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One of the most memorable matches in recent WWE history has to be the Hell in a Cell match between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main-event of the titular premium live event in June of this year.
The match itself was well-received by viewers, but what fans most remember was the injury revealed by Cody Rhodes. Cody tore his pectoral muscle clean off the bone before the match and unveiled a nasty bruise at the start of the contest. He suffered the injury days before the show, yet WWE announced that Rhodes would still compete in the match.
The doubts about it being real or kayfabe were cleared when he took off his jacket before the match. The purple patch that covered half of his chest made the crowd at the Allstate Arena audibly gasp.
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While fans watching reacted with visible shock, his opponent laughed at his handicap. Seth Rollins was recently interviewed by Stephanie Chase of Digital Spy, where he revealed what his actual first reaction to the bruise was:
“It was pretty gnarly. I don’t think I expected it to look like that. I’ve had some torn muscles in my day and I know that the blood seeps down, gravity just takes over but I had never seen anything like that... It was definitely shocking and I think the way I felt about it was how the audience in Chicago felt. They were just very uncomfortable for the first little bit. I think people were even wary just to cheer for him because it was so wild,” said Rollins. (h/t Cageside Seats)
The match was the first on WWE's main-roster in 11 years to receive five-stars from Wrestling Journalist Dave Meltzer. The last match to receive this rating was John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money In The Bank 2011.
When can we expect to see Cody Rhodes back in a WWE ring
With a visiblly injured pectoral tear, Cody Rhodes wrestled inside Hell in a Cell for over 20-minutes. He was written off TV the next night on RAW.
Pectoral tears like this are generally given a recovery time of 6 to 9 months after surgery, which he underwent last month. Meanwhile, Cody himself posted on his Instagram stories that he has been given a 9 month recovery time:
This window puts his return time squarely between January and April of 2023. Right in time for either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. Many are pegging him as one of the favorites for next year's Rumble.
What should also be kept in mind is that such recovery timelines cannot be taken with 100% certainity. John Cena has returned way before schedule on many occasions, Bayley's torn ACL was given a recovery time of 9-months and it has been over a year since we have seen her on TV.
