43-year-old WWE veteran talks about his biggest contribution to the wrestling business after being forced to retire
While WWE CCO Triple H's leadership is often singled out for improving the quality of the product, perhaps those working behind the scenes do not get their flowers.
TJ Wilson, better known by his ring name Tyson Kidd, suffered a spinal cord injury in June 2015. Unfortunately, the incident took place during a dark match against Samoa Joe.
Fortunately, though, he survived the alarming injury but was forced to retire. WWE moved him to the alumni section and gave him a permanent job as a producer. Wilson recently appeared for an interview on TMZ Sports alongside his wife Natalya, during which he admitted how his current role is more valuable than his in-ring contributions for over two decades:
“Nattie knows I say this a lot, and I have goosebumps when you were kind of laying that all out because it is true. I do feel this is a bigger contribution than my in-ring career,” TJ Wilson said. “However, I needed all the experiences and all that time on my own in-ring career to be able to apply everything on this side of things.”
Wilson made his television debut for WWE in 2010 alongside David Hart Smith and Natalya, together dubbed The Hart Dynasty. Despite his career ending five years later, he has no regrets:
“I don’t have any kind of regret of anything in my wrestling career by any means. But I definitely feel a greater sense of accomplishment and achievement on this side of things. I work almost exclusively with the women for the past few years, and to see them — it’s a big game of catch-up. Nattie and I were speaking earlier; this is going to be the seventh Women’s Royal Rumble. This is the 36th Men’s Royal Rumble. We’re playing a big game of catch-up here.” [From 6:28 to 7:18]
Check out the video below:
Natalya continues to perform for WWE. She is currently a member of the RAW roster, where she has been teaming up with Tegan Nox of late.
Natalya loves working with new talent in WWE
Natalya is one of the veterans of the women's division, with a rich family history and a notable career of her own. She has held both the Divas Championship as well as the SmackDown Women's Title (which was replaced in 2023 with the Women's World Championship).
"I absolutely love working with new women that come into WWE," Natalya admitted. [From 14:44 to 14:49]
Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, another fairly new tag team in the women's division, wrestled Natalya and Tegan Nox on RAW: Day 1. The former picked up the win, making them the new No. 1 Contenders to the Women's Tag Team Championship.
If you use any of the quotes, give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription and credit TMZ Sports.