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Rey Mysterio was pulled from Tuesday’s match against Andrade after suffering an ankle injury in a defeat to Baron Corbin in the main event of Raw, WWE announced.
Mysterio is set to challenge Samoa Joe for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 35. WWE backstage interviewer Kayla Braxton said his status for Sunday’s event remains up in the air and that medical staff will re-evaluate his ankle closer to WrestleMania.
WWE @WWE
Backstage News from #SDLive: @reymysterio sustained an ankle injury during his match with @BaronCorbinWWE on #Raw and will be unable to compete against @AndradeCienWWE tonight. https://t.co/h4TcnJ8hGm
Whether genuine or part of a larger storyline, Mysterio’s injury is likely to fuel speculation that John Cena will make a surprise return Sunday. Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer reported WWE is keeping its cards close to the chest regarding Cena’s involvement on the show (h/t Cageside Seats’ Geno Mrosko).
One would expect WWE to play up any match it might have for Cena given how big of a star he is. But his commitments outside of wrestling might have precluded him from having any sort of sustained presence on WWE programming.
At the very least, something appears to be up regarding Joe’s U.S. title defense.
Within the last week, fans have already seen Charlotte Flair beat Asuka for the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship, leading Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon to announce the WrestleMania 35 main event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will be for both women’s titles.
If WWE was willing to tweak its biggest match with so little time before WrestleMania, then the U.S. title bout might be facing a change of its own.
