Chris Bey looks back on the aftermath of his surgery and says that he spoke with WWE star CM Punk.
Bey suffered a neck injury in October 2024, and he underwent surgery. He has been recovering ever since, and he shared a video of himself walking in February, and he provided an update on his health.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Chris Bey discussed how he spoke with CM Punk after his surgery. He noted that their conversation helped him as he started the road to recovery.
“The day I woke up from surgery, the first thing I thought was that I’m alive,” Chris Bey said. “I was grateful to be alive, because if I wasn’t supposed to be here anymore, I wouldn’t have been. So once I woke up, one of the first things I kept saying was day one. People use that phrase before. It’s not a new [thing], I didn’t create the phrase day one. For me it just meant this is day one as far as my new life, my new obstacle, my new journey. I break everything up into seasons in life, the season that I chased this, the season that I pursued this, and this was a new season for me.
“So what made me not quit was I was alive, and when I got that diagnosis for maybe 24 to 48 hours, I was a little messed up about it. I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it, and I was telling myself it’s better than a 0% chance, but I still was doubting a little bit. But then I had a conversation with Punk, and it was very simple conversation where he said something along the lines of, I think that diagnosis and that percentage applies to humans and you’re not human. I had to put my whole life into perspective. I’ve had a less percent chance of becoming a professional wrestler and landing on TV. I’ve had a lot less odds with everything that I’ve done in my life up until this point. So who’s to say I can’t beat this one? And once I realized that 24 to 48 hours were over, it was go time.”
Chris Bey On CM Punk’s Shout-Out
Bey also commented on how CM Punk gave him a shout-out in his post-match promo on the WWE RAW on Netflix premiere. He made it clear that it meant a lot to him, as Punk was one of his favorite wrestlers when he was growing up. He then emphasized how he just wanted to be a wrestler, and this recognition left him speechless.
“How do you even put that into words? I was surprised,” Bey said. “First things first, I was surprised. I was humbled, grateful. I just can’t believe that through doing what I wanted to do all my life and actually being able to be successful at it, I’ve made this much of a mark on people, because all I ever wanted to do was wrestle. All I ever wanted to do since I was a kid, I knew it. There was never anything else that I wanted to do more than this. There’s nothing else that I’ve thought of every single day other than this. I think about wrestling probably every single day. It’s on all of our minds every single day.
“So to look up and see this Netflix debut one of your favorite wrestlers growing up, and he shouts you out. One of my best friends was in the crowd. So he’s a big Punk fan, he was loving it. Everybody’s blowing up my phone about it. I’m still in the dark at the time, not posting. So I can’t really acknowledge it the way I want to acknowledge it, but I just can’t believe it. I just can’t believe him or anybody cares about me that much or thinking about me that much because I’m just a guy. I just wanted to be a wrestler. I became a wrestler. TNA has helped put me on a platform and give me the opportunity to do everything that I love, and this is the result. I have no words for it.” (H/t Fightful for the transcription)
Future Stars of Wrestling is holding a Chris Bey Benefit show on March 23rd to help raise funds for him.
WrestleZone will provide more information about Chris Bey’s recovery as it becomes available.
