AEW President Tony Khan has often been praised by his employees as a caring boss who consistently goes the extra mile to check in on his stars, especially those who have been signed to the promotion since 2019. Once a regular act on television, The Butcher and The Blade have been off television for a long time, which seems to have largely been because of The Blade undergoing hefty surgery that Khan allegedly paid for.
"I had a back fusion, spinal fusion, on September 10th of '24. It's been about a year now, and I'm getting close to going back to doctors, getting cleared, the whole thing," he revealed during an appearance on the "Talk'N Shop Podcast." The Blade explained that when it comes to back issues, surgery is often the last option, and he had to undergo several physical therapies and shots beforehand. "I've been wrestling 25 years, you know, I've had a bad back for a long time. Like, AEW f**king took care of my surgery, they took care of my physical therapy, like they've been taking care of me for like over a year now; I'm really, really grateful for that job."
Blade also expressed that it's been weird taking bumps since his surgery. "I've been wrestling 25 years and to not, like, be in a ring for a year now, weird." Despite this, he added that the "scary stuff" is over and now he's just excited to get back into the ring. When giving the details of his back injury, Blade explained that he injured his very last vertebrae or the L5s1 which is usually the vertebrae fused in back surgeries.
Taking bumps might be a normal part of pro wrestling, but there's always a risk, no matter how safe the wrestlers are. As a 25-year veteran of the industry, The Blade has taken countless bumps throughout his career, but notes in 2020 he worsened his back by overestimating his abilities. "It's like embarrassing to say... We had a f***king... Me and Butcher had a f**king killer Falls Count Anywhere with the Bucks," he recalled. "And I'm in my 40s, and I was thinking that I was Jeff Hardy."
The Blade explained that he tried to emulate Jeff Hardy's front flip over a table spot from Royal Rumble 2000, where he was supposed to crash into tables against the guard rail. "I went to do the exact same thing, I mean, I remember [laughs] I can remember when I slid in the ring and I was hitting the ropes and I just, my legs weren't there and I was like 'I don't have this,'" he recalled, adding that he missed the table and flopped on the floor. "I remember my, just, felt the right side of my back just...going like completely numb... And just kept wrestling!"
However, Blade admitted that over the past year, his back pains simply became too uncomfortable and he had to do something about it.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "Talk'N Shop Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
