The Greatest Story Ever Told: Chris Bey's Long Journey to Get Back to the Squared Circle

For almost a year, TNA wrestling fans and the wrestling community have been hoping and praying for the eventual return of Chris Bey. Last October, Bey, in a tag team match with his partner, Ace Austin, performed a routine move that they had done plenty of times; however, this time, something felt different. The five-foot-nine wrestler was not moving. At the time, Bey said that his arms were at his waist and he could not feel his lower body. The next thing fans hear is that Bey is being sent to the local medical facility for evaluation. The show went on with TNA stars such as Joe Hendry, offering up thoughts and prayers, and well wishes for Bey. Nobody knew what was going on, but everyone, including Bey, feared the worst.

He told ESPN in an interview back in May that he broke his C4 Vertebrae and experienced temporary paralysis from his neck down, and he immediately had to get emergency spinal cord surgery. Yet, the scariest news was what the doctors told him after the surgery. He was given just a 15% chance to walk again or use his hands, and that his wrestling career was all but over. Bey told ESPN that when he got the news, he did not care about wrestling anymore.”Wrestling was no longer my life. It was no longer my job. I just cared about being alive, Bey said. Two months after the surgery, the former X-Division Champion began the grueling journey of rehabilitation with hundreds of therapy sessions.

The long hours and months of rehab turned the three-time TNA Tag Team Champion’s hope into determination. By January, slowly, he was regaining his ability to walk again. He began to feel his hands again. On his birthday, February 13th,  he posted a video to his Instagram showing that The Ultimate Finesser was walking and standing, unassisted, of course. Bey was defying the odds. His peers in the wrestling community rallied around him by hosting an event called “Benefit for Bey,” a card that featured wrestlers from different promotions, where all the proceeds went to Bey’s recovery.

Today, Chris Bey can do light workouts but still struggles with the use of his hands doing certain things, such as tying his shoes. According to Bey, he is at 45% of what he was before the injury. As for wrestling, he is not sure when he will be able to wrestle again, and he has not put a timeline on that. Until that time comes again, Bey wants to work in wrestling in different capacities, such as a writer or producer. His journey has been described as being long and hard. It affected him physically and mentally, but Bey persevered. He calls this journey the “Greatest Story Ever Told” because his life and dreams were affected by a catastrophic injury, but with all the odds stacked against him, he is still here. “I’m in the process of becoming an athlete again, and should that day come when we get to end it, my way, when the music hits and I come back in my full wrestling gear and a pair of boots, it's just the greatest story ever told.”