WWE recently announced that Zelina Vega had been pulled from the ongoing Queen of the Ring tournament, where the tournament finals will take place next Saturday at the themed PLE in Saudi Arabia.
The news was made before the May 12th house show by Adam Pearce, who cited it as being due to an injury. The event in Macon, Georgia, was supposed to see her take on Shayna Baszler in a match rescheduled from Raw, but she was replaced by Maxxine Dupri, who put over Baszler at the show.
Baszler put over IYO SKY in the quarterfinals on Monday’s Raw. Next week, SKY meets Lyra Valikire in the semifinals, where the winner will advance to the finals. Zelina joins the likes of Drew McIntyre, Asuka, and Bobby Lashley to be pulled from the tournament due to injury.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that, just like Lashley’s injury, the company was well aware of Vega needing to be pulled from the tournament.
Meltzer wrote, “Lashley’s injury that kept him out of King of the Ring was known well in advance. Vega’s was known well in advance because those involved with the Baszler match knew she was getting a new opponent early last week, if not earlier.”
It’s unclear when she will return to in-ring action. This is similar to Lashley’s injury situation, as they knew a few days in advance as well.
