WATCH: 32-year-old female star makes SHOCKING WWE return from injury after 301 days

Former champion returns to WWE programming after more than 300 days following a knee injury and tearing her ACL.

WATCH: 32-year-old female star makes SHOCKING WWE return from injury after 301 days

Shotzi returns to WWE (via WWE)

On the latest episode of NXT, Fatal Influence, comprising Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx, faced off against the team of Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley. The former team picked up the victory via pinfall but was not done yet. They started beating up on the losers, who were saved by a returning Shotzi. She attacked Fatal Influence and took out all three members with a suicide crossbody.

Earlier this year, Shotzi faced Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Championship in a pre-taped show. While performing an apron DDT, she suffered a knee injury, tearing her ACL. She was unable to put any weight on her leg, and the match was halted mid-way. She was also scheduled to be a part of the 2024 Women’s Elimination Chamber but was replaced by Tiffany Stratton.

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The former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion has been on the shelf ever since. Fans were happy to see that she was medically cleared and able to return to doing what she loves. Her return on Tuesday night marks her first appearance on WWE programming in over 300 days.

Although she was also a main roster superstar before her injury, she may stick to NXT for now. There appears to be no place for her on either of the main roster brands for the time being. Even with the introduction of the women’s mid-card titles, the promotion seems to be having a lot of trouble with booking its women in various aspects.

WWE Creative was reportedly sent into panic after Shotzi tore her ACL

An injury is a highly unfortunate and painful time period that the wrestler has to go through. Furthermore, it ruins many of the creative plans surrounding the situation. This situation is made even worse in the case of a main event superstar. Despite being a mid-carder on the main roster, Shotzi was at the pinnacle of the NXT women’s division when she was put on the shelf.

Shotzi
Shotzi (via WWE)

Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the creative team immediately into a panic when the Ballsy Badass got injured. They tried to stall and figure out what to do. Nobody on the roster to handle that position at that moment. As mentioned previously, her injury was also an issue on the main roster due to the Elimination Chamber.

With the 32-year-old not being back on NXT, fans can expect her to start gaining momentum and work towards the NXT Women’s Championship once again. Seeing her go up against Roxanne Perez is surely going to be a great match.

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