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The human body and what it can do never ceases to amaze me. There are individuals out there who endure great injury or disease yet they are able to fully recover. Thanks to the advances in medicine and technology, hospitals and other medical facilities are able to treat patients effectively and are able to repair things long-term. Despite it's high cost (thank you subsidies and monopolies), medicare care here in the United States is superb and recovery times have been shrinking based on better medical procedures and rehabilitation. The advances in Sports Medicine have been remarkable. Someone like Dr. James Andrews might simultaneously join multiple pro sports Hall of Fames because of his miraculous surgeries performed on athletes. To see athletes shred their ACL and then return the following season is downright amazing. In pro wrestling, several wrestlers have destroyed their necks and are able to return to the ring within 1 year after a remarkable surgery. In pro wrestling, lots of stops and starts when running off the ring ropes and excessive lifting on the spot has put serious strain on muscles and ligaments. It's almost becoming routine for a pro athlete to tear an ACL, bicep/tricep, elbow ligament, and quadriceps tendon and then return to their game at full strength. But it does take time to recover from each injury, especially when torn. John Cena reportedly tore his Triceps sometime during July 2013 and opted to have the injury surgically repaired following SummerSlam 2013. As seen by backstage photos and later on WWE television, Cena's left elbow was swelled up to the point as if he were hiding a baseball inside his arm. That is typical of a triceps injury, as the injury typically shows up with severe bruising, significant swelling, and/or the detached muscle will disfigure and ball up on someone's arm. It was quite clear that Cena's torn triceps was balling up and medically, it appears to be a result of a severe tear or ruptured muscle as a result from a tear. There are 3 grades of Triceps tears... The first 2 grade are partial tears and could be combined with muscle strains. Both stages require rest and some rehab. Neither require surgery. Grade 3, however, is a complete tear and requires surgery. After the surgery, 3 months of just rest is advised by hospitals before starting extensive physical therapy to get strength back. The surgical repair, itself, takes about 6-10 weeks to heal before considering activity. At earliest, as seen by certain National Football League players trying to rush back, 4-6 months after surgery but doctors advise at least 9 months before returning to a sporting activity. Sometimes up to a full year to get full strength and range of motion back. But John Cena is returning to the ring after just 2 months following surgery... Some are suggesting that either Cena partially tore it or WWE.com is working the fans on insisting that the injury was triceps but was possibly just bone chips. Bone chips in the elbow can cause swelling. Cause of a baseball sized swollen elbow? Not sure... Or we could just be witnessing a quick healer. After all, John Cena's explanation for his muscular physique is that he was "born with big arms". He amazed everyone from his speedy from a torn pectoral by returning at Royal Rumble 2008. The pectoral injury occurred during October 2007 and it was projected that Cena could take up to 7 months to recover. He took just 3 months to the shock of many fans everywhere and those in attendance at the Rumble. Cena won the 2008 Rumble. Maybe he has super healing powers? After all, the WWE pushes Cena like a Superhero. Maybe Cena is like the Cheerleader in the television show Heroes who can heal from any damaging injury in an instant. Maybe Cena is like Wolverine from the X-Men comics or movies, who also has extraordinary healing powers? Maybe John Cena drinks blood from Khan from Star Trek Into Darkness or any character from the HBO vampire show True Blood to instantly heal up muscle tears. For years, people have wondered if a superhero actually existed here on Earth. Quite possibly, the WWE has him and uses Cena to dominate the WWE roster instead of saving lives like a true superhero. If it's a work, then the WWE is more clever than we give them credit... Maybe they used some sort of sleeve created by Hollywood special effects artists? If you don't believe weird things popping out of your skin can be imitated, go see Mae Young at Royal Rumble 2000 for the bikini contest. Yecch! For all we know, those weights that Cena was lifting were fake. For having surgically repaired triceps, he certainly has an incredible range of motion and strength to lift weights under the 3 month timeframe recommended for resting. But Cena is a superhero, remember. Or the injury is legit and the WWE is working us to believe that John Cena has healed but Alberto Del Rio is going to defeat Cena at Hell in a Cell 2013 with the devastating arm bar. Then, Cena could truly take his recommended 4-6 months off and get revenge against Del Rio at Wrestlemania 30. It's a decent injury angle, especially given how random they brought John Cena back. Vickie Guerrero just randomly announces Del Rio's opponent during the middle of a match on RAW instead of a major build up for the return of the WWE's top star. I would expect Executive Producer Kevin Dunn to spend hours in the WWE video truck to prepare many video vignettes for Cena's return. However, Cena was announced to be returning to wrestle for the Smackdown World Heavyweight Title. Huh? SummerSlam 2013's buyrate is down, and even though John Cena headlined that show, his return is desired by the WWE to boost Hell in a Cell. Alrighty then... Before you read too much into this column, consider that the WWE has a Wellness Policy in place since early 2006. Why, that would cover the majority of John Cena's time in the main event. Thus, you could easily assume, like any other WWE wrestler, that he's been tested repeatedly from 2006 to 2013. That is, unless, as United States Senate candidate Rob Simmons argued during the 2008 Connecticut campaign against Linda McMahon in his 10 questions letter, certain performers could be exempted from the policy. I would hate for preferential treatment to exist in the WWE. Not that the McMahon family would ever apply their own policies differently to different wrestlers. Never happens, right? But no failed tests exist to our knowledge... It's not like Cena has openly bragged about passing test after test after test like others have in the sports world. Until then, we'll enjoy the super-healing John Cena and his return to Hell in a Cell. At least it gives us a quality World Heavyweight Title match to look forward to. Maybe the WWE will add 10 different stipulations and a special guest referee to that match too? Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck... "You Can't See Me". Comments and debates are welcome on Twitter. Bring it on. @titowrestling SO JUST CHILL TILL THE NEXT EPISODE! FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @titowrestling
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