Another NXT Star Not Cleared To Wrestle, Pulled From This Week’s Show

Hopefully it isn’t too bad. There are all kinds of reasons why a wrestler might miss a show and that is certainly the case today. With so many changes in the world in the last year and a half, it is not even that much of a surprise when someone misses a show due to some sort of medical issue. That seems to be the case again, though this time there are still a few questions.

NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida was pulled from this week’s show after not being medically cleared. There is no word on what is wrong with Kushida to keep him out of action. General Manager William Regal confirmed the news earlier in the day and announced that Kushida would be replaced on the show. Kushida himself commented, saying that he was not medically cleared but would be back on television soon.

This week’s edition of NXT was scheduled to include a Cruiserweight Title match with Kushida defending against Roderick Strong. With Kushida unavailable, Strong issued an open challenge and was defeated by Ilja Dragunov. Later in the show, Strong’s manager Malcolm Bivens said that since Dragunov is not a cruiserweight, Strong still has his guaranteed title shot at some point in the future.

Unfortunately after a medical examination, officials learned @KUSHIDA_0904 is not cleared to compete tonight. When I informed @Malcolmvelli and @roderickstrong, they expressed Roderick’s desire to compete.

Therefore, #WWENXT will begin with a #DiamondMine open challenge.

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) August 17, 2021

I'm sorry for everyone who was looking forward to tonight title match. Did not cleared the medical. I can't do anything and I'm just stunned…
I promise to be back on TV soon.
Thank you for your support?@WWENXT

— KUSHIDA (@KUSHIDA_0904) August 17, 2021

Kushida is a heck of a champion. Check out what he can do and what happened in his absence:

Santos Escobar vs. Kushida – NXT Cruiserweight Champion Match: WWE NXT, April 13, 2021

Ilja Dragunov vs. Roderick Strong: WWE NXT, Aug. 17, 2021

Kushida vs. Pete Dunne: NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, April 7, 2021

Opinion: Hopefully this isn’t anything bad, but it could very well be something that is fine in a day or so. The same thing was true last week with Ember Moon and it wound up being a dental surgery issue. What matters most is that Kushida is healthy, which is always a nice thing to have as he can do a lot for NXT. Kushida has been Cruiserweight Champion for about four months now and it has done the title some good, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

What do you think of Kushida’s reign? How long will he hold the title? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books.

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