The March 3rd episode of WWE SmackDown descended into complete and utter chaos.
During the show, Drew McIntyre came to the ring and called out Intercontinental Champion Gunther. Instead of being met by the Austrian star, McIntyre was confronted by Sheamus who said that his friend had gone behind his back in trying to secure a match for the title he is desperate to win. In turn, this brought out LA Knight, Karrion Kross, and the New Day.
As the argument turned into a full-scale brawl, McIntyre launched himself over the top rope into his rivals, with Kofi Kingston taking the brunt of the impact. It was revealed after the show that Kingston had been injured in the incident.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has now reported that although it appears he won’t need surgery, Kingston is likely to miss WrestleMania 39.
“Kingston suffered an ankle injury when McIntyre did a running flip dive on several people. It was just a fluke deal. The time frame we are hearing is five weeks. There was concern earlier it could be longer because he may have needed surgery and if he does need surgery it would be lengthy. But all impressions are based on what he said publicly and the word privately is that he won’t be needing the surgery right now.”
Xavier Woods To Replace Kofi Kingston On WWE SmackDown
Kingston had been due to take part in a huge five-way match to become the number-one contender for the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown. It has been announced that with Kingston injured, he will be replaced by Xavier Woods. The bout on the March 10th episode of the blue brand will feature Woods, Karrion Kross, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Karrion Kross.
In a post on social media addressing the news, Woods said that he’s never been able to challenge for a singles title before, and now it’s time to change that.