According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Fish will be undergoing surgery on his knee in Birmingham, AL, this week after injuring it this weekend at a house show. What type of injury it was, the severity, and his expected time out was not specified.

At the Wednesday tapings, Roderick Strong and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne replaced Tyler Bate and Trent Seven in the first round of the tournament and eventually advanced to the finals against the Authors of Pain. After Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly ran in and caused a double DQ in the finals, GM William Regal came out and announced that at TakeOver New Orleans, it would be the AOP vs. Strong/Dunne vs. the Undisputed Era for both the NXT tag titles and the Dusty Classic trophy.

Regal didn’t say that Fish/O’Reilly were stripped of the belts, but that could be something added in post-production. If they are not stripped, that would mean that Cole and O’Reilly would be defending the titles, essentially invoking the “Freebirds Rule”. That would also be assuming that Fish’s injury will keep him out for a month or more as TakeOver is on April 7th and he was not at the tapings.

That would also mean that Cole would be working twice on the show as he will be part of the ladder match to determine the new North American champion.

My Thoughts

It certainly feels like WWE/NXT officials are hoping that Fish can return in time for Takeover. If not it appears Cole could be working double duty, which would give him an excuse to lose one of the two matches. This injury is something worth keeping an eye on with Takeover right around the corner. 

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