What’s the story?
In what surely is a major blow to WWE NXT’s tag team division, Shane Thorne of TM-61 – who picked up an injury earlier this month – would be out of action for 7-9 months. WWE NXT’s Twitter handle posted the following unfortunate update earlier in the day with this tweet:
In case you didn’t know...
Cagesideseats had reported a few weeks back that the TM-61 member is all set to undergo a knee surgery to ensure a quick recuperation. TM-61 were all set to get into a feud against former NXT Tag Team Champion The Revival before the injury stalled those plans.
Throne sustained the knock on the knee in a pre-taped match against The Revival, which is scheduled to air as the go-home episode of NXT Takeover: San Antonio. It seems WWE has already made the necessary adjustments to the storyline by re-taping the post-match beatdown on TM-61, that would essentially write them off TV for the time being.
In case you’re oblivious to who Shane Thorne is, the Australian pro wrestler – popularly known by his indie name Shane Haste, is credited for his work for the promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a two-time tag team champion as part of The Mighty Don’t Kneel team.
Teaming up with Nick Miller, Shane Thorne debuted for NXT TM-61 on May 25th, 2016 in a losing effort against current NXT Tag Team Champions Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
The heart of the matter
As mentioned above, Thorne suffered the injury in a pre-taped match against The Revival. Reports suggest that the surgery is already done and that it wasn’t a very serious one. Thorne would now go through rigorous rehabilitation to ensure an impactful return as soon as possible.
What’s next?
The injury requires a minimum of nine months to heal and that means we may only see the promising tag team back on TV at the end of 2017. WWE have already made plans of nixing the Revival-TM61 feud and that could mean the main roster call-up of the two-time NXT champions could be just around the corner.
As for TM-61, WWE could plan on using Thorne’s partner Nick in singles competition for the foreseeable future.
Sportskeeda’s take
Injuries are a part and parcel of pro-wrestling and in these rough times, we could only wish Thorne a speedy recovery. He will surely come back stronger and we’re damn sure about that. Will the layoff affect the long-term plans for the possible tag team title contenders? Only time will tell.
