Nick Aldis Speaks Out on Injury Rumors Amid WWE Comeback
WHO:
Yahoo Sports - Nick Aldis, Gunther, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Mickie James, Bret Hart, Cody Rhodes
F4W/WON - Nick Aldis
WHAT:
Yahoo Sports - Nick Aldis will face Gunther on Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam, marking his first match in almost three years.
F4W/WON - Aldis stated, “I was not put in that role because I was hurt. It wasn’t a case of being not cleared or needing time to heal up or anything like that.”
F4W/WON - Aldis described his back condition as "huge inflammation" that felt like a bulging disc or herniated disc, but was actually just inflammation in a stabilizer muscle.
F4W/WON - Aldis mentioned that he was checked at the Orlando Magic Facility and was told he has "the spine of a 39-year-old wrestler, but actually in the scheme of things it’s pretty good."
Yahoo Sports - Nick Aldis is set to compete against Gunther at WWE SummerSlam.
Yahoo Sports - Aldis has been a two-time NWA World's Heavyweight Champion for a combined 1,309 days.
Yahoo Sports - Aldis has spent the past three years with WWE in a producer role before returning to in-ring competition.
F4W/WON - Aldis clarified that he was not placed in a managerial role due to injury, despite having back issues.
F4W/WON - Aldis experienced significant inflammation in his back, which he initially feared was a herniated disc.
WHERE:
Yahoo Sports - Aldis received medical treatment at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
F4W/WON - Aldis was scheduled to perform at an independent show in Chicago or Detroit.
WHEN:
Yahoo Sports - Aldis's match against Gunther is scheduled for Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam.
F4W/WON - Aldis signed with WWE in 2023.
WHY:
Yahoo Sports - Aldis expressed that the time away from the ring allowed him to heal and address issues he was not fully aware of until he had time to recover.
Yahoo Sports - Aldis's time away from the ring allowed him to address lingering injuries and improve his health.
F4W/WON - Aldis stated that he needed time to heal and was unaware of the extent of his back issues until he had time to recover.
HOW:
F4W/WON - Aldis used specific anti-inflammatories to address his back condition, which he described as aggravated muscle inflammation.
Yahoo Sports - Aldis worked with specialists to identify and treat the inflammation in his back.
F4W/WON - Aldis used anti-inflammatories to address his back condition, which he described as a case of aggravated muscle inflammation.
(UPDATED July 31, 2026 07:54 UTC)
Nick Aldis is set to make his return to the ring, facing Gunther on Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam, marking his first match in nearly three years. Aldis explained that his time away was not due to injury but rather a chance to heal and address underlying issues, revealing he had significant inflammation in a stabilizer muscle rather than a bulging or herniated disc. After being evaluated at the Orlando Magic Facility, he learned that while he has "the spine of a 39-year-old wrestler," his condition is actually quite good in the grand scheme of things.
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(UPDATED July 31, 2026 06:07 UTC)
Nick Aldis is set to compete against Gunther at WWE SummerSlam, marking his return to in-ring action after spending three years in a producer role with WWE. Aldis, a two-time NWA World's Heavyweight Champion with a combined reign of 1,309 days, recently received medical treatment for significant inflammation in his back, which he initially feared might be a herniated disc. He clarified that his absence from the ring was not due to being placed in a managerial role because of injury, but rather a necessary time to heal and improve his health before his match on Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam.