WWE Rumors on Bianca Belair's Schedule; Injury Updates on Xavier Woods and R-Truth

Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Belair Reportedly Taking Scheduled Time Off

WWE reportedly wrote Bianca Belair off television recently for some scheduled time off, although it is not known how long she will be gone.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), the Damage CTRL attack that focused on Belair's knee on the Aug. 18 episode of SmackDown was meant to write The EST out of storylines for the time being.

Fightful noted that the knee injury is not legitimate, and it is simply a means to keep Belair off TV during her planned hiatus.

While Belair's status is unclear in that regard, sources were unsure how long Belair would be gone, telling Fightful she could be out of action anywhere "from a few weeks to possibly three months."

Belair has been a true workhorse in the WWE women's division since getting called up to the main roster a few years ago with nary a break, so she has undoubtedly earned a bit of time off.

At SummerSlam, Belair won a Triple Threat match against Asuka and Charlotte Flair to become a three-time women's champion, but her celebration was short-lived, as Damage CTRL member Iyo Sky successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to become the new champion.

Given that Iyo and Bayley were responsible for her storyline injury, Belair figures to target them when she returns and renew the rivalry she had with Sky a few months ago.

Until then, it will be up to the likes of Damage CTRL, Asuka and Flair to carry the workload for the SmackDown women's division.

Woods Not Medically Cleared For Raw Next Week

New Day member Xavier Woods said Tuesday that he is not medically cleared to be at next week's Raw after taking a chair to the face this week.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Woods wrote that he had been looking forward to wrestling on his birthday, which is Monday, Sept. 4, but since he is suffering from whiplash, he won't be back until the following week:

It is unclear if Woods' injury is legitimate or part of a storyline, but he was involved in a shocking spot on this week's Raw when Drew McIntyre hurled a chair from the announce table at his head.

From a storyline standpoint, McIntyre was aiming for Viking Raiders member Erik, but missed and hit Woods instead.

McIntyre and Riddle were ringside for the New Day vs. Viking Raiders match due to their recent issues with Erik and Ivar, and The Viking Raiders took advantage of the opportunity to take a cheap shot at them.

Later in the show, Kofi Kingston walked out of the trainer's office, and McIntyre apologized for the mistake. Kofi accepted the apology on behalf of Woods and said he knew Drew wasn't trying to hurt his tag team partner.

Next week on Raw, McIntyre and Riddle are set for a match against The Viking Raiders, and based on Woods' tweet, it sounds as though New Day won't have any involvement.

R-Truth Says He's Returning from Injury Soon

Longtime WWE Superstar R-Truth may be nearing his return from injury after missing the past 10 months.

Per PWStream, R-Truth said Tuesday on a TikTok livestream that he is set to return to WWE "in the near future."

Truth has not been seen on WWE programming since the Nov. 1 episode of NXT when he suffered an injury during a loss to Grayson Waller.

One week after suffering the injury, Truth announced on social media that he had torn his quad and needed to undergo surgery:

Truth later divulged in January that he had to undergo a second surgery after suffering an infection as a result of the first surgery.

The 51-year-old Truth is one of the longest-tenured performers in WWE, having been on the roster since 2008. He actually made his WWE debut under the name K-Kwik in 2000, but he was released in 2002 and spent some time in TNA before returning.

Truth has long been a beloved figure in the world of pro wrestling both by fans and his peers due to his infectious personality, and it has been sorely missed on WWE programming.

Despite being over 50 years of age, Truth was still performing at a high level prior to his injury, so he will be a major return to the roster when he is cleared to compete.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.