Daniel Bryan announced on Monday's RAW that he will require neck surgery which will sideline him for up to two months.
The operation will mean that Bryan does not tour the United Kingdom next week, which, while not being a Wayne Rooney-missing-the-World Cup-scale blow to Englishmen, will disappoint those who had hoped to see the new face of the WWE in all of its bearded glory.
While fulfilling the wrestling needs of British fans in the short term should not be a problem for the WWE's talent-packed roster, serious thought needs to be given to how storylines will develop in Bryan's absence.
Having invested so much time and money into Bryan's ascent to the top, culminating in his WWE World Heavyweight Championship win at WrestleMania XXX, the powers that be will be reluctant to strip him of the title. That issue will be addressed at this Monday's RAW, at the O2 Arena in London.
Usually, a period of inactivity exceeding six weeks is enough to warrant the vacating of gold, and while storyline-wise this would be something that 'The Authority' would relish, behind the scenes, Triple H's summer plans could be ruined if Bryan has to surrender the strap.
Safe pairs of hands who may have been asked to step into the void, such as John Cena or Randy Orton, are in intriguing feuds that will have to carry the main-event scene now that it is both title and Bryan-less.
The Bryan versus Kane match projected for Payback on June 1 will now not go ahead, likely signalling the end of that feud. Money in the Bank follows on June 29, and the WWE are fortunate that the main attraction of that show would not be the title match anyway.
There is now a lot of responsibility on The Shield and Evolution, and Bray Wyatt versus Cena, to deliver even better buildups and pay-per-view matches than they have done recently.
Even further down the card there will need to be greater creative thought allotted to secondary storylines, such as the continued rise of newly crowned Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett.
It is important that Barrett enter into a meaningful rivalry immediately to ensure that interest levels in his renaissance are maintained. This is imperative considering that he is now holding the biggest title that will be defended at the next two PPVs.
After months of it being a mere accessory around the waist of Dean Ambrose, the United States Championship will also have a role to play in beefing up the mid-card and taking the 15-minute match spots on regular television.
Alberto Del Rio or Damien Sandow would be good challengers providing Sheamus stays as a face, while everyone is hoping that the criminally under-utilised Dolph Ziggler is booked to work alongside Barrett in the beginning of a fresh push.
Elsewhere, the acceleration of the Rhodes Brothers' split, leading to a match at either Payback or MITB, would satisfy the vocal 18-34 male demographic whose support helped Bryan reach the top of the WWE ladder – the same demographic that has been pining for a Cody Rhodes versus Goldust match for years.
As for when 'The American Dragon' returns, the seamlessness with which retains, or regains, popularity will be a good gauge of his star power.
A six- to eight-week layoff is not likely to damage him in the slightest, though, and he should carry the WWE World Heavyweight Championship into a SummerSlam match against Brock Lesnar.
Wildcard suggestion – should Bryan need to be stripped of the title, place it on 'The Beast Incarnate', the man who broke The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, and have Bryan return chasing Lesnar and the title.
The talent is there. The WWE just needs to identify it, and have faith in it. If they do, Bryan's absence will go largely unnoticed. Remember MC Punk? No, neither do we.
