Big E shared some good news in an ESPN article about his neck injury that he suffered this past March when landed on the top of his head after a suplex by Ridge Holland on an episode of SmackDown.
The former WWE Champion fractured his C1 and C6 vertebrae. He recently shared on Twitter that the C1 vertebra he fractured is not ossifying [forming bone].
Big E said in the interview that he is “grateful” that doctors have said he will make a complete recovery from a broken neck. It’s unclear how long he will be out of the ring until he gets checked one year after the injury, in March 2023.
Big E recalled doctors telling him this kind of fall could have “led to stroke, paralysis or death.”
“It’s very sobering to hear that,” Big E said. “… I think to be great at something like [pro wrestling] or at least to be competent, you can’t spend all your time worrying about possibly fatal injuries or breaking your neck. You have to go out there and be free and in the moment. I think a lot of us as performers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that stuff. I never thought I would be.”
As noted, because he did not suffer any displacement to his spine and didn’t have spinal cord, ligament, or nerve damage, he will not need surgery.
Big E also said that he has no negative feelings towards Holland for the accident, and Holland has reached out and said very kind things. He understands that wrestling is dangerous, and it was unfortunate that it went down that way.
