Lars Sullivan Facing 6-9 Months Out With Knee Injury
The Freak's annus horribilis continues; reports of surprise pity party unconfirmed.
Per this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE believes that Lars Sullivan faces six to nine months out as a result of the knee injury he suffered during a live event last week. This isn't a formal update - Dave Meltzer has reported only what he has "heard" - but generally, injuries to the knee, particularly those suffered by large athletes, pose a significant risk from which recovery is arduous.
Author's note:
In wrestling's weird, inverted world, where the illusion is presented as real, and the real has come to betray the illusion, Lars could not have suffered this serious injury at a more fortuitous time. WWE botched his belated debut to a scarcely believable extent. To quote Meltzer again, speaking on Super ShowDown on Observer Radio, "We're talking about a guy who has forgotten how to ride a bike."
To illustrate this analogy, WWE in 2012 subverted Brodus Clay's teased monster gimmick by presenting him as a dinosaur-adjacent dancing man. He went on to defeat established upper midcard acts Dolph Ziggler and The Miz at consecutive pay-per-views (Extreme Rules, Over The Limit). Vince McMahon booked Brodus Clay as a more effective, no-selling monster than Sullivan after dropping that facet of his act.
The most optimistic outlook sees the Freak return just ahead of WrestleMania season, perhaps creating scope for a resumption of original plans.