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AEW President Tony Khan has seen his roster ravaged by injuries over the past 12 months, and it seems the injury bug is still plaguing his talent as one of his top stars recently worked a major title match while being hurt.
The wrestler in question is Nick Jackson, who on the January 11th edition of Dynamite became one-third of the new AEW Trios Champions. The Elite defeated Death Triangle in an Escalera de la Muerte to reclaim the titles that were stripped from them after All Out.
The title win didn't seem possible at one point, as The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega were 3-1 down heading into the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite on December 21st. However, they put together three consecutive wins on their way to becoming two-time champions.
But The Elite didn't come out unscathed, as Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Nick Jackson worked a lot of the series, including the final, with a broken toe.
“They got through the best-of-seven with nobody missing a match, even though PAC got a broken nose right away and Nick Jackson suffered a broken toe in an early match. He was hurting just walking for the last month plus and still doing all the stuff he did in those matches. It is healing up to where he can walk without that much discomfort." (H/T WrestleTalk)
The PAC injury that Meltzer mentioned was the broken nose he suffered at Full Gear in November 2022, which is why the former All-Atlantic Champion wore a protective mask throughout the series.
One member of The Elite now has gold in AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling
It's safe to say that Kenny Omega isn't holding back in 2023, as he has kickstarted his year better than anyone in the world of wrestling. Not only did he win the AEW Trios Championships on Dynamite, but he also won gold in Japan a week earlier.
Omega became a two-time IWGP United States Champion at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 17 event on January 4th when he defeated Will Ospreay. This currently makes him a double champion, which he was proud to show on his Instagram after the Escalera de la Muerte concluded.
The Cleaner is one title away from matching the amount of gold he held when he was known as "The Belt Collector" in 2021, where he held the top singles titles for AEW, Impact Wrestling, and AAA simultaneously.
Will Kenny Omega add win more gold in 2023? Let us know in the comments section down below!
