WWE star Cody Rhodes competed against Seth Rollins with a gruesome pectoral injury. The ‘American Nightmare’ faced his bitter foe at the Hell in a Cell premium live event inside the cage in Chicago last night.
The 36-year-old entered the cell and stared down his opponent, before taking off his jacket to reveal the horrific injury prompting gasps from the crowd. The entire right side of his chest and right bicep was completely swollen as he slightly tore the pectoral muscle during his brawl with Rollins on Monday Night Raw a week before their fight.
But on Friday, while weight training in preparation for his match, he tore the tendon completely off the bone. Many would have rendered themselves unable to compete, especially in one of the most dangerous matches in the company's history.
But Rhodes battled through and produced one of the most gripping matches the company has seen in some time. The excruciating pain was exacerbated by the vengeful Rollins who used a kendo stick to dig into the significant wound, before smacking him with it.
The former WWE champion continued to apply the pressure and proceeded to powerbomb him through a table. But Rhodes dug deep and was able to turn the tables, and made use of a sledgehammer that came into play.
He then went on to secure the unlikeliest of victories by pinning Rollins in the middle of the ring. The crowd gave him the adulation and respect he deserved after such a brave performance, and the grappler took the time to tell the fans it was his decision to wrestle despite his shocking injury.
"I'm sure I'm gonna explain things a little further tomorrow, I'll be very brief,” he told the audience after the phenomenal match. "No one convinced me, with a torn pec, to come out here. It was solely my decision.
"You would have to literally kill me from staying away from this ring. Ten times out of ten, I would have made the same decision." Later he tweeted: “For the love of the game,” and it is expected the WWE superstar will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Rhodes is the next top superstar who will be absent from WWE programming in the coming weeks and months, along with Roman Reigns who is taking the summer off, Sasha Banks and Naomi are currently suspended after they walked out of Raw and Randy Orton is dealing with a back injury.
