As PWMania.com previously reported, TNA star Steph De Lander was scheduled to compete at Victory Road last week and team with Matt Cardona to take on TNA Digital Media Champion and Canadian International Heavyweight Champion PCO and Rhino. However, she announced that she would not be competing and she will require neck surgery. It was then announced shortly after that De Lander is expected to be out of in-ring action anywhere from six to ten months.
De Lander recently took to an episode of her “That’s Cooked” podcast, where she talked about a number of topics including the latest on her health and her status with the company.
De Lander said, “I need to take care of myself. I need to take care of my neck so I can have a long career when I return. Every wrestler’s worst nightmare is getting told that you can never wrestle again, right? But that’s not even taking into consideration the risks of paralysis, serious neck injury, and all of that kind of stuff. So even just from a career standpoint, I’m going to do everything that I can to avoid getting told I can’t wrestle, right? So, if I have the option to do this surgery, which would be a fusion of C5-C6, discectomy, and recover and come back, which is a surgery that lots of wrestlers have had previously. I’ve spoken to multiple wrestlers that have had the exact same surgery and have returned to wrestling, and they’ve all said that they feel [like] a million bucks, that it’s the best thing they ever did. They’re so happy they did it. I’ve heard so many people have really positive experiences, which is what I need to hear. I’m gonna do this while, while I can and while it makes sense. it feels very, very reckless when I want to have a long career to risk a really serious neck injury. So that’s kind of where I’m at. That’s the answer for everyone. It’s going to be a fusion of a C5-C6. Is it career-ending? Absolutely not. How long am I going to be out? Probably six-plus months, maybe a little bit longer, and that’s just the way it is.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
