WWE Rumors on Drew McIntyre Injury, Indie Tryout; AEW Fight Forever Video Game Buzz

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

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McIntyre Reportedly Dealing with Legitimate Injury

Drew McIntyre was pulled from a scheduled match on Friday's episode of SmackDown, and more potential information has come to light regarding why.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Wilkinson), McIntyre is dealing with a legitimate injury, but the exact nature of it isn't known.

McIntyre and Sheamus were advertised to challenge The Usos for the undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships on this week's SmackDown, but it was announced that McIntyre will be replaced by Butch.

In a tweet, McIntyre noted he is disappointed he can't compete but is medically disqualified:

McIntyre's most recent televised match came at Survivor Series WarGames on Nov. 26 when he teamed with Sheamus, Butch, Ridge Holland and Kevin Owens against The Bloodline.

The Bloodline came out on top when Sami Zayn pledged his allegiance to Roman Reigns and The Bloodline by taking out his former best friend in Owens.

McIntyre is a former two-time WWE champion and arguably the top babyface on SmackDown. He has issues with The Bloodline dating back several months, and he was cost the chance to beat Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle in September by the main roster debut of Solo Sikoa.

Since then, McIntyre has joined forces with formal rivals Sheamus and The Brawling Brutes, becoming an honorary member.

Until McIntyre can return, The Brawling Brutes and possibly Owens figure to be the primary foils for Reigns and The Bloodline.

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Top Indie Talents Reportedly Have WWE Tryout

Two highly touted independent wrestlers reportedly took part in a tryout at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, this week.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, both Kylie Rae and KC Navarro were confirmed to be present at the tryout.

Rae is best known for being an original AEW roster member and competing at the inaugural Double or Nothing event in 2019; however, she requested and was granted her release shortly thereafter.

"Smiley Kylie" went on to spend time in Impact Wrestling and NWA as well. She announced her retirement from pro wrestling in November 2020 to focus on her mental health, but she returned the following year.

The 30-year-old Rae's gimmick is reminiscent of Bayley's original babyface character in NXT.

Navarro, 23, is a smallish wrestler at just 5'5", but he is regarded as one of the best high flyers on the independent scene.

He has worked extensively for both CZW and MLW, plus he made a few appearances for Impact Wrestling and AEW, with his matches for the latter promotions taking place on AEW Dark.

Navarro is perhaps one of the best young prospects available, making him an ideal target for the NXT developmental brand.

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Latest Info on AEW Fight Forever Video Game

AEW wrestler Evil Uno of Dark Order provided some news regarding the upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game this week.

In an interview with Fightful (h/t Sunil Joseph of Ringside News), Evil Uno gave some details that had not previously been made public about the game.

Uno, who has aided in the game's development, said "he is of the belief" that AEW Fight Forever will be a one-time release that can be expanded and added to through downloadable content over time.

He suggested that means a new AEW video game won't be released yearly, unlike WWE and other sports video game franchises.

Evil Uno also confirmed that 50 playable characters will be available in the game at launch, with more being added in the future.

AEW Fight Forever still does not have an official release date.

When the game does release, presumably sometime in 2023, it will be available on the past two generations of Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.

A new gameplay trailer was released for the game two weeks ago in anticipation of its eventual release.

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