As documented in the Rumor Roundup on Thursday (Mar. 15), word’s been going around that former WWE United Kingdom champion Tyler Bate’s been dealing with a knee injury.
WWE confirmed the injury online Friday, in posts which also address changes to the announced field for NXT’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic which the injury will force. Bate and his Moustache Mountain mate Trent Seven had been set to face Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in round one of the tournament:
Unfortunately @Tyler_Bate has suffered an injury that will prevent Moustache Mountain from participating in the #DustyClassic. I will use the weekend to evaluate how we will fill this unfortunate set of circumstances.https://t.co/BYZJiKkFiM
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) March 16, 2018
Regal will make a decision on their replacement, but there were clues about a possible impromptu alliance which would fit in nicely on the Mar. 14 episode. You can get the answer for sure (along with a lot of other spoilers from the last taping) here.
It’s the second high profile injury to hit NXT’s tag scene, although not as severe or impactful as the knee surgery which will keep tag champ Bobby Fish of Undisputed ERA on the shelf for months. It’s also the second recent instance of the black-and-yellow brand announcing matches and changing them due to an injury in a way which could have major storyline implications - Johnny Gargano eventually earned a NXT title after replacing Velveteen Dream in last fall’s #1 contender tourney.
As of right now, Fish and Kyle O’Reilly are scheduled to be defend the tag titles against The Dusty Classic winners at TakeOver: New Orleans (get a spoiler-y idea about the plans to deal with Bobby’s injury here).
We’ll keep you posted on what’s next for Bate, Moustache Mountain and The Dusty.