A lengthy interview with Wilson.
After T.J. Wilson physically recovered from his career-ending neck injury, he transitioned into a producer role for WWE. There have been a multitude of talent that have spoken publicly about Wilson in the role and praised him for what he contributes.
Looking back at the period of his career prior to the injury, Wilson told Developmentally Speaking that he was in contract negotiations with WWE about signing a new deal.
I love wrestling. It’s given me everything. Everything I got, wrestling. No, I had no clue what I was gonna do (after my career-ending neck injury). When you’re — sh*t — that first night when I got hurt, I’m not even in a hospital room. I’m in the basement of this hospital. It’s cold, freezing cold. I had no service. Like one bar in and out on my phone. I think that same day, maybe (Paul) Heyman is on (Steve) Austin’s podcast. I’m trying to watch it and I can’t. I’m just sitting there with this neck brace on with no real answers. The surgeon comes in the morning to kind of give me the news but, I’m very in tune with my body and in the moment, I knew my neck was broken, I knew I was never wrestling again. I knew that in that moment. Absolutely, in that moment, I did not know what was next. I had no clue. I didn’t know anything. I just knew that this dream that I’d seen through… this version of it was over. I didn’t know what was next. Prior to that, I did think I had a long-term plan and I was 34. I remember they were talking to me about signing a new deal. In my mind, I was gonna sign — this is just in my mind — in my mind, I was gonna sign like a five-year deal. That would take me to 40. At 40, I will have been wrestling at that point for 25 years. I’m 40. Everything seemed like a nice, perfect round number and then I kind of wanted to get out and that was my mind. I’m sure when I got there, that wouldn’t have happened. I mean, especially when you start adding A.J. Styles and those types of guys to the roster. If I had been afforded the opportunity to stay as a talent, I promise I wouldn’t have left but, in my mind at this time, 40 was gonna be perfect and then I would start a wrestling school in Tampa.
Wilson made a comment about not knowing what was to come following his injury and that tied into his comments later in the show about Chris Bey.
The three-time TNA World Tag Team Champion is on his road to recovery after suffering a neck injury that required surgery. Wilson discussed being in contact with Bey, sending positivity his way and reminding him that he cannot give up even though there will be a lot of tough days.
Wilson shared that when Bey sent him a video of him standing up on his own, it inspired him. Him and Natalya have a goal in mind to bring Bey to their Dungeon wrestling warehouse when the time is right.
A Chris Bey for example, I’ve been in contact with him this whole time. DMing him and just, I told him this whole time, ‘You’re gonna make a full recovery and I truly believe that.’ Some of it’s from experience, but I was never truly in the same situation he was in and I was in a different version but a similar one and so I tell him, ‘Some days are gonna be really hard and these will just sound like words but just know you can’t give up. The second you give up, it’s over.’ It’s absolutely over, in anything. If you give up podcasting right now, it’s over. But if you keep going, you don’t know what’s on that other side. You don’t know. So, and Chris Bey, he’s been so… I was at my ring. He sent me a video of him standing up by himself. I was emotional. I was like, ‘Man, you inspired the hell out of me.’ Like I said, I’ve been in this business for 30 years. I have seen a lot and I’m inspired all the time by people and I’ve never even met Chris Bey. I’ve never even physically met this man yet. Nattie’s ultimate plan is to bring him to The Dungeon. We really wanna do that when the time is right. But, look at his progress. It’s because he just keeps pushing. He doesn’t give up. In that situation, put myself in a similar situation, you can’t, you can’t give up. Getting hurt was brutal but, and the paralysis was the scariest thing ever. But, fast-forward a few weeks when I had the surgery, when I woke up from the surgery was the worst, outside of the paralysis. The waking up from the surgery was the worst I felt because they had to cut through my head so now my head was throbbing on top of my neck. It was awful. I just remember waking up and being like, ‘Ah, I wish I didn’t get this surgery.’ It was a process. I couldn’t give up.
The Future Stars of Wrestling promotion is hosting a benefit show for Chris Bey on March 23rd. The likes of Swerve Strickland, Ricochet and Karrion Kross among others are scheduled to be in action. All proceeds are going to Bey’s recovery and medical expenses.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Developmentally Speaking with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
