Robert Roode's WWE Absence
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- Robert Roode’s career as a wrestler was put into uncertainty due to needing neck fusion surgery after suffering continuous issues with his neck. His absence from WWE programming has stretched on for two years, adding more and more questions from fans as to where he is and when, if ever, he is set to come back. In the last month or so there has been a big development when it comes to the prospect of him being back in a WWE ring or at least in front of a camera. This will explore recent revelations from Roode, which contain both good and bad news.
For almost two years, one of the fan favorites from WWE has been out of action. Sadly, you could almost forget that he's gone, as he wasn't pushed much on the main roster in the time before he left, but for ten months Robert Roode has been out of action with an injury so severe that it's not out of the realm of possibility that he never wrestles again.
UPDATE: 2024/03/21 17:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
Robert Roode’s career as a wrestler was put into uncertainty due to needing neck fusion surgery after suffering continuous issues with his neck. His absence from WWE programming has stretched on for two years, adding more and more questions from fans as to where he is and when, if ever, he is set to come back. In the last month or so there has been a big development when it comes to the prospect of him being back in a WWE ring or at least in front of a camera. This will explore recent revelations from Roode, which contain both good and bad news.
Robert Roode Has A Lasting Legacy In Pro Wrestling
Roode Found Success In More Than One Promotion
Championship Won | Promotion | Number Of Wins |
|---|---|---|
TNA World Heavyweight Championship | TNA | 2 |
NXT Championship | WWE | 1 |
United States Championship | WWE | 1 |
SmackDown Tag Team Championships | WWE | 1 |
RAW Tag Team Championships | WWE | 2 |
TNA World Tag Team Championships | TNA | 6 |
NWA World Tag Team Championships | TNA | 2 |
King Of The Mountain Championship | TNA | 1 |
For the vast majority of his wrestling career, Robert Roode was a mainstay in TNA. From 2004-2016, Roode did all there was to do in the promotion. He was a two-time World Champion and an eight-time Tag Team Champion, with five of those reigns coming with James Storm in the popular formation known as Beer Money, Inc.
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Jack Perry hasn't been seen in AEW since his backstage fight with CM Punk at AEW All In, but that doesn't mean he's no longer wrestling.In 2016, Roode left his comfortable surroundings and took a risk on WWE. At 40 years old, if he was ever going to make the jump, it was now or never. He excelled in NXT in his "Glorious" gimmick. The music, the robe, the entrance, not to mention the always evident talent and charisma, made him the face of the brand, where he became the NXT Champion. In 2017, he joined the main roster, and as so many do in the transition from NXT to Raw or SmackDown, Roode lost much of his luster bit by bit. He wasn't a failure. There was a decent United States Championship run, a few tag team title wins, but he was never treated like the megastar that he was in NXT.
At the end of his run, he was working with Dolph Ziggler both on the main roster and in NXT. In April 2022 he competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Then, after a live event match in June 2022, he disappeared.
A Serious Neck Injury Has Kept Robert Roode Out Of Action
Roode Has Been Out Of The Ring For Some Time
- Roode required neck fusion surgery
- Roode's last WWE match came all the way back in 2022
- He has kept fans updated with his progress
Months after last being seen in WWE, Robert Roode took to Instagram to give a short status report, showing a picture of an Orthopedics office and writing, "Heading home after what is hoped to be a successful trip to Birmingham AL," before thanking the doctors who had taken care of him.
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Cora Jade was a must-see part of NXT television. However, she's been gone for a while now and there is no timetable for her return.There was hope that Roode wouldn't be out too long, but in December Roode took to Instagram again to elaborate on the devastating news that would keep him sidelined indefinitely. Accompanied by a picture of Roode from his hospital was a short message that said,
"Big thank you to Dr Andy Cordover and his amazing staff at @andrews_sports_medicine and St Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham Alabama. C5/6 fusion is complete. Now the work begins. Recovery and Rehabilitation. Looking forward to the challenge."
Neck fusion surgery is about as serious as it gets without being life-threatening. Unfortunately, it's not an uncommon surgery for wrestlers to go through due to the brutal nature of their job. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Edge, and Tommaso Ciampa are just a few who famously had to have neck fusion surgeries. They were all able to come back several months later.
At the age he is, recovery is that much harder for Roode. Following surgery, returning to the ring was something very, very far ahead in the future. For two decades he's been proving everyone wrong. There's no reason to think he can't do it again. It sure would be interesting to see what he could do in WWE with his NXT boss, Triple H, now in charge of creative.
Robert Roode Is Cleared For Action But Isn’t Planning A Return
Roode Is Healthy Once Again
- Roode is now a WWE producer
- He has been cleared for in-ring competition
- He is smartly choosing to avoid returning
Due to spending so long out of the ring, Robert Roode and WWE took a different path with his career. With Roode on the shelf, he ventured into a part of the business that many former superstars, and those who have retired early in fact such as Tyson Kidd and Jason Jordan, and that was as a producer. Throughout his recovery Roode has continued his work in WWE in this capacity. It was first reported by PWInsider back at SummerSlam 2023 that Roode would be transitioning into this role, though it wasn’t clear at the time for how long that would be. When speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (h/t F4WOnline), Roode revealed that working backstage in WWE was the long-term goal of him coming to WWE in the first place.
“Like I said, that was kind of like the game plan. When I came to WWE, I had my conversation with Triple H before coming to NXT. And at that time, I was almost 40. So I remember him, I was on a three-way call with him and Matt Bloom and I remember him asking me, 'So what do you want to do? Do you want to come here and coach? Do you want to be a coach?' And I'm like, 'Well, maybe one day, that's my goal, but I feel like I got a lot left in the tank.' He gave me that opportunity, which I'm super grateful for and here I am today. I had a pretty good run in NXT and then had a pretty good run on the main roster.”
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WWE fans have not seen Alexa Bliss since the 2023 Royal Rumble, but she has assured them that she will be back.There was little news outside of Roode getting his neck fusion surgeries when it came to a career inside the ring, but in that same interview he revealed that he had in fact been cleared for an in-ring return, but had no plans to do so for the foreseeable future.
“Ironically enough, I just got green-lighted. The fusion has completely fused. So as far as like, looking at it from a medical point of view, it's safe to get back in the ring, I guess. But at almost 48 years old, given the opportunity that I've been given now to work as a producer, which was my goal coming to WWE almost eight years ago, I'm quite happy doing this. And I feel like I've had a good run, as they say, and I'm happy to do what I'm doing now.”
Roode mentioned that he, like many others, would love one more match, but he is well aware that when the wheels fall off, it might be best to stay clear. Don’t expect to see Roode back on a WWE screen, unless it is to pull apart brawls.
