What's the story?
Tyler Bate suffered an injury in his match against Kassius Ohno as part of Progress' Super Strong Style weekend, which forced him to withdraw from his semi-final match earlier today.
In case you didn't know...
Tyler Bate hasn't been featured on WWE TV since he was defeated by TJP as part of the Cruiserweight Tournament back in November 2017. There were rumors back in 2017 that Bate could have been the subject of some backstage heat, but these were never confirmed.
The inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion isn't currently part of any upcoming storylines but he has already been announced as part of the upcoming United Kingdom Tournament where British Strong Style will be facing Undisputed Era.
Whilst Bate isn't appearing on WWE TV, he still performs outside of WWE on a regular basis and injuries are always a huge risk for stars who have future plans with WWE.
The heart of the matter
Bate was part Progress' Super Strong Style weekend when he faced Kassius Ohno on Sunday night as part of the tournament. Even though Bate went on to win the match, the company later revealed on Twitter that there was a powerbomb that caused Bate a few problems and that he now has a twinge in his shoulder that meant he would have to sit out of the semi-final match that he earned.
Kassius Ohno took Tyler Bate's spot in his semi final match against Zack Gibson and picked up the win, but it was Zack Sabre Jr that stole the weekend when he defeated Ohno in the final to win Super Strong Style 16.
What's next?
The WWE United Kingdom Tournament takes place next month and in the above video, Bate claims that it's just a twinge, which means that he should be recovered in time to take part in the second annual tournament.
Author's take
Injuries happen, Bate wants to be out there performing whilst WWE aren't using him on TV but at the same time he knows that any injuries could prove costly for him if the company has plans for him. Even a small injury can become a lengthy layoff so Bate did the right thing in sitting out of the match and living to fight another day.