Report: Red Velvet Suffers Neck Injury During CMLL-NJPW Event in Mexico

ROH Women’s Television Champion Red Velvet is reportedly dealing with a neck injury sustained during her recent appearance at the joint AEW-NJPW-CMLL show in Mexico City — a setback that has already shaken up Ring of Honor’s women’s division.

On the June 22 event at Arena Mexico, Velvet squared off against CMLL’s Kira in a non-title match that kicked off the night. Though Velvet picked up the win in under 10 minutes, it appears the victory came at a price. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Velvet suffered the injury during that bout.

While the exact severity of the neck issue hasn’t been confirmed, AEW President Tony Khan recently announced that Velvet would be sidelined and unable to compete at Supercard of Honor. In fact, the situation was serious enough for Khan to introduce an interim Women’s TV Champion — a title now held by Mina Shirakawa, who captured it at Friday’s event. With Shirakawa in place, Velvet’s first match back — whenever that may be — seems all but set.

Velvet’s journey in AEW began back in 2020, where she made headlines stepping in for Brandi Rhodes in the highly publicized mixed tag match featuring Jade Cargill and Shaquille O’Neal. After a rocky rivalry with Cargill — including multiple losses — Velvet eventually joined forces with her as part of The Baddies stable. An injury later sidelined Velvet, and Cargill’s eventual move to WWE left Velvet to carve her own path in ROH, where she became the second-ever Women’s TV Champion last July.

Now, with her in-ring future momentarily on hold, fans will have to wait and see how long Velvet is out — and how this injury reshapes the landscape of the ROH women’s division.