Unfortunately, WWE‘s King of the Ring tournament continues to be bitten by the injury bug as Bobby Lashley has been pulled from the event.
In early April, it was reported that King and Queen of the Ring would be returning in May of 2024. This year, the new King and Queen will be crowned in Saudi Arabia when the finals take place on May 25th at the eponymous event.
The entrants for both King and Queen of the Ring were revealed on May 4th, but since that time, the tournament has seen some unfortunate setbacks. On May 6th, Adam Pearce announced that Drew McIntyre had been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. He was replaced by Jey Uso, who defeated Finn Balor that same night.
Now, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis has taken to social media with more unfortunate news regarding Lashley. According to Aldis, Lashley was injured during training and is not medically cleared.
“Good afternoon, WWE Universe. It’s your Smackdown GM, Nick Aldis, with an update and some slightly unfortunate news ahead of tomorrow’s SmackDown. Unfortunately, as many of you know, Bobby Lashley was set to take on Tama Tonga in the King of the Ring, but I’ve been informed that Bobby has suffered an injury during training, and he’s going to be unable to compete. He’s not been medically cleared to compete in that match tomorrow night.”
Who Will Replace Bobby Lashley In WWE’s King Of The Ring Tournament?
Continuing, Aldis explained that Lashley’s associate Angelo Dawkins would be stepping in to take the place of his faction’s leader.
“So unfortunate news for Bobby Lashley, but a fortunate opportunity for the man taking his place. And that man, I have decided, will be Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits. So tomorrow, for the first time ever, Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits will go one-on-one with Tama Tonga in the King of the Ring. Best of luck to both of those men, and I’ll see you all there tomorrow night, only on SmackDown.”
Important Update ahead of tomorrow's #SmackDown KOTR matches: @WWEpic.twitter.com/c5Pkq7I1jq
— Nick ''Lâchez-Vous'' Aldis (@RealNickAldis) May 9, 2024
WWE has since announced first-round matches for the Queen of the Ring tournament.
h/t WrestlingNews.co