Why Dave Meltzer Is 'Certain' AEW-ROH Star Bandido's Injury Is A Work

Last week, AEW star Bandido successfully defended his ROH World Championship against Hechicero at a CMLL event, with the champion later claiming on social media that he dislocated his shoulder during the bout and put it back into place. Speaking on "Wrestling Observer Radio," insider Dave Meltzer explained why he's not convinced Bandido injured his shoulder as claimed.

"I'm certain that was a work," Meltzer said. "It was a really well-done match. They went ... 13 minutes or so, and Bandido's doing some stuff and Hechicero's working on his shoulder. ... They do something and Bandido starts screaming in pain and it's total selling. He's doing the thing where he can't move the arm, but he'd done all of his power stuff earlier."

A referee, not a doctor, came out and checked on Bandido, with the ref then giving the signal for the match to continue. Once the match started back up again, Hechicero continued working on Bandido's shoulder. All this led Meltzer to the conclusion that the alleged shoulder injury is part of a storyline.

Unless anything changes, Bandido looks set to get back in the ring tonight. Along with the ROH World Championship, he currently holds the AEW World Tag Team Championship with Brody King. Brodido, as they've become known, are set to defend their championship on tonight's special Tuesday edition of "AEW Dynamite" against Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada, who are both members of The Don Callis Family but have been circling a full-blown rivalry in recent weeks.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.