TNA Wrestling star Ace Austin spoke with WhatCulture Wrestling about various topics, including Chris Bey’s ability to walk in his recovery video.
Austin said, “If everybody out there would have been able to see him on day one, that video would have been even more powerful. I went to the hospital with him immediately after the accident and I stayed by his side every moment that they would let me for two weeks. I didn’t leave Detroit, I didn’t go nowhere, I didn’t do nothing, I stayed right there with him. The toughest parts of it, I literally have goosebumps talking about it right now. He has such a strength — they told him he had a five to ten percent chance of walking again. I remember when he got that news, it brought him down just a little bit, but he did not let it pull him under. He totally pushed that aside and he said, ‘There’s no way that’s going to be me.’ I just admire that so much. I’ve been able to see updates and I’ve been able to see the progress up to this point, so it wasn’t a surprise to me when he posted that or anything, of course I knew about it. But, seeing every step of the way so far, it’s only been three months since that happened. Almost four months since that accident and he’s already on his feet. That’s baffling, his strength and his determination is so inspirational. I knew that he was strong and I knew he was capable of anything, but this is what we call pudding proof. You never know what somebody is capable of until you really put them in a tough spot like that, you really put him in the trenches and he proved what he’s made of. It really inspired me to be more than just talk. You got to put your money where your mouth is, man. If you say you’re strong, if you say you’re capable, you got to do it when the time comes. He didn’t tell me he was going to post that video or anything like that, but it brought me to tears when I saw it — especially on his birthday. I bet you that he had that goal in his head, I bet you he was thinking to himself, ‘My birthday is coming up, when it’s time to make the statement, I got to make the statement big.’ What a way he did that. So powerful standing up in his own two feet and walking towards that camera and thanking everybody for the outpouring of love and support, which in itself was baffling.”
On Bey’s story:
“When this whole thing happened with Chris, he got to feel it and it blew my [mind]. Again, it’s never not surprising to see how much people are willing to do to really lend a hand. It’s just — it’s so beautiful. I’m so glad that he’s back home and I’m so glad that he’s doing so good and feeling so good. I can’t wait to see him soon. He’s already on his feet, so there’s no way he’s not going to die everything he can to at least come back to the locker room, at least come back and maybe be on camera and say a couple words. It’s going to be a lot of work, it’s going to be a lot of time for him to get back in the ring but I bet you sooner than later, he’s gonna be right in front of that camera again doing what he loves.”
You can check out Austin’s comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
