Natalya reflects on TJ Wilson getting hurt in 2015.
In 2015, Samoa Joe took on TJ Wilson (then known as Tyson Kidd) in a dark match during a taping of WWE Superstars. Unfortunately, while taking the Muscle Buster, the Canadian suffered a freak neck injury which forced him to retire from in-ring competition. Looking back on her husband’s unfortunate injury almost a decade ago, Natalya has emphasised her support for Samoa Joe.
While talking through how frustrated TJ Wilson was at being told he was unable to wrestle again, Natalya told Chris Van Vliet on Insight that her heart broke for Samoa Joe following the injury, noting that it was the last thing he wanted.
“I also will say, just adding this, and I wrote about this in the book. My heart broke for Samoa Joe, because nobody wants to ever go through anything like that. That was the last thing in the world that he wanted. He is somebody that in the industry, Joe, I believe, and I have a pretty good pulse on the industry, not just in WWE. Joe is very respected. He’s a great guy. The guys love Joe. He’s got a great reputation. He’s a great person. He loves the industry. He’s very honorable. So it was the last thing in the world that Joe wanted. So my heart also broke for Joe, because I just always felt so bad that he had to carry that too. People say mean things all the time to all of us on social media, but that’s the last thing in the world that Joe wanted. So I always had a little spot in my heart for him after that, because I was like, he didn’t want that, nobody wanted it. It was a sh*tty situation. Nobody across the board wanted that to happen. But it happened, and it was something that we had to go through.”
-Natalya
Since having to retire, TJ Wilson has gone on to become a successful producer for WWE. The 45-year-old works closely with the women’s division, helping the current roster to put matches together.
As for Samoa Joe, ‘The Samoan Submission Machine’ has become commonplace in All Elite Wrestling, having recently turned heel on Hangmen Page after losing to the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Samoa Joe and TJ Wilson as soon as we hear more.
