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What's the story?
The Royal Rumble is almost here, set to take place in just two weeks in the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. The pay-per-view will host the traditional Men's over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match, but for the first time, it will host a Female's Rumble match as well for the women.
With the Rumble set to start WWE on the road to Wrestlemania, all the top stars are geared up for the pay-per-view and have announced their participation in the Rumble. However, one of the stars who announced that he would compete in the Rumble match may be absent, and WWE has removed him from the graphic as well.
In case you didn't know...
Samoa Joe suffered an injury on the last episode of Raw during his match with Rhyno. Though it had not been evident at the time, the bottom of his foot had suffered a thick tissue rupture, which put him out of action.
According to the doctor, he is supposed to take two weeks of rehabilitation before he can make a comeback to the ring. With injuries, however, time for healing is never a certainty.
The heart of the matter
Samoa Joe had announced that he would be a part of the 30-Man, over the top rope Royal Rumble match, but following his injury on Raw last week, it seems unlikely he will be able to compete. To fuel the rumours even further, WWE removed him from the Graphic where he had previously been a part of the match.
The old twitter graphic:
The new Twitter Graphic:
His removal from the Rumble match graphic may be a confirmation that he will not be fit to compete in the Rumble.
What's next?
With WWE it is impossible to predict anything, and more so with the Rumble. He may appear as a surprise entrant in the Rumble if he recovers by that time. The Rumble is set to take place on the 28th of January.
Author's take
Samoa Joe missing the Rumble would be a huge loss, both for WWE and the fans, not to mention Joe himself. We at Sportskeeda wish Joe a speedy recovery!
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One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
