WWE Star Returns From Injury On SmackDown

By Marc Middleton

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Natalya has returned to the ring just three weeks after suffering an ankle injury.

As we've noted, Natalya suffered the right ankle injury while tangling with Doudrop on the July 26 RAW episode. She underwent surgery later that week, and was off crutches three days after surgery.

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In an update, Natalya returned to the ring during this week's SummerSlam go-home edition of SmackDown on FOX. She and Tamina Snuka took a non-title loss to Tegan Nox and Shotzi.

The non-title match was a Championship Contender's bout, which means Nox and Shotzi should be the new #1 contenders to the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles for a future title shot. There is no word yet on when that match will happen, but it has not been confirmed.

The finish to the match saw Shotzi pin Natalya to get the win. WWE released post-show video, seen below, with Shotzi and Nox talking to Megan Morant about how they deserve a title shot now that they have 3 non-title wins over the champs.

Natalya tweeted a pre-SmackDown x-ray photo and commented on what she'd been through.

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"Screws, stitches, bone drilling and rehab. I couldn't stay away, even if I wanted to... #TagTeamChampions #SmackDown," she wrote in the tweet seen below.

WWE also released post-show video of Morant talking to Natalya and Tamina after the loss. Natalya noted that she is just 60% but did everything she could to make it back in record time. She went on to apologize for letting everyone down, but Tamina dismissed that and said she did not let anyone down.

Stay tuned for more on Natalya's status and the chase for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. Below are related videos, along with Natalya's tweets:

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