Kurt Angle, General Manager of Monday Night Raw, announces that Samoa Joe has been injured on Raw and can no longer be Bayley's partner in the WWE Mixed Match Challenge.
The WWE Universe voted through WWE.com to choose Bayley's partner in this mixed tag team tournament, with options including Jason Jordan, Elias, and Samoa Joe. Samoa Joe won by a large majority of votes. This was Jordan's announcement:
Thank you all for voting for @itsBayleyWWE partner in #WWEMMC, but due to an injury suffered on #Raw, @SamoaJoe is unable to compete...
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 9, 2018
"... therefore the runner-up @IAmEliasWWE will be Bayley's partner. #WWEMMC"
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 9, 2018
It was a surprise for everyone to hear about Samoa Joe's injury, and many fans believed it could be a fake injury to avoid teaming up with Bayley. However, reporter Jeff Whalen from Rajah.com stated:
"It was suspected that the injury could have been announced by WWE as part of a storyline to pair Bayley with the wrestler they wanted, but according to various reports, the injury is legitimate, although it is unknown exactly what the injury is."
Shortly after, WWE announced on their website that Samoa Joe is affected by a thick tissue problem under his foot known as plantar fasciitis and will be away from the ring for 8 to 16 weeks, pending a new medical examination. This is what Doctor Chris Amann said:
"During his match, Samoa Joe felt a snap in the bottom of his right foot. We took a look and we believe he has a rupture of the plantar fascia, which is a tear in the thick tissue under the foot.
"We will perform an MRI to confirm it. The treatment includes a period of immobilization in a boot with crutches and platelet-rich plasma injections."
