TNA’s Chris Bey Relives In-Ring Neck Break & Paralysis
TNA star Chris Bey has relived his harrowing broken neck and explained what happened on the night when he was left paralysed in the ring.
During the October 27 2024 TNA TV tapings, Chris Bey suffered a serious neck injury during a match with The Hardys while teaming with Ace Austin.
As soon as it became apparent that Bey was injured the match was halted and he was taken away on a stretcher. Once at the hospital, Bey underwent surgery, but the exact nature of his injuries and condition were initially kept private.
But now Chris Bey has opened up on what happened that night and explained what happened to him after he was taken from the ring and when he truly realised something was very wrong.
Chris Bey Injured After Missing Move By An Inch
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Chris Bey relived the night his fateful accident took place, revealing he was excited to face The Hardys despite not originally wanting to wrestle and that he and Matt Hardy missed each other by an inch which led to the injury:
I remember from the day being sore from Bound for Glory, crazy match. Once the adrenaline wore off at Bound for Glory, I was feeling it. So when I walked in that next day I was like man, I hope I’m cutting a promo today. I said I did not feel like wrestling.
As soon as I heard I was wrestling The Hardys I was like sweet, double-edged sword, because you’re wrestling the Hardys but then physically you don’t want to do it. But then I told myself and I told [Ace] Austin too. These guys used to do this six nights a week. We can do it. It’s no big deal.
The match was going good. We had a lot of time, which was different from the first time we met those guys. Just team versus team. First time, we didn’t have a lot of time. This time we had more time. So we were all confident and comfortable with what we were doing. 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 neckbreaker. 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.
Chris Bey then revealed that he felt numb rather than in pain and explained how the match played out to him and what the harrowing aftermath:
I was numb. It was a weird feeling that I can’t exactly explain, because I’ve never experienced it before. I just know it was kind of a numb feeling. I didn’t realize all of what was numb. I just felt a numbness. But because of the adrenaline and because of the perfectionist I am, I was thinking about the art we were creating and how my brush made a mark I didn’t want because the spot didn’t go perfect.
So instead of thinking about how I felt, I was thinking about how to get back on track in the match. So once he helped roll me out of the way, I’m looking out of the side of my eye to see them do the next sequence and see if that goes right. It does. Crowd reacts and I’m like, okay, cool. It’s my turn to get back up and do my next spot.
So mentally, I roll over and grab the ropes and sell around. Physically, I’m laying there. So Matt and Jeff come over to me and I was like, ‘Let’s just go to Swanton. Let’s just end this.’ Because I can’t get up. I’m already laying here. I’m like, let’s just go to the Swanton, which I’ve never had to cut stuff in a match before so my pride was hurt a little bit, but I just knew I couldn’t get up. I didn’t know why, though.
So Jeff starts to climb the top rope, and as he’s climbing the top rope I’m thinking that I should be able to brace for this. So once again, mentally, I’m doing this motion. Physically, nothing’s happening, and I’m laying there doing this.
So I’m yelling at the ref now, telling Jeff not to do the Swanton now as he’s already climbing the top rope. Thankfully, he doesn’t do the Swanton. He protects me, drops a leg drop but misses by a mile, protects me and he covers me. I’m just so apologetic. I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m so sorry I messed up. I messed up the finish of the match, I messed up. I’m sorry.’ And they’re like, ‘No, are you all right?’
Our ringside doctor comes over to me, he checks on me, he tries to get me to squeeze his hands, and at this point my fingers are shaking a little bit but they’re not squeezing. I tell Austin, I’m like, ‘Bro, take my elbow pads off me now’ because my arms are hot. The adrenaline’s wearing off and my arms are like a million degrees.
So I’m telling Austin to pull my elbow pads down because I’m thinking my circulation is just too tight. In my mind, in this moment 30 minutes from now, I’ll be in the locker room talking about how crazy whatever just happened was, and I’m going to shake this off. I’m gonna catch a flight tomorrow and head back home, go back to the gym and get back to a routine.
I’m laying there, and the doctor asked me if I can wiggle my toes, once he asked me that I go, ‘I can’t feel my toes.’ I realized then, okay, this is more serious. I’ve never had a real injury. I’ve had minor injuries, but I’ve never had a real injury. I’ve never had to have a surgery. So I don’t know what breaking a neck feels like. I don’t know what breaking an arm feels like. I don’t know.
So I’m just confused in this moment, and I’m embarrassed. It’s probably like 2,500 people in the room and it’s dead silent, so it’s awkward, it’s scary. Austin’s there. He’s by my side, Matt and Jeff’s there, the ringside doctor, Daniel Spencer our referee is here, everyone’s around me, I can’t move. I can’t look left or right other than with my eyeballs. They put me in a neck brace and they put me on the stretcher.
I remember telling Austin, ‘Hey, how cool would it be if I could just raise my hand like Jeff right now on the stretcher.’ I was trying to do it mentally. It wasn’t happening. He laughs, you know, tears in his eyes, he laughs. I’m like, ‘Alright, go tell Jeff the joke. Now tell Matt the joke, I want them to laugh now, lighten the moment a little bit.’ So he scurries over and tells them the joke.
They put me on the stretcher and I start to cry a little bit. I was like, alright, suck it up man. They’re about to take you to the back locker room. I don’t want the boys to see you like this. They take me through the back and they put me in the ambulance, and I wanted them to get my phone so I could contact my people, let my people know what was up.
So they find my phone for me. Trey Miguel, he goes and finds my phone for me. Called my girlfriend. I let her know. She had already kind of heard about it. It was already kind of making the rounds internally and maybe online too with fans, but I know internally it was making the rounds. I called one of my best friends in Vegas, Shogun Stan, I told him that I was hurt and it’s time for him to hold it down because I don’t know what what’s about to happen. They’re speculating that maybe it’s just a neck break. They don’t really know.
They’re threatening to cut my boots off. They’re brand new boots. I’m like, ‘Don’t cut those boots. Show me a mirror. I’ll tell you how to take them off but don’t cut those boots. Those are brand new boots.’ They rush me to the hospital. Austin’s by my side, and I have them kind of going through my phone, calling people that are important to call. My mom, people who are reaching out, not too many people because it’s overwhelming.
They’re shoving forms in my face asking me to sign stuff. I can’t move my hands. I knew it got really real when they rolled me over at some point and I saw my tights and my knee pads and my boots neatly stacked next to me uncut and I never felt them take any article of clothing off of me. I still didn’t know what to think.
At this point, they told me they were gonna operate on my neck, and I’ve never broken anything like I said, so I don’t know if this is how you’re supposed to feel when you break your neck. I don’t know if everyone who’s ever broken their neck has gone through what I’m going through in the moment. So Austin’s there and I’m trying to figure it out, I’m in so much pain at this point now.
They tell me the surgeon is going to be there in maybe 30 minutes, longest 30 minutes of my life, because I’m in so much pain, I just want to either end it or get under anaesthesia so we can do this, because let’s get to it. What are we waiting for? The surgeon to get there. But what are we waiting for? I’m ready, and they put me under. Woke up the next day. It was day one.
Thankfully there was better news in February as Chris Bey was able to walk again for the first time since his horrific injury, giving hope that he will be able to recover.
Fans are also able to support Chris Bey by donating to his GoFundMe page.