Jamie Hayter’s AEW Disappearance Was to Cover Up a Real Injury

Jamie Hayter’s recent absence from AEW programming isn’t just part of a TV storyline—the former AEW Women’s World Champion is legitimately injured.

On the June 16, 2025 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Hayter suffered the injury during her match against Mercedes Moné at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view. While fans assumed her disappearance was due to the Tecla attack angle that aired shortly afterward, that segment was only used to mask the real issue.

“Yep, yep, yep. I guess she was hurt in the Mercedes Moné match, which is kind of unfortunate,” Meltzer said when asked about her condition.

He added that the Tecla angle wasn’t just about building a new feud—it was also AEW’s way of giving Hayter a logical reason to vanish from TV.

“So when they did the Tecla injury angle, that was set up to cover for her injury and to give her a storyline reason to be out.”

According to Meltzer, the plan was originally to continue the Tecla storyline, but things were put on hold once Hayter’s actual injury became clear.

“I just figured it was a way to introduce Tecla and set up a feud—and that they didn’t follow up on because there hasn’t been anything. But that’s the reason that it wasn’t followed up on—because she actually went into it hurt. So when she’s ready, you know, they do have an angle they can follow up on.”

Jamie Hayter’s injury might’ve flown under the radar for fans expecting a full-on Tecla rivalry, but now we know the real reason she vanished from AEW TV. What was meant to be the next chapter in her run ended up being a pause due to physical damage suffered in the ring. AEW’s got a plan waiting—now it’s just about when she can get cleared and pick up where she left off.

How do you feel about AEW using angles to cover for real injuries? Should the company be more transparent, or does the storyline cover work? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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