WWE SmackDown Star reportedly star set to miss Royal Rumble following run-in with Ronda Rousey

After her recent physical altercation with Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, WWE Superstar Natalya's latest injury may lead her to miss one of the biggest events on the company's calendar.

Last week on SmackDown, the Queen of Hearts was laying lifeless in the ring after she lost to Baszler by submission. After the match, Rousey's close friend took things to the extreme when the SmackDown Women's Champion instructed her to knee Nattie right in the face. This assault led to the Canadian star suffering from a severely broken nose.

According to Dave Meltzer, who wrote in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the WWE veteran is set to be out of action for at least three months, meaning she will miss the Royal Rumble on January 28th, 2023.

"Natalya suffered a dislocated nose and needed surgery on 11/7. She will be out of action a minimum of three months and perhaps a little longer because they will be waiting for it to fully heal and this isn’t the three weeks back after ankle surgery she did a few years back to prove she could." (H/T WrestleTalk)

You can check her uncensored post HERE

This past week, Natalya had successful surgery on her nose, with the medical team moving her broken bone back into place. However, fans will not see her on-screen for a long time. We at Sportskeeda wish her the speediest of recoveries.

WWE Legend on Ronda Rousey finally teaming up with Shayna Baszler

Given that both women were real friends long before their time in WWE, as well as their experiences in the UFC, it is surprising to many that the company is only now putting both women together on-screen.

Echoing this point is former WWE Manager Dutch Mantell (a.k.a Zeb Colter), who stated on Sportskeeda Wrestling's SmackTalk that as a story, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler's partnership creates many story opportunities.

"Well, they've opened the door now and they have a lot of ways to go in that too. I think they should have been teamed up a long time ago. It gives them a lot of avenues to go and I actually like that because that's a story in and of itself," Mantell said.

The former WWE manager also said how surprising how long it has taken for the company to pair the two stars together.

"I don't know why they waited so long to do this. I mean, that's the story that looks at you. They are both from the UFC and from the MMA world. I don't know if they ever had that idea, why they didn't follow through. I like that and I like the little touch of blood at the end." (H/T Sportskeeda)

Tonight on SmackDown, Liv Morgan, Raquel Gonzales, Xia Li, Shotzi, Lacey Evans, and Sonya Deville will meet in the ring to decide the new number-one contender for Ronda Rousey's title.

Who should Ronda Rousey next face for her SmackDown Women's title? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.