Robert Roode has had a glorious pro wrestling career. Prior to signing with WWE in 2016, he had already traveled the world and captured the Impact World Championship twice, and, upon his WWE arrival, quickly ascended to the top of the NXT card with then-booker Paul “Triple H” Levesque crowning him the NXT World Champion after less than a year in the company.
Following his successful run in NXT, Roode was moved to the WWE main roster where he won the United States, 24/7, and both Raw and Smackdown tag team titles. Before taking time off TV in the middle of last year, Roode had begun working as a singles wrestler again, after tagging with Dolph Ziggler, as The Dirty Dawgs, for more than a year. His last televised WWE match was the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, held on the Smackdown before WrestleMania 38.
Last September it was revealed that Roode was going to be taken off the road to deal with an undisclosed injury that would require surgery. A few months later, Roode confirmed that he had undergone neck surgery, and today issued an update revealing he has also undergone a follow-up surgery.
“Another trip around the sun and another trip to Birmingham Alabama,” he began. “Quite a way to celebrate my birthday lol. Had a C4/5 cervical fusion to go along with the C5/6 fusion back in November. Most importantly it was a success thanks to the man himself Dr Andy Cordover and the first class staff here at @andrews_sports_medicine.
“Big thank you @deneane__17 for being my rock throughout this entire process. It’s been a challenging year to say the least ❤️ Road to recovery part 2! 💪”
At this time, there is no word on when Roode will return to WWE action. Currently, he does not carry a Raw or Smackdown designation on his official WWE Superstar page. Whenever he does return to action, it is possible he lands on either the main roster or returns to NXT, where he has arguably seen the most success.