AEW’s Red Velvet Reveals Neck Issues and Dislocated Shoulder Caused Wrestling Hiatus

Red Velvet has detailed the injuries that kept her out of action for nearly five months, confirming she dealt with neck problems and a dislocated shoulder suffered during the AEW/ROH x CMLL events in June. She made her return on the November 19 three-hour Dynamite/Collision special, where she defended the ROH Women’s World Television Championship against Mercedes Moné in a unification match that ended with Moné taking both titles.

Speaking on Busted Open, Velvet said she completed the Mexico tour but realized something was wrong once she returned home. She explained that MRIs revealed the full extent of the damage, calling it her first major injury as a champion. Velvet said the symptoms “came out of nowhere,” and she relied on lessons from her previous year-long knee recovery to approach the setback with structure and patience (via Fightful).

“It’s just been a journey so, I was rocking and rolling in my reign. Having a good reign and then we went to Mexico and unfortunately, I got hurt in Mexico. I completed the tour and everything. It wasn’t until I got back that I started feeling weird and we went to get MRIs and figured out I had some things with my neck (and) my shoulder was dislocated so, that began the healing journey that kind of came out of nowhere, and it was the first time I’m getting injured in AEW as a champion, so that was another thing to deal with, and recovery went great. As soon as it happened, I just said to myself, especially after coming back from such a big knee injury that I was gone close to a year, this time around, knowing I wasn’t gonna be gone that long, I was like, ‘Okay, the injury happened.”

She detailed her rehabilitation process: watching AEW programming every week while focusing on strengthening her neck and shoulders. Velvet added that she tries to view injuries as indicators to reset and center herself, using the downtime to align physically and mentally before returning to the ring.

“Let’s put it behind. Straight into healing and comeback, because once you come back, you’re still a champion so it’s not like come back, see where you pop up. It’s gonna be like off to the races’ so, I just focused on that. Every time any injury happens, that’s also a signal to me that it’s not just a physical thing, it’s a mental thing in the body so, I took that time to center myself. But, throughout the injury — I watch AEW every week. If I’m home, I watch it. If I’m there, I watch it. I watch it all the time so I never feel away, even though I’m away. I’m always aware and seeing what’s going on…”

Despite the extended absence, Velvet stayed focused on retaining her championship mindset. She believed she would return ready to “hit the ground running” once cleared. Her comeback match marked an important moment in her title run, even though it resulted in Moné defeating her and unifying the belts.

Red Velvet is now scheduled to face Mercedes Moné again at ROH Final Battle on December 5, giving her an immediate opportunity to reclaim the title.

.@Thee_Red_Velvet wants another shot at @MercedesVarnado for the #ROH Women’s World TV Championship at #ROHFinalBattle!

Watch #AEWCollision on TNT & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/G4ut5iFbE4

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 28, 2025