4-time WWE champion undergoes surgery following recent injury - Reports

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A former WWE champion has undergone surgery following a recent injury. The star in question was released by the company in 2023 but was recently in action on WWE television.

Elijah, formerly known as Elias, signed with TNA Wrestling following his departure from the company a couple of years ago. WWE and TNA have been working together as of late, and Elijah has made some appearances on NXT. Elijah teamed up with John Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura to defeat AJ Francis, Trick Williams, and Wes Lee on NXT this week.

Elijah was injured during the match and reportedly has already undergone surgery. According to a new report from Fightful Select, the former 24/7 Champion has undergone surgery for a torn triceps. The report noted that the injury occurred as the veteran was going for a Double Knees off the top rope. The former champion broke his landing with his arms, and that is when the injury was sustained.

The 37-year-old captured the 24/7 Championship four times during his tenure with the company.

Former WWE writer reveals he pitched a gimmick for Elijah

Wrestling legend Vince Russo recently shared that he pitched a gimmick for Elijah, but Vince McMahon was not a fan.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo show, the veteran stated that the former WWE star reached out to him to help create a new character for himself. However, Russo shared that the idea went over Vince McMahon's head.

"Elias went as far as to send me money (...) Bro, if a talent wants to call me, bounce stuff off me, I am always gonna give them that. I don't want a dime from you. He actually sent me money because what happened was, Elias went away and Vince was gonna bring him back and the creative was freaking horrible. And he knew it was horrible, he was like, 'Vince, I will be dead in the water.' So we got on the phone together and I gave him a really, really good gimmick, and he went and pitched it to Vince and it was just so far over Vince's head that he couldn't comprehend it." [3:54 onwards]

You can check out the video below:

Only time will tell how long the TNA star will be out of action following his injury this past Tuesday night on WWE NXT.