The wrestling world was shaken to its core when in late October it was reported that TNA star Chris Bey had suffered a devastating neck injury during a match taped for iMPACT! Bey was wrestling alongside his tag team partner Ace Austin against the Hardys for the TNA Tag Team Championship when a routine spot went wrong, leaving the 29-year-old with temporary paralysis. As Bey recently recounted, he didn’t realize the severity of his injury until later on.
“We were all confident and comfortable with what we were doing,” Chris Bey recounted in an interview with Chris Van Vliet. “I’m in there with my best friend and two of my idols, it’s a night off essentially, and then a spot that you’ve done a million times up until this point goes wrong. As soon as it goes wrong, you don’t notice what’s wrong, you just know something isn’t right. I felt a jolt. It was a neck breaker. We missed each other, Matt and I, by an inch. I felt a jolt, and I felt a little bit of discomfort…Referee Daniel Spencer comes over and checks on me, ‘Chris, are you okay?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I think so, just roll me out the way’, because I needed help rolling out of the way. I didn’t realize how much help I needed. Austin said it didn’t look like I needed a lot. Looked like I helped too. I just felt like I wanted assistance rolling out of the way quick enough because I knew they had to do some more stuff. I didn’t want them to think that I was just selling and bumping on top of me, expecting me to move. I’ve had stingers before. I thought it might have just been a stinger.”
But it was not a stinger and shortly after the bout ended, Chris Bey was taken for emergency surgery where doctors fused the C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck, followed by a spinal cord fusion between his C6 and T1 vertebrae later on. Austin was by Bey’s side for the surgery as was the entire wrestling community, who lifted Bey up through their thoughts and prayers. In November, TNA created a webpage with resources for how fans could support Bey through donating to a GoFundMe or buying his merch. News of Bey’s injury even hit the mainstream when in early January, on Raw’s Netflix debut, a show watched by millions, CM Punk shouted out the young wrestler bringing attention to his name. Chris Bey was a trending Google search after that as well wishes and messages of a speedy recovery continuing pouring in.
Bey was told he only had a 10 percent chance of walking again but in February, he took his first steps since his injury, standing on his own for the first time. His recovery has truly been remarkable as has the support fans, wrestlers, and promoters have shown. In March, Future Stars of Wrestling, a place that helped make Chris Bey a top indie name, held a benefit show. Wrestlers from AEW, TNA, and even WWE received permission to work the show, doing it on one condition, that any money they would have been paid go directly to Bey’s recovery. Bey himself appeared at the show, walking to the ring under his own power.
Karrion Kross wrestled Alexander Hammerstone in the main event, but had WWE’s European Tour not been occurring at the same time, that match might have looked very different as according to FSW promoter Joe DeFalco, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, and TJ Wilson (WWE’s Tyson Kidd) were all going to work the event in addition to CM Punk. But having Kross there was special because as he recounted, “I was there for Chris’ first day of wrestling practice…I’ve known him since the very beginning…I say this with all respect, but there was no way I was not going to be a part of this event.”
Kross explained that WWE was very receptive to his request to work the show, of which every cent (gate, wrestler booking fees, streaming purchases, merchandise) went to Bey’s recovery.
Nearly a month after that incredible event and show of support from wrestlers in companies all across the country, TNA is hosting their own fundraiser for Bey as announced on Thursday, April 10. Next week, April 17 will be TNA’s Unbreakable, a show airing during WrestleMania Week. But beyond the event, April 17 will mark “Chris Bey, All Day,” a fundraiser and celebration in honor of the star. The day will begin with a special ‘Breakfast Q&A With the Hardys’ where Bey, and other TNA wrestlers are set to make an appearance. Limited tickets are available for the two-hour gathering, with all proceeds going to Bey’s recovery. The event will be live streamed on TNA+. Tickets, which include a limited edition print of Bey, the Hardys, and others, are available for just $50 and can be purchased at tnamerch.com.
Viewers tuning in to Unbreakable later that night will notice that all TNA personnel, including wrestlers, referees, announcers, and others, will all be wearing a brand new Chris Bey/Unbreakable shirt. Those event-worn shirts will be auctioned off following the event, with all proceeds going to Bey’s recovery.
“We are incredibly proud of the progress Chris has made and continues to make,” said TNA Wrestling President Carlos Silva in the announcement. “We are incredibly excited for ‘Chris Bey, All Day,’ as wrestling fans worldwide can unite in support of one of the most inspirational wrestlers of all time.”
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header image credit – TNA Wrestling – Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on Chris Bey, TNA Unbreakable, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Catch all TNA events and shows on TNA Plus.
We continue to wish Chris Bey a speedy and full recovery!
