WWE NXT star Cora Jade had not returned to television long before she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her match with NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria earlier this month. The injury required surgery, and Jade will be sidelined for most of the year.
Jade's longtime idol, CM Punk, tried to make the best of a bad situation when he paid her a surprise visit in a video posted to WWE's YouTube channel. Although she believed she had been set up in some way by close friends Jessie Jayne and Roxanne Perez, it was clear she was not expecting Punk's visit, as she repeatedly cursed upon seeing him – which Punk actually noticed. video.
Jade took some time to share a promo she had just come off surgery — painkillers and all — that her mom recorded. The clip elicited laughter from Punk before she clearly chose to go back to sleep rather than continue her monologue. Punk was keen to talk about finding the silver lining in Jade's injury, and sympathized with the 23-year-old as someone who has had his share of debilitating injuries. Punk announced his entry into the Royal Rumble this weekend, 10 years after his last televised match with the company in the 2014 edition, in an attempt to challenge Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40 in April. Rollins, like Jade, has an uncertain path to WrestleMania, after suffering a knee injury during his WWE Raw title defense against Jinder Mahal.
