WrestlingObserver.com is reporting that Sami Zayn may have actually injured himself prior to his match with John Cena on WWE Raw last night, and not due to any actual wrestling maneuver performed by him or the United States Champion.
Good catch. If you watch the video below, you can see Sami is fine coming down to the ring, not favoring the left arm at all. When he gets on the ring steps and tries to hype up the crowd, it appears he may have dislocated his shoulder, as he immediately starts stretching out the arm.
Watching the match back again, it’s pretty obvious to me that it was the pre-match celebration that did the damage. He’s favoring the shoulder from the moment he gets on the steps, as it’s basically limp when he steps through the ropes.
A few minutes later, Cena delivers a back suplex after a rest hold and immediately backs off, telling the referee to check on him. At that point they bring out the trainer, but it’s clear Cena was aware of the injury because there’s virtually no time between hitting the back suplex, going for the pin and instructing the referee to check on Zayn.
We’ll know more about the injury later today as Sami will undergo an MRI on the shoulder, although WWE will almost certainly play it off as an in-ring injury regardless of the actual cause. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
