Back in 2015, Tyson Kidd suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury during a dark match with Samoa Joe. Kidd received emergency surgery following the injury, requiring 16 staples, four screws, and a rod to repair the damage. He would later say that he was told only 5% of people even survive that type of injury.
Then, a few months ago, footage of the former multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion emerged on Twitter, leading to speculation that he could indeed return to the squared circle. At the end of last year, in an interview with The New Day, Kidd revealed that he had pitched the idea of being an entrant in the Royal Rumble to Vince McMahon, an idea McMahon decided was too risky.
When asked for an update on Kidd’s status in an interview with Sportskeeda, his wife and WWE Superstar, Natalya, responded by saying “Never say never”.
“TJ was so loved and so respected by people backstage and in front of the camera, but I think, you know, I’m one of those people where I say ‘Never Say Never’. But I feel like TJ is at a point in his life, especially with his health where he is really content with where he’s at as far as not returning to the ring. Again, I still say ‘Never Say Never’, anything in WWE can happen. That’s the fun part of WWE, you can always expect the unexpected.
However, going on to address comparisons to Daniel Bryan and Edge, who were both able to return from injuries they were told would end their wrestling careers, Natalya said that Kidd’s injury was very different, and it would be a bigger risk for him to get back in the ring.
But it’s hard to say. I think TJ’s injury was so different than Edge and it was so different than Daniel Bryan. His injury was, you know, his neck was broken at the base of his brain. So it’s a much different injury and it’s much more risky for him to return. So, he’s just very lucky that he is alive and he is well. But thank you so much, I’ll tell him that you guys are thinking of him.”
Since his injury, Tyson Kidd has gone to work in WWE as a Producer and more recently has discussed the idea of opening a wrestling school with Natalya to train a new generation of talent.
Credit to Sportskeeda for the transcription.