WWE Rumors on Tanga Loa's Contract, Dom Mysterio's Injury and Joe Gacy's NXT Future

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Tanga Loa's Contract Timeline Revealed

Saturday's Backlash premium live event kicked off in a big way when Tanga Loa made his surprise debut to assist his brother Tama Tonga and Solo Sikoa in their tag team match against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton.

While fans were shocked over the veteran showing up and aligning himself with The Bloodline, Loa's WWE debut reportedly was in the works for quite some time.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, it was revealed that Loa's contract agreement with WWE was completed at the same time as Tonga's. However, it was decided to keep his deal a secret because his departure from New Japan Pro Wrestling was never publicly announced.

"Tanga Loa's deal and Tama Tonga's were actually together, it's just that [with Tanga Loa], it didn't get out because New Japan never announced [his contract expiring], they never gave him a farewell," the report stated (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News). "WWE obviously never announces anything like this, but this is not like something from the last two weeks, this deal was decided on months ago."

Tonga and Loa teamed together in NJPW as the Guerillas of Destiny, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship a record seven times. Their addition to The Bloodline adds another interesting layer to one of the best storylines of the modern era.

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Dominik Mysterio Provides Positive Update on His Injury

Dominik Mysterio has been wearing a sling on his arm in recent weeks, and while he's set to be out of action for a bit, he appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario.

Per Nikunj Walia of Ringside News, initial reports indicated that Mysterio could be facing Tommy John surgery. However, the 27-year-old confirmed that he will not be required to undergo surgery to address his injury and he has opted for physical therapy instead.

A timeline for Mysterio's recovery was also provided in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

"Dominik Mysterio, who was at first expected to need surgery for his elbow injury, will instead be avoiding surgery and going with personal therapy. He expects to be back in six to eight weeks," the report stated. "As noted last week, the injury was viewed as a freak accident in his [April 15] match on TV with Andrade."

Mysterio's injury is another blow to The Judgment Day, as his on-screen partner Rhea Ripley is also sidelined with a shoulder injury that forced her to relinquish her Women's World Championship last month.

Mysterio will likely maintain his status as one of WWE's top villains while he's sidelined, but he won't be in action in the ring anytime soon.

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NXT's Joe Gacy Reportedly Set to Jump to Main Roster

The 2024 WWE draft featured the main-roster call-ups of multiple NXT Superstars like Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Lyra Valkyria and Blair Davenport, and it sounds like another is set to follow them soon.

According to PWInsider (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), NXT Superstar Joe Gacy was recently seen at WWE Headquarters for a meeting to discuss upcoming plans for his career, and he's "likely on his way to the main roster."

After a lengthy career on the independent circuit, Gacy joined WWE in 2020 and made his television debut the following year. He took part in multiple notable rivalries and was the leader of Schism for a time. He most recently had a feud with Dijak that included some hard-hitting matches.

Gacy's main-roster call-up could coincide with the vignettes that have been seen over the past few weeks that indicate characters related to the late Bray Wyatt could be coming soon. Wyatt's brother Bo Dallas has been rumored to be resuming his Uncle Howdy gimmick and starting a new stable.

Placing Gacy in a faction alongside Dallas and other established stars could be a perfect way to introduce him to the main roster.

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