Let’s try to figure out if Ember Moon is really hurt

Coming out of the April 19 NXT taping at Full Sail, live reports were that Ember Moon ended her night in tears and a lot of pain. That was because of a spot during a battle royal where she was said to take a nasty bump off the barricade.

Initial word from sources then came out the injury was storyline, before follow-up reports arrived saying she was wearing a sling at house shows and her shoulder was hurt.

Finally, the episode with the spot in question aired tonight (May 3) and... you know what? I still don’t know.

Watching it live, I was pretty convinced it was legit. Asuka grabs her for what looks like it will be a standard, shoulder-first-into-the-turnbuckle/post manuever, but Moon flies all the way to the floor, crashing into the fencing between the ring area and the seats.

Then I watched this GIF a bunch of times, and while she certainly could have been hurt, the shoulder she holds (her left) doesn’t really hit anything. Her forearm on that side connects with the barricade, but her right smacked into the pavement and no one checked on that...

Then there’s the booking. In the arena, and on the episode, General Manager William Regal immediately puts Ember in a Fatal 4Way with Asuka, Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross for TakeOver: Chicago on May 20.

If there was serious concern about her being able to go, that could have been delayed or edited out all together. But maybe she is hurt, but not too badly, and they believe she’ll be good to go in a couple weeks?

Playing work or shoot with injuries is hard, you guys.

One thing is for sure... Nikki Cross is the best:

Anyway... what do you think, Cagesiders? Is Moon’s shoulder injury legit, or kayfabe?