Doctor Begs Current WWE Star To Retire Following Injury

This WWE star suffered a serious injury in 2022 and was urged to retire from wrestling.

WWE star Big E, who is famously known for his work with the faction The New Day, suffered a neck injury when an overhead belly-to-belly suplex delivered by Ridge Holland went wrong.

Following his surgery, Big E would be out of action for years and only appear in a non-wrestling role in 2024 on WWE TV. Although he has recovered from the muscular damage of his injury, his neck has not formed new bone structure, which means wrestling again would be a gamble on his health.

Big E has made the wise decision to retire from wrestling. In a recent interview with The Takedown on SI, he reveals what his doctors said about him possibly wrestling again.

WWE Star Big E Says Doctor Begged Him To Retire

In the interview, Big E recalls a pivotal conversation with spine specialist Dr. Juan Uribe and other doctors in which they pleaded with him to reconsider despite being cleared medically.

So after talking to Dr. Juan Uribe and a few other doctors, the doctor almost damn near begged me like, ‘Hey, please, even if you get your all go, you’re clear, you’re allowed to get back in the ring, please really reconsider it.

And when I told him, ‘I think I’m definitely leaning towards being done,’ he almost quite literally breathed a sigh of relief. So for someone who’s been doing this for so long, who knows a lot more about spines and necks than I do, I definitely took heed.

Retirement can be tough on wrestlers, especially when forced into it due to an injury at an earlier age than expected. But instead of holding grudges against Holland for the botched suplex that ended up injuring Big E, he has a different perspective on his retirement.

He talks about how some veterans get injured and are in chronic pain due to injuries they’ve suffered, saying that he would definitely prioritize his health over his love of being an athlete.

You see so many of the veterans, the legends, around WrestleMania, oftentimes that’s when you see a lot of the guys you don’t see year-round. And man, it’s sobering,” he said. “So many of them, who aren’t even that old, are struggling with pain. Clearly not very ambulatory. They’re using walkers to get around.”

And man, I told myself, as much as I love my career, as much as I love being an athlete, I am really gambling with my health.

Despite his in-ring retirement, Big E continues to work as an announcer in PLEs and preand post-shows in WWE. Outside of wrestling, he is partnered with data analytics firm Sumer Sports to host a YouTube series called The Evaluation, centred on the NFL draft.

h/t:ringsidenews.com

Also read: WWE Star On Being Forced To Retire: “Blessing In Disguise.”