UPDATE I: PWInsider reports the injury is legitimate and the match stoppage was not storyline.
UPDATE II: WWE confirmed the injury, with ringside physician Dr. Chris Robinson saying, “It’s hard to tell what the extent of the injury is, but we’re going to send him to get an MRI tomorrow and figure that out.”
Our original post follows...
As they are wont to do, WWE booked a match on Raw which continued a feud many of us thought wrapped up on pay-per-view (PPV) the night before.
At SummerSlam last night (Aug. 20), Big Cass not only defeated Big Show, he also knocked out Enzo Amore after his former tag partner escaped from the shark cage he was suspended in above the ring. Regardless of that, and the fact Cass has manhandled Zo every time they’ve been near each other since their split, they faced each other in a Brooklyn Street Fight at Barclays Center tonight.
Things were going as you’d expect, with the seven-foot heel beating up his smaller opponent as he refused to quit. Then things got weird, and potentially terrible.
Amore dodged a boot from Cass, and the Queens native went over the top rope to the floor. He immediately grabbed his left leg around the knee, and Michael Cole commented on a potential injury. Cass rolled back into the ring, but immediately has trouble putting weight on his leg. He has a brief conversation with the official, then they go to the finish - or tried to anyone. The match was stopped when Cass couldn’t stay on his feet to hit his Empire Elbow finisher.
Here’s video of the spot and its aftermath:
Here's video of Big Cass' injury. #RAW #streetfight pic.twitter.com/yYi9ojag3W
— TheStraightShooters (@ShootersRadio) August 22, 2017
We can never know with pro wrestling - at least not until we get a more official announcement following a medical evaluation - but this feels real for a few reasons. The reactions by both Cass and Enzo don’t play like this was something they were expecting, and the former is visibly upset, as you would be if your push just got put into jeopardy by a potentially devastating knee or hamstring injury.
Another reason is this doesn’t make sense from a booking perspective. Everything about this match and feud has focused on the big man ragdolling the smaller one. To give Zo a win at this point in the feud, in the manner, doesn’t serve the story in any logical way.
We’ll keep you posted on anything we hear (not counting diagnosis from Twitter “doctors”). Keep a good thought for Cass that this is either a work, or at least not as bad as it seems at this point.