Former champion says he thought his WWE career was over while out injured
When a WWE Superstar is injured and forced on the sideline, it can be tough for anyone to adjust to that life. Tommaso Ciampa has now spoken about how when he was sidelined with a serious injury, he thought that his WWE career had come to an end.
On the June 19, 2023, episode of RAW, Ciampa returned from a serious injury, but it made him confront some harsh possibilities.
The star is back in WWE now and lost a match to The Miz thanks to interference from Bronson Reed. Now, he is in a feud with Reed, apparently, but was also kicked in the chest by Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura appeared to turn heel after losing a match via DQ thanks to Ciampa's interference.
Speaking on Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin, Ciampa pointed out the number of issues that he was facing and talked about his injury situation as a whole.
"So much was wrong. I had bulging discs in my back. The SI joint was closed off. Hip labrum was torn to shreds. It was just a mess. The MRI had a lot of language in it that I didn't understand. So, the surgery and the rehab wasn't very fun, I'm not going to lie. It was pretty miserable at that point."
When the 38-year-old went to Columbia, he was depressed and felt like he had wrestled his last match and that it had not even been on TV but at a live event. Tommaso Ciampa was sure for a bit that his career was at an end.
"When I went out to Columbia, I was a little like, 'holy cr*p,' a little bit depressed, like I might have had my last match and it was in whatever town on a live event - not how I envisioned it being." [H/T SEScoops]
Thankfully, his career didn't end there.
Tommaso Ciampa posted a video showcasing his recovery process during his time away from the WWE ring
Despite his time away from the ring and his depression, the former WWE NXT Champion posted videos of his recovery process as well, showcasing his fight to get better.
Eventually, he did get better and was able to make it back to the ring, despite it being a long journey to get there.