling really don’t have a clue about their product if this signing is any indication. Apparently yesterday day’s “bait and switch” with Rosemary being revealed to be the “returning star” was a last minute change. The original plan was going to involve revealing Madison Rayne on the teleconference but due to a slight delay in her release from ROH, things had to be changed prior to the broadcast. So instead IMPACT announced her return on Twitter and fuck that noise. This is her – what fifth – stint in the promotion? Rayne has never been a great promo, wasn’t ever a top worker and isn’t anyone to write home about. She’s married to Josh Mathews which I’m sure played a hand into her return. In an era where fans want new and different, IMPACT is giving them more of the same failed ideas. Do better, IMPACT.
At least IMPACT is putting on a great looking card for United We Stand. A new match was announced today, with Rich Swann defending his IMPACT X-Division Championship against Dragon Gate’s Yamato.
Quick Hits – The former Tye Dilinger will be a free agent shortly, and has already signed on to wrestle his first indy date with Create A Pro Wrestler on the 31st of May – under his Shawn Spears moniker. MLW will host their next two hour live special, called battle Riot on April 5th. The Ultimate Warrior’s wife, Dana Warrior, has joined the WWE’s writing staff according to Ryan Satin.