Willow Nightingale’s Injury Reportedly ‘Derailed’ Plans for the Owen Hart Tournament

As previously reported, Willow Nightingale was recently sidelined with a shoulder injury. As a result, she was forced to vacate the TBS Championship and withdraw from the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The latest Fightful Select Answers Q&A had some more insight regarding Nightingale’s withdrawal.

In the Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp answered a fan question regarding why AEW opted to have Nightingale announce her injury in a backstage promo segment instead of in front of the live crowd to get a bigger reaction. Sapp noted that he “wasn’t given a specific reason” regarding that choice.

However, Sapp did note that Nightingale’s injury “derailed” the tournament “pretty heavily.” That said, it’s unknown if Nightingale was the planned winner for this year’s tournament. Sapp also added that “a lot of plans were adjusted” due to Willow Nightingale getting hurt.

Interestingly enough, Mercedes Mone made a shocking AEW TV return this week, replacing her former rival in the tournament. She beat Alex Windsor to advance to the semifinals.