WWE announced that superstar Zack Ryder sustained a legit during a battle royal match to determine the no.1 contender for the WWE SmackdownLive tag-team championship last Tuesday in Washington D.C
Ryder, who comprises one-half of the Hype Bros alongside Mojo Rawley, found his battle royal victory for the right to face reigning tag-team champion Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Luke Harper) bittersweet.
The former Intercontinental and US champion was the last man in the ring after eliminating Konnor of the Ascension. Inaugural Smackdown champion Heath Slater and Rhyno, the Vaudevillians, the Ascension, American Alpha and Breezango also participated in the no.1 contender match.
According to WWE.com, the injury happened when the Hype Bros. man attempted a Rough Ryder move during the match, causing the kneecap to pop in and pop back in its place.
Here's the full press release from the WWE on that matter via Lords of Pain:
Breaking News: Zack Ryder suffers knee injury
"On the Dec. 13 episode of SmackDown LIVE, Zack Ryder suffered an injury to his left knee. The injury took place when Long Island Iced-Z attempted a Rough Ryder in the same contest in which The Hype Bros won a Tag Team No. 1 Contenders' Battle Royal. This victory gave them the right to challenge SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Family.
After the match, Ryder was carried to the trainer's room and is currently on crutches.
"On the Dec. 13 episode of SmackDown LIVE, Zack Ryder suffered an injury to his left knee. The injury took place when Long Island Iced-Z attempted a Rough Ryder in the same contest in which The Hype Bros won a Tag Team No. 1 Contenders' Battle Royal. This victory gave them the right to challenge SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Family."
"We think he injured his kneecap or his patella. We think it popped out and then popped back in, so we're just going to do an MRI to make sure that there is not cartilage damage or some tendon tearing, stuff like that," according to WWE's Dr. Chris Robinson. "Hopefully there's not and it'll be a shorter rehab period. If there is, there's a different road we might have to go down that may take longer to get him to recover."
WWE hasn't made a decision if the Hype Bros will stay as the no.1 contender to the Wyatt Family despite Ryder's injury. However, it's very likely the Wyatt Family will defend the title against another team on the last SmackDown Live episode of the year on December 28 in Chicago.