TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd in WWE) can accept the way his in-ring career came to an end.
In June 2015, Wilson suffered a severe spinal cord injury that would put an end to his career inside the ring. Despite that, TJ would return to work for WWE two years later as a producer, where he has gone on to develop a tremendous rapport with the Women's Division, many of whom applaud him for his contributions.
Appearing on The Dropkick Podcast, Wilson says that though there are lots of things he misses about being in the ring, he realizes that if the decision had not been made for him he might have continued wrestling well past his prime. That said, the producer's role has played a large part in him being so zen about the situation.
“Yeah. There’s a lot of things I do miss about it. But, I got hurt at 34 right before I turned 35. Even then, I knew at some point this stage is going to come to an end. When I got hurt, I was forced to retire. The choice was taken out of my hands. I think with the way I’m wired, I think I’m a little bit glad... I’m not glad, but I can accept the way it happened. If that injury didn’t happen, I might have just kept wrestling past my prime. At least this way... it’s hard as an athlete. It’s hard to know when is it time to say ‘Okay, now this is your game. It isn’t mine anymore.' In hindsight, I was a little fortunate that I didn’t have to make that choice, but I had it made for me. Now, I wouldn’t be as zen with it if I didn’t have this role as a producer and this special connection I have with the women. If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be sitting here so calmly saying my in-ring career is over," he said.
During another interview, TJ discussed the recent changes to NXT and how they better serve WWE's main roster. Click here to read more.
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