TNA Star Chris Bey Talks Recovery, Greatest Story Ever Told, Company Support, CM Punk Motivation & Shoutout, Plus More
Earlier today, Chris Van Vliet hosted TNA star Chris Bey on his podcast for episode #734.
CVV asks how the support from TNA has been throughout this whole ordeal:
“They’ve been so great to me, man. They’ve covered all of the medical expenses. They check on me almost every day – and when I say they check on me, I mean, from the roster, to the talent, behind the scenes people who set up the building, management, Presidents of the company, people from Anthem [Sports] – everybody from top to bottom has been so helpful, have checked on me. They’ve done auctions for me – people have donated their own personal items to help me.
They do so much more than I could’ve ever anticipated or expected, and I don’t understand why anyone would think that they wouldn’t. You know, they’re a great company – they work very hard. We are a family; you’ve heard people say that about TNA, but is true. They had to almost get police escorts to get people to leave the hospital the night of my injury because almost the whole locker room was outside of the hospital ordering Door Dash, waiting for me, trying to come in and see me.
They had to tell everybody “y’all got to go home, you’re not going to be able to stay here, he’s going to be OK. He’s in surgery now, but he’s going to be fine.” Everybody was out there- all wearing the “We Heart Bey” shirts. The whole team man, top to bottom. FAMILY isn’t even the right word anymore because family sometimes betrays you – these people are real.”
On receiving a phone call from CM Punk motivating him to keep going and shouting him out on Monday Night Raw.
CVV: “You’re pretty close with CM Punk?”
“Yeah.”
CVV: “He shouted you out on RAW – what did that mean to you?”
Bey gets choked up. “How do you even put that into words, right? I was surprised, first things first – I was surprised. I was humbled, grateful, I just can’t believe that – through doing what I wanted to do all my life, and then actually being able to be successful at it, that I’ve made this much of a mark on people because all I’ve ever wanted to do was wrestle – I knew it since I was a kid. There’s never anything else I wanted to do.”
“For me, they were predicting about a 10-25% chance of walking again.”
CVV: “Wow. Look at you now-“
“I beat the odds.”
CVV: “What made you NOT willing to accept those odds?”
“The day I woke up from surgery, the first thing I thought was that I’m alive, and I was grateful to be alive because if I wasn’t supposed to be here anymore I would be – so one of the first things I kept saying was ‘DAY ONE’ – and people have used that phrase before, it’s not a new phrase that I created – for me it just meant that this is Day One of my new life, my new obstacle, my new journey. I break everything up into seasons in life – the season that I chased this, the season that I pursued this – and this was a new season for me, so what made me not quit was that I was alive.
When I got that diagnosis, for maybe 24-48 hours I was a little messed up about it; I just couldn’t believe it, I didn’t want to believe it, and I was telling myself that it’s better then a 0% chance, but I was still doubting a little bit – then I had a conversation with [WWE star CM] Punk. It was a very simple conversation – he said something along the lines of: “I think they diagnosis and percentage applies to humans, and you’re not human.” I had to put my whole life into perspective – I’ve had a less percent chance of becoming a professional wrestler and landing on TV; I’ve had a lot less odds when everything I’ve done in my life up until this point, so who’s to say I can’t beat that? Once that 24/48 hours was over, it was GO time.”
H/T Gerard (@BearDown316) and Bodyslam (@BodyslamNet) for transcription.
Check out WWE producer TJ Wilson calling Chris an “Inspirstion.”
On 2/13, Chris posted a video of himself standing up out of and walking a few steps down a caned unassisted. Prior to this post, Chris says that he’s been up and out of his wheelchair for 3 weeks while he started walking around.
Chris Bey came up with the shirt after his injury and released it at Pro Wrestling Tees on 2/26. This was only 13 days after Bey posted a video above after suffering what he calls a “life altering injury.”
Chris Bey is a former IMPACT (TNA) X Division Champion as well as a three-time former IMPACT /TNA Tag Team Champion as part of ABC with his partner Ace Austin. Chris has made incredible progress and we all hope to see it continue.
Myself and the Bodyslam staff wish Chris a good recovery and hope all of his dreams and aspirations come true. We’ll be here for an update every step of the way.
Head over to TNAMerch.com for all of the newest official TNA merchandise.
Make sure you watch all the stars of TNA WRESTLING EVERY Thursday!
–AXSTV in USA
–TNA+ App. Sign up here. (Watch weekly iMPACT! episode simulcasted at the same time as AXS TV – 8pm Eastern /7pm Central)
–SportsNet 360 in CANADA
Catch the REPLAYS of TNA iMPACT:
–Right Now TV Network – multiple markets in the US (9-11pm Eastern time Tuesdays // episode from the previous week)
–SportsNet Pittsburgh– Pittsburgh, PA (Thursdays 10pm Eastern)
–New England Sports Network National Feed – 6 different states in the Northeast (Saturday 12-2pm Eastern, Sundays 12-2 am Eastern)
–Fight Network (13 day delay)/ TNA + app(14 day delay) – Canada
Help support Chris Bey by purchasing the “We Heart Bey” T-Shirt. All proceeds go to Chris Bey.
Here: https://tnamerch.com/collections/all-new-t-shirts/products/we-heart-bey-t-shirt?variant=46760894791904
Bey’s new “Greatest Story Ever Told” shirt from Pro Wrestling Tees: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wrestler-t-shirts/chrisbey/greatest-story-ever-told.html
Other ways to help: https://tnawrestling.com/bey/
Help Jake Something as he recovers from a torn triceps injury:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jake-needs-your-help-for-medical-bills
Follow Gerard at @BearDown316 on Twitter
Go to eatshroombar.com and use code Bodyslam at checkout for 25% off your first order.
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