TNA World Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy discussed Chris Bey’s injury situation on the latest “Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast. For those of you who would like to help Bey out with his medical costs, check out this GoFundMe link.
Matt Hardy talking about Chris Bey’s injury in TNA:
“It was a very difficult experience. Without going into too much detail, or, you know, not getting into people’s personal business, I mean, it was a very freak accident. It happened the night after (Bound for Glory), and it just happened in a way that it was something very standard. There was nothing crazy. There was nothing outlandish or outrageous. There was no high level of risk involved in what was going on. It was just a very simple thing, and it’s once again, a very scary and stark reminder about how dangerous it is what we do, pro wrestling, just in general.”
“There was a point where Chris was just laying there. Once we understood he was in that condition, the match came to an end. We tried our best to take care of him. He ended up having some emergency surgery that night. It ended up being productive. People think it came out well. He’s on the path to recovering, but it’s gonna be a slow process. I would love for everyone to please keep Chris Bey, who is just an amazing guy, such a positive, optimistic, kind human being. The quality of optimism that he has reminds me of myself in many, many ways.”
“I felt very fortunate. Last night, I got to speak to him. His partner, Ace Austin obviously has been with him out there the whole while. We’ve been staying in contact every single day and I’ve been getting updates. I actually got to speak with Chris last night. We FaceTimed for a few minutes. I saw he was doing better. He’s improving slowly but surely and he has an amazing attitude. He has the attitude you need to recover from an injury like this. Send all your thoughts and prayers. If you’re a big prayer, put a prayer out for Chris, and just keep him in your thoughts. There’s been people that have been donating and giving him money, just for his life, in the weeks or months or whatever, however long it takes him to recuperate from this so that he doesn’t have to worry about where his income comes from. Yes, TNA has taken care of the expenses, but it’s just to make sure that he is safe and he focuses on himself. The wrestling community has been so selfless and so great about it. It’s been amazing.”
If Chris Jericho should remove himself from AEW TV:
“Well, first and foremost, I understand being an older guy around in wrestling. Someone who is looked at as like a legacy talent. Someone who’s looked at as a living legend more or less. Chris and I fall in the same category a lot. There were a lot of people at AEW that thought Jeff and I should not be there. We shouldn’t be featured. It was pretty brutal. It’s so funny that we came to TNA and numbers across the board are up. It’s not just myself and Jeff, but I mean, we definitely help. We help with that issue. They’re doing these great houses. They’re selling more tickets than they have in over a decade. It’s a very positive thing and it’s nice that we are being utilized in the correct way.”
“Looking back at it, I watched the ladder match that he had with Mark Briscoe, and I thought Jericho was utilized perfectly. If you’re trying to build Ring of Honor, even if it is on the Ring of Honor app or their site, he’s a great guy to be the champion and to feature him like that. That match where he wrestled Mark Briscoe, it elevated Mark Brisco, in my opinion. He was just such a chicken sh*t heel the way Big Bill put him on his shoulders and carried him up the ladder, which was a great finish. I think the people who say Chris Jericho should not be on TV at this stage of the game, I just think they’re absolutely wrong. I think he has a benefit. I think he adds a lot to pro wrestling.”
Matt Hardy on TNA trying to find a bigger platform:
“I feel like there’s a lot of people that because they don’t have a channel that gets TNA, they don’t see it, and they don’t realize how good it is, but I think once you sit down and you watch it, you realize it’s really, really good. If they can find a bigger platform, which is something they’re actively working on than AXS TV, I think that would be a game changer because the product is really, really strong right now. It also has a ton of compelling moments and stories.”
Matt Hardy’s podcast drops every Friday at ExtremeHardy.com. If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit ExtremeHardy.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
