Following the announcement that new Women’s World Champion Naomi is not medically cleared to compete, Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live suggests the injury could be a serious one that keeps her out of action for an extended period. Alvarez made it clear that he’s not reporting anything but stated that there are rumors circulating within WWE about the nature of the situation.
Speaking on his daily show, Alvarez provided his analysis of the vague announcements on Monday Night Raw and shared what he has heard from sources within the company. “There is definitely a rumor going around in WWE about what’s going on with Naomi, and like it’s being talked about by people there, and if it is, in fact, what’s going on, she is going to be out for a long, long time,” Alvarez said. “Okay, I’ll just say that for now. My presumption is that, you know, people will find out probably fairly soon, but I think that that it would be a while. If this is the case.”
Alvarez discussed the way WWE handled the injury announcement on this week’s Raw. After Naomi’s scheduled title defense against IYO SKY was canceled, a backstage segment saw Stephanie Vaquer saying, “You’re not the only one who was promised a title match.” This was a reference to Vaquer’s scheduled title match against the champion at Clash in Paris on August 31.
“Clash in Paris isn’t for three more weeks,” Alvarez explained. “So oftentimes when, let’s say that she has a concussion, okay, if she had a concussion, they would just be [say] she’s not medically cleared to compete [and] they would evaluate her next week… To already presume she’s not going to be at Clash in Paris. That doesn’t sound good.”
On Monday, WWE released a brief statement announcing that Naomi was “not medically cleared to compete,” but did not provide any details on the nature of the injury or a potential timetable for her return. The on-air segments on Raw seemed to confirm a lengthy absence, but the company has remained quiet on the specifics.
The injury comes just nine days after Naomi retained the Women’s World Championship at SummerSlam in a triple threat match that also included IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley. It’s worth nothing while Alvarez referenced rumors being talked about backstage in WWE, there has been on confirmation from Naomi or WWE on the situation so hopefully, things are not as bad as they sound. Best wishes to Naomi for a speedy recovery.
The full conversation can be heard on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit F4WOnline.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
