Luchasaurus has opened up about how an unexpected series of events led to his current shoulder injury, linking it back to a night of celebration and a last-minute decision to compete on AEW television. The situation unfolded around AEW’s Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite, where he ultimately entered the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royal despite not being in peak condition.

Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Luchasaurus explained that his original role for the show was far less physical. However, things changed quickly after he celebrated the New York Knicks’ NBA Cup win the night before. The celebration left him exhausted heading into the event, but he still agreed to compete when asked.

“I was supposed to go maybe do a Santa Claus thing at AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash, but you have to be ready to wrestle. When I got too excited because the Knicks won the NBA Cup, I was drinking on the plane and up all night. I didn’t sleep. They finally won something. I waited 40 years for this. We get there and Tony is like, do you want to be in this battle royal? I’m not going to say no to the boss, who just flew me out here. Yeah, let’s do it. It was a fun spot with Shelton Benjamin. He threw Ricochet to me and I caught him in a chokeslam. Somehow, my shoulder went pop, pop,” Luchasaurus said.

Shoulder injury update reveals long-term damage

The AEW star went on to clarify that the injury was not entirely new, as it worsened an issue that had been lingering for years. According to Luchasaurus, he had been managing a partially torn rotator cuff since 2022, using treatment methods to continue performing.

“I partially tore the rotator cuff and worked through it. We did a PRP injection and band-aided it for a while. Four years later, they both went. It happened. I got the first one done in February. The surgeon wanted to wait six months, but we’re trying to do a faster timeline because we want to get back. I’m going to do the next one three months after, which is a little scary, but I want to get back as soon as I can. I wanted to do them both at the same time, but as soon as I got one done, I realized it would have been insane. It would have been a disaster,” he said.

The timeline matches up with the Knicks’ NBA Cup victory on December 16, just one night before the battle royal took place. Since then, Luchasaurus has remained part of AEW programming in a reduced role, often appearing alongside Jack Perry. His absence from in-ring action was later addressed on television, as he was written off through storyline attacks at Worlds End and the New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite.

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