Dominik Mysterio, the Intercontinental Champion of WWE, has been unable to defend his title against AJ Styles in an upcoming Night of Champions event in Riyadh owing to a rib injury. This was announced in the most recent episode of WWE Raw where on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce told Styles about change.
He went later on the broadcast confirming injury and revealing his disappointment with missing event. This move is especially effective because Mysterio has been a major part of the WWE programming and his loss will be sorely missed by fans and other wrestlers.
A History of Recent Injuries
This is not first time that he has been plagued with injury setbacks. In April 2024, he had a "freak accident" in a match against Andrade, which caused a slight tear to his Tommy John ligament a form of injury more associated with baseball players. Mysterio chose rehabilitation instead of surgery at that point and he wanted to recover in six to eight weeks.
The recent rib injury further increases number of superstars that are out of commission in WWE including Liv Morgan and Rey Mysterio, the father of Dominik. These vacancies are leading to major rearrangements of event rosters and plots, providing WWE creative departments with a difficult task of keeping up.
In spite of these challenges, WWE has been determined to provide quality entertainment. The Night of Champions will go on as scheduled and will also include other featured matches like CM Punk vs. John Cena in a title match of Undisputed WWE Championship and finals of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments.
Fans are optimistic that Mysterio will recover soon and be back into the ring. His strong spirit and commitment have been demonstrated in his career and fans are patiently waiting to see his comeback.