'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Wrestling is a taxing sport, and even on the best of the best, be they in WWE, AEW, or IMPACT, it can take a toll. That's what happened with the 30-year wrestling veteran Stevie Richards. It appears that now he may be retired for good.
Richards made a career out of wrestling in WWE, WCW, ECW, IMPACT Wrestling, as well as many other promotions. Over the course of his 30-year career in wrestling, he established himself as one of the big names in the business.
Earlier this year, though, he revealed that he was facing a spinal infection that put him in the hospital.
The former WCW star recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet (H/T Wrestling News), where he discussed his recovery process. He said that at one point, he could not walk properly. He added that even after his treatment, he was not sure how he would be feeling. He further noted that it was still too early in the recovery process.
Trending
“Then even after treatment, what percentage am I going to be after the treatment is complete? I’m thankful to say that, in a lot of ways, I feel like I’m back to 100%, but in a whole bunch of other ways, we’re very early in the stages in my road to recovery.”
It was a struggle for the former WWE star to find a doctor to diagnose him properly, and after not finding a diagnosis for a time, he found out that the infection had eaten through his L4 and L5 vertebrae and had started working on the L2 and L3 vertebrae. They were scared the infection would even spread to his brain. There was a hurry to find out how to stop it and did it with broad-spectrum antibiotics in the beginning.
Speaking about whether he is retired now, he said that he was essentially done with his in-ring career now. Given the time it will take for his recovery, there's a long process to go through before he can even think about wrestling.
“I really don’t know about that. I mean, but the spine infection and the fact that two discs and four levels of my vertebrae are eaten away, and I need them to naturally fuse over 12-18 months, essentially right now I’m done.”
You can check out the full video below.
WWE veteran Stevie Richards shared a scary story of his spinal issues
Speaking on how his entire issue came about, the WWE veteran said that in January, he was working out and then felt that his back was stiff. He was then stuck in his chair and could not get up.
“I thought, you know, obviously, you’ve spoken to a lot of wrestlers. Our backs and our necks are eventually going to hit a wall at some point. About three hours after my workout, I was completely stuck right in this chair that we’re talking to each other in right now. I could not get up.”
His back was locked down, and his wife had to take him off the chair and put him on his bed on a heating pad. But it got worse within seconds. His entire life changed in three hours, as he went from walking normally to walking with his wife's assistance to needing a walker in that time.
We at Sportskeeda wish the WWE veteran a swift recovery process.
