WWE Rumors on Bianca Belair's Injury, NXT Call-Ups, Tony D'Angelo's Status

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

Updates on Belair's Finger Injury

Bianca Belair has not competed in a match since WrestleMania 41 back in April, and she has reportedly been out of action for much longer than originally anticipated.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Belair broke the knuckle of one of her fingers on a triple German suplex spot during her classic Triple Threat against Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Because she broke her knuckle and not just her finger, the injury was reportedly worse than initially thought, leading to a longer-than-expected absence.

There is still no known timeline for The EST's return to action, so WWE could continue to be without one of its top stars for the foreseeable future.

Even while out injured for more than five months, Belair has made various appearances on WWE programming, including serving as the special guest referee for the No Holds Barred match between Jade Cargill and Naomi at Evolution/

While Belair brought additional star power to the match, her presence as an active wrestler has been sorely missed.

The likes of Sky, Ripley, Tiffany Stratton, Stephanie Vaquer, Cargill, Naomi and others have thrived during Belair's recovery, but there is little doubt that Bianca returning would give the women's division a huge shot in the arm.

Predicting when Belair will return is difficult since there is no indication if she is weeks or months away, but one can only assume WWE is hopeful to have her back by the Royal Rumble in January at the latest.

WWE Reportedly Changes How NXT Call-Ups Are Done

WWE reportedly no longer telegraphs call-ups from NXT to the main roster as obviously as it once did.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), main roster call-ups are now kept "way closer to the vest," and they don't necessarily have to have a clear finish to their run in NXT before getting the call to Raw or SmackDown.

There was once a time when call-ups were far more obvious, which would lead to a Superstar losing their farewell match before receiving a standing ovation and appreciative chants from the NXT fans.

However, WWE's apparent preference now is to keep fans guessing so they can't necessarily be sure when an NXT star is going to resurface on the main roster.

A perfect example of that is Oba Femi, who somewhat surprisingly dropped the NXT Championship to Ricky Saints at No Mercy last week.

In the past, that may have been a sign that Femi was set to get called up, but while he did not appear on Tuesday's episode of NXT, it is seemingly far from guaranteed that a call-up is on the horizon.

It still may happen, though, and if it does, it will conceivably catch more fans off guard since the decision to call Oba up wasn't so clearly spelled out.

Latest on D'Angelo's Potential Main Roster Call-Up

WWE has reportedly been tight-lipped about its plans for Tony D'Angelo amid his absence from NXT programming.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Bryan Alvarez said that while he has presumed D'Angelo is in line for a call-up to the main roster, information regarding D'Angelo's next move has been difficult to come by.

Known as "The Don," D'Angelo has enjoyed a highly successful run in NXT since his debut in late 2021.

D'Angelo, who portrays a mob boss character, eventually formed a stable known as the D'Angelo Family, and he went on to become a two-time NXT tag team champion, one-time North American champion and one-time Heritage Cup champion.

However, the D'Angelo Family imploded this year, leading to a Triple Threat between D'Angelo, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino on the July 15 episode of NXT, which D'Angelo won.

That was Tony D's last televised match, though, as he hasn't been seen on WWE programming since the July 29 episode of NXT.

During that show, D'Angelo was shown sitting at a table and being approached by a shadowy figure. There has been no follow-up to the segment, and it is uncertain who confronted D'Angelo.

The segment has been compared to the ending of the hugely popular television series The Sopranos, as the main character Tony Soprano was seemingly approached by an unknown person in the final scene, only for it to cut to black.

It has long been theorized by fans of the show that the scene was meant to suggest that Soprano got murdered, so it is natural to correlate the D'Angelo segment with him essentially getting written out of NXT.

If that is the case, it means one of the best characters in all of WWE is preparing for a main roster run on Raw or SmackDown in the near future.