WWE Star CM Punk Suffered Brutal Injury In Royal Rumble That May Have Changed Match Result

WWE superstar Cody Rhodes won the annual Royal Rumble match on Saturday night to book his spot in the main event at WrestleMania against Roman Reigns.

It was the second year in a row that Rhodes won the match, becoming the first person to do so since Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1996 and 1997.

But as it turns out, he may not have been the one who was supposed to win after all.

Rhodes threw fellow star CM Punk over the top rope for the final elimination to win the match. Punk was considered by many a “favorite” to win the match and a storyline that would have seen him challenge champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania had already been in the works.

But that plan hit a major snag mid-way through Saturday night’s main event.

That’s when Punk, appearing in his first televised WWE match in over 10 years, tore his already surgically repaired triceps according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.

Some fans spotted the injury during the match and pointed out that Punk could not use his left arm while lifting fellow wrestler Drew McIntyre later in the match.

Did CM Punk Call An Audible Mid-Way Through The Royal Rumble Due To Injury?

The injury has created speculation that WWE, or even Punk himself, may have called an audible mid-way through the match.

Wrestlers will often change the finish of a match if they or their opponent was injured. This is both to protect the injured wrestler and to enhance further storyline continuity.

If Punk knew he was injured, or alerted the referee who told those working backstage, they could have very easily changed the result of the match.

Had Punk won, he likely would have had to relinquish his spot at WrestleMania due to injury. Rhodes also suffered a similarly gruesome, yet far less severe injury during them match.

Now Rhodes can move forward and continue his feud with Reigns. While Punk is likely headed for another long stint on the shelf.