Tyson Kidd Recalls Vince McMahon Turning Down Royal Rumble Appearance

Tyson Kidd hasn't wrestled since June 2015 when he suffered a serious neck/spine injury while taking a Muscle Buster from Samoa Joe. 

Kidd has detailed the injury in the past, saying he was lucky to survive the incident. His in-ring career was thought to be over, but he has worked hard to better himself physically and has been training in a private ring along with helping talent in WWE. 

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Speaking to New Day on New Day: Feel The Power, Kidd revealed he pitched a Royal Rumble cameo to Vince McMahon, hoping to finish his in-ring career on a more positive note. 

"I wanted to write the final page of me being an in-ring performer. I thought, what better way than the Royal Rumble? I wouldn't have to get slammed. I already showed Finn how to get eliminated. I remember talking to Vince about it and he said, 'Do you need an answer today or can you give me time to think about it?' 'Of course, take your time. It's not a rush.' When I was presenting it to him, I said it could be next year's Rumble. It doesn't have to be in four weeks, it can be anytime. He called me one day and said he put a lot of thought into and we would control everything on our end, but what if something outside of our realm were to happen and it were to undo all the good that has happened over the last few years. Physically, I do feel very good. His thought was, 'why risk that?' In my mind, the visual that played out as he was saying this to me was, imagine I'm standing on the steps and for whatever reason, a fan jumps the railing, pushes me, and it whiplashes me and my neck is super messed up. I offered it to Vince, he gave me two or three weeks solid thought and this was his answer. Then I had this visual of a guy pushing me. It pretty much happened at the Hall of Fame, some guy slides in and attacks Bret, pushes Nattie down. It's what I envisioned. I took it as a sign of; okay, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. It would be cool if I could write the final page of my in-ring career, but I can't, I don't think. When Vince told me that he put thought into it but he couldn't clear me, I was 40% disappointed and 60% relieved. As we were talking, I felt the anxiety leave my system," he said.

Kidd currently works as a producer for WWE and went on to say that he finds great joy and excitement in putting together a match and seeing the positive feedback the wrestlers receive, equating it to the excitement he would get after one of his matches. 

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