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WWE Rumors on Bronson Reed, Tonga Loa Injuries; Bryan Danielson '50-50' on Retirement

Mike Chiari

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Reed Reportedly Set to Miss WrestleMania 41

After getting injured during his splash from the top of the cage during the new Bloodline vs. OG Bloodline WarGames match at Survivor Series, Bronson Reed is reportedly set to miss a significant amount of time.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), people in WWE do not expect Reed back in time for WrestleMania 41 in April.

During Friday night's episode of SmackDown, WWE announced that Reed suffered a broken foot at Survivor Series, which would require surgery. It was also divulged that the injury occurred during one of the biggest spots of the match.

Reed went all the way to the top of the cage and attempted to hit a Tsunami splash on Roman Reigns through a table, but CM Punk saved the Tribal Chief from disaster.

Unfortunately for Reed, he landed awkwardly after Reigns moved, which resulted in a broken foot.

Reed represents a huge loss for WWE since he had come into his own in recent months and established himself as one of the top heels on Raw.

Back in August, Reed attacked Seth Rollins and put him on the shelf after hitting him with six Tsunamis. Reed then proceeded to have a highly entertaining rivalry with Braun Strowman until Rollins returned.

More recently, Reed began working with the new Bloodline, and they recruited him to be part of their team at WarGames.

It is unclear if there were more plans for Reed and The Bloodline to work together coming out of Survivor Series, but given the momentum he had seized, it stands to reason that WWE may have had big things in store for the Aussie at Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.

Tonga Loa Reportedly Expected to Miss 7-8 Months

Along with Reed, another member of the new Bloodline team suffered a major injury during the men's WarGames match at Survivor Series.

According to Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee), Tonga Loa needs surgery after tearing his biceps, and he will be out for an estimated seven to eight months.

As was the case with Reed, WWE officially announced the nature of Loa's injury during last week's episode of SmackDown.

After winning the IWGP Tag Team Championships seven times with his brother, Tama Tonga, in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Loa made the move to WWE earlier this year.

Just about a month after Tama Tonga made his WWE debut by joining Solo Sikoa's version of The Bloodline, Tonga Loa arrived at Backlash in May by helping Solo and Tama beat Randy Orton and Kevin Owens.

Loa went on to hold the WWE Tag Team Championships with his brother before they dropped them to the Motor City Machine Guns in October.

The timeline for Loa's injury recovery suggests he will not be back until the summer at the earliest, so he will have to miss the entire road to WrestleMania, at least from an in-ring standpoint.

With both Loa and Reed on the shelf, the new Bloodline is down to only three active members in Solo, Tama and Jacob Fatu, which could make it an immense challenge to stave off Reigns and the OG Bloodline.

However, given that Loa has often made an impact at ringside rather than in matches since signing with WWE, it is possible he could still play a role even while he is unable to wrestle.

Danielson Unsure If He Will Make In-Ring Return

At AEW WrestleDream back in October, Bryan Danielson wrestled what was heralded as the final match of his career as a full-time performer, however, that match could prove to be Danielson's last overall.

Speaking to Instinct Culture's Denise Salcedo (h/t Jack King of Cultaholic) this week at a press event for AEW All In 2025, Danielson said he following when asked about the likelihood of having another match: "If I had to guess right now, I would say it's 50-50. And you know what? I'm ok with that. I loved the time I got to spend doing this, but I also love what I'm doing now."

Danielson went on to add that while his current neck issues could ultimately require surgery, he is trying to avoid it, saying: "I'd like to avoid it as much as possible. The idea to me is that surgery is a last resort, not a first resort. I'm trying some other things, and I'm a little kooky, right? People who know me, I'm a little kooky. I'm going to try some other things first before going under the knife."

At the All In pay-per-view in London back in August, Danielson put his career on the line in an AEW World Championship match against Swerve Strickland.

Danielson beat Swerve to become world champion in AEW for the first time, and coming out of All In, he declared that he would end his full-time wrestling career upon losing the title.

While Danielson retained the title against Jack Perry at All Out, Jon Moxley and the Blackpool Combat Club turned on him afterward, leading to Danielson vs. Moxley at WrestleDream.

Moxley beat Danielson for the title and attacked him after the match, signaling Danielson's final act as a full-time performer.

The wording of everything clearly left the door open for Danielson to return and wrestle on occasion, but based on the 43-year-old veteran's current health status, that is far from a guarantee to happen.

If Danielson is ultimately unable to wrestle again, he will still go down as one of the greatest in-ring performers in pro wrestling history.

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