Kofi Kingston Injury, Bray Wyatt Return, Johnny Impact in July 9 WWE Roundup

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

Kingston Reportedly Dealing with Minor Injury

Kofi Kingston is reportedly working through a minor injury ahead of his WWE Championship match against Samoa Joe at Extreme Rules on Sunday.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton, it was announced at Monday's WWE live event in Glens Falls, New York, that Kingston would be unable to wrestle due to injury. Kofi instead accompanied New Day partners Big E and Xavier Woods to the ring for their match against The B-Team.

Middleton added that a correspondent who attended the show said Kingston announced he was hurt in a match against Dolph Ziggler the night before, but would be ready for Extreme Rules.

Kingston has been on a roll since beating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, as he has picked up pay-per-view wins over Kevin Owens and Ziggler.

Kofi is about to face his stiffest challenge yet against Joe at Extreme Rules. The Samoan Submission Machine has already put Kingston to sleep twice with the Coquina Clutch, although Kofi did get some retribution last week by laying him out with Trouble in Paradise on SmackDown.

Assuming Kingston is relatively healthy and able to go all out at Extreme Rules, he and Joe have a legitimate chance to steal the show.

Latest on Wyatt's In-Ring Return

Bray Wyatt has not competed in a televised match in nearly a year, but his in-ring drought may soon be set to end.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Middleton), Wyatt is set to return to WWE programming "any day now," although specifics regarding his exact return date and potential first opponent remain unclear.

After airing Wyatt's Firefly Funhouse on Raw and SmackDown Live for weeks, Wyatt has not been seen for the past month. WWE has kept him relevant, though, by placing Firefly Funhouse characters in the background of backstage shots during that time.

Before his lengthy absence from television, Wyatt was in a tag team with Matt Hardy, and they held the Raw Tag Team Championships for a time. Their last match together was in August 2018, and it wasn't until April that vignettes began airing for Wyatt's eventual return.

Wyatt has always had a unique character, but his current gimmick is unlike anything that has been seen before in WWE. While he attempts to come off as a good person who appeals toward children, his characters shifts on a dime to being a demonic, cult leader of sorts.

Fans have been waiting a long time for Wyatt to get back on TV regularly and enter into a legitimate feud, and with SummerSlam coming up next month, it stands to reason that WWE will want to put him in a significant program.

If that is the case, then perhaps Monday's post-Extreme Rules episode of Raw will be the perfect time for Wyatt to make his return.

Johnny Impact Reportedly Done with Impact

Johnny Impact reportedly finished up his run with Impact Wrestling at Sunday's Slammiversary pay-per-view, according to PWInsider (h/t Middleton).

Impact's deal with Impact Wrestling reportedly expired "several weeks ago," but he agreed to work through Slammiversary so he could put over X-Division champion Rich Swann.

PWInsider noted that while Impact is a free agent, he is negotiating with Impact Wrestling to potentially continue working with the company.

The 39-year-old veteran signed with Impact in 2017 and went on to win the Impact World Championship on one occasion. His primary promotion prior to joining Impact was Lucha Underground, but there has been no word on whether another season of the show will be produced.

Impact is perhaps best known for his run in WWE from 2004-2011 as Johnny Nitro and then John Morrison.

During his WWE tenure, Impact was a five-time Tag Team champion, three-time Intercontinental champion and one-time ECW champion.

Impact figures to be a hot commodity on the free-agent market with both WWE and All Elite Wrestling potentially emerging as landing spots. Impact is married to Impact Wrestling star Taya Valkyrie as well, and his decision could possibly influence where she signs her next contract.

While Impact never realized his full potential in WWE, the fact that Drew McIntyre left WWE and returned as a top star could go a long way toward helping WWE bring Impact back into the fold if he has interest in a return.

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