WWE Star Forced To Exit Last Time Is Now Tournament Due To Injury

A former World Heavyweight Champion is out of the "Last Time is Now" tournament, due to injury, and will no longer be competing for a shot to face John Cena in his final match next month. WWE announced on Friday that Sheamus is out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.

The company announced via X (formerly Twitter) ahead of "WWE SmackDown" that "The Celtic Warrior" is not medically cleared to compete. The post said that additional information will be provided during the Friday episode of the blue brand. Sheamus defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on the November 10 episode of "Raw" to advance in the tournament. On Monday, he teamed alongside Cena and Rey Mysterio to take on Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh in Cena's final "Raw" match. Sheamus had also recently been working "WWE NXT" live shows, where he faced Trick Williams and Je'Von Evans.

Sheamus has been on-and-off WWE programming sporadically in recent years, and in September 2023, he suffered a bad shoulder injury during Edge's final match in WWE. He also suffered a major neck injury back in 2019 that put him on the shelf for nine months and even sparked retirement rumors.

Despite the conclusion of the first round of the "Last Time is Now" tournament to determine Cena's opponent at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13, brackets have yet to be revealed. It was not known at the time of Sheamus' injury who he would be facing in the second round. One of his most recent rivals, Rusev, also advanced, but there was no official word that the pair would be facing off once again.