The upcoming edition of SmackDown will see several first-round qualifier matches for the 2024 King of the Ring tournament and Bobby Lashley was supposed to be a part of it. The All Mighty was scheduled to compete against Tama Tonga on the blue brand in the ongoing men's tournament.
However, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis provided an unfortunate update regarding the former WWE Champion prior to his huge match. Aldis announced that Lashley has been pulled from his qualifier against Tonga and that Angelo Dawkins has taken his place. The reason behind his withdrawal from the King of the Ring tournament is that Bobby Lashley suffered an injury while training.
Therefore, he is not medically cleared to compete in the upcoming edition of SmackDown. While the nature of the injury is obscure as of now, WWE is being quite cautious at the moment.
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The Stamford-based promotion is currently evaluating the situation before providing any details about it. Nick Aldis' announcement on social media was seemingly just to provide a current update and reveal the replacement of The All Mighty in the qualifying match of the men's tournament.
Will Bobby Lashley miss the upcoming SmackDown due to injury?
There have been numerous occasions when superstars suffered injuries and still went on to appear in WWE programming. Drew McIntyre is a prime example, having been making regular appearances on Monday Night RAW despite a hyperextended elbow injury.
Therefore, Bobby Lashley could do the same and appear on the upcoming episode of SmackDown if his injury isn't that serious. However, WWE could also run a backstage angle tonight on blue brand where he is being viciously attacked and therefore being sidelined.
This will help the Stamford-based promotion take The All Mighty away from WWE programming, in case the injury requires immediate surgery. Nevertheless, it appears that the former WWE Champion will not be away from television for long.
Bobby Lashley could miss the upcoming episode of SmackDown and return in the following episode of the blue brand next week. It remains to be seen how things shape up in the coming time.