Samoa Joe Not Available For Mixed Match Challenge Due To Injury

Though he had a dominant victory on this week's episode of WWE Raw, Samoa Joe could be on the shelf yet again.

A former NXT and NWA Champion, Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno in quick fashion on Monday, and was the front-runner in the voting to be Bayley's partner on the upcoming Mixed Match Challenge series, airing on Facebook. On Tuesday however, WWE Raw General Manager Kurt Angle revealed that despite Joe winning the vote, he was injured and unable to participate in the tournament. He's since been replaced by Elias.

You can see Angle's announcement below.

WWE.com also updated the specifics of the injury, which you can see below.

“During his match, [Samoa Joe] felt a pop at the bottom of his [right] foot,” explained WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann. “We took a look and believe he has a plantar fascia rupture, which is a thick tissue rupture under the foot. We will get an MRI to confirm. Treatment includes a period of immobilization in a boot with crutches and platelet rich plasma injections.” 

While we're told the injury is legit, we're told that Samoa Joe won't miss any significant time in the ring.

Following his victory on Raw, Joe called out former training partner John Cena, who eliminated him from November's Survivor Series main event.