Thunder Rosa Discusses Her Recovery From Injury

Thunder Rosa is making progress.

Rosa has been sidelined since August; on the August 24 episode of AEW Dynamite, Rosa, the reigning AEW Women’s World Champion at the time, announced that she was unable to defend the title due to an injury. The company subsequently crowned an Interim AEW Women’s World Champion, and Rosa has been absent ever since.

Speaking on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Rosa offered an update by stating that she’s making good progress, and she’s now able to run for the first time in three months. She stated that she is still prohibited from doing a number of things, but this step forward meant a lot to her.

“I’m doing really well. This week, we did some good progress. I started running for the first time in three months. So the physical activity is getting a little bit bigger. I’m allowed to do a lot more stuff than before. I’m not allowed to lift yet. I’m not allowed to do a lot of stuff. I’m not allowed to wrestle, but we’re making progress. Just the fact that I can actually jog for seven minutes on and off, for me it’s huge because I have not been able to do that.

Rosa then described how she has spoken to patients who have dealt with similar injuries, and the recoveries vary from person to person. She emphasized that lower back injuries have a high risk of reinjury, but she is making progress. Rosa repeated that she’s excited about her recent milestone of jogging, and she’s looking forward to returning stronger than she was before.

“I have spoke to other patients that have similar injuries that I have, at the place that I go to,” Rosa said. “For a lot of us, everybody’s different, it’s hit and miss. When you were talking about a lower back injury, you have to be very careful because you can reinjure it again. It’s your back, so you utilize your back for everything. So I’m really hopeful that things will continue to progress the way that they are. We’re taking our time, and we’re taking all the measures that I need to take to stay safe. I’m really thankful that I’m allowed to go and do signings still, but I have to be very careful because my back can get irritated really easily, and I don’t want to get a huge setback.

“That is gonna take me from doing the basic stuff, like cleaning my house, walking my dog, all that stuff. You can really reinjure yourself. But I still don’t have a set time yet. But again I’m working really hard to get better physically and mentally. Mentally, injuries can take a toll. But I’m happy, I’m really happy that I can do that. I shared that with my family yesterday. They were all excited. The fact that I can do more physical activity to me is huge because when that is taken away from you and you are forced to be sitting at home, forced to be ‘chilling’, I’m just cooking like a maniac. That’s why I’ve gained like 25 pounds. It’s hard on any athlete, but I’m really excited. I know when I come back, I’m gonna come back a lot stronger in many aspects than when I left before.

When asked whether she pressures herself to get back to work, she noted that she has, but her doctors have reminded her to take a step back to ensure that her recovery stays on track. She stated that having surgery could prolong the process, so her doctors are trying to avoid that.

“I do, but they have to humble me a couple times, my doctors and my physical therapist,” Rosa said. “They were like, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re not gonna get better. You’re just gonna hurt yourself. You have to accept that there’s a timeline for a reason because we don’t want you to surgery.

“Because once you have surgery, recovery’s gonna be longer. Things are not gonna be the same. Reinjury is pretty high, and you’re gonna have to [inaudible]. It really pissed me off because it’s like, no, it shouldn’t be that way. I want to do this and I want to do that. On top of everything that is happening with the injury, you just have to accept that you have to take a step back and let your body heal.”

During Rosa’s absence, Tpni Storm has reigned as the AEW Interim Women’s World Champion; she won the gold at AEW All Out, and she will defend the title against Jamie Hayter at AEW Full Gear.

WrestleZone will provide more information about Rosa’s return as it becomes available.

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