TNA Wrestling star Chris Bey appeared on Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss several topics, including top WWE star CM Punk speaking with him after his surgery.
Bey said, โThe day I woke up from surgery, the first thing I thought was that Iโm alive. I was grateful to be alive, because if I wasnโt supposed to be here anymore, I wouldnโt have been. So once I woke up, one of the first things I kept saying was day one. People use that phrase before. Itโs not a new [thing], I didnโt 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 couldnโt believe it. I didnโt want to believe it, and I was telling myself itโs 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 youโre not human. I had to put my whole life into perspective. Iโve had a less percent chance of becoming a professional wrestler and landing on TV. Iโve had a lot less odds with everything that Iโve done in my life up until this point. So whoโs to say I canโt beat this one? And once I realized that 24 to 48 hours were over, it was go time.โ
On Punk mentioning him on WWE RAW:
โHow do you even put that into words? I was surprised. First things first, I was surprised. I was humbled, grateful. I just canโt believe that through doing what I wanted to do all my life and actually being able to be successful at it, Iโve 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. Thereโs nothing else that Iโve thought of every single day other than this. I think about wrestling probably every single day. Itโs 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 heโs a big Punk fan, he was loving it. Everybodyโs blowing up my phone about it. Iโm still in the dark at the time, not posting. So I canโt really acknowledge it the way I want to acknowledge it, but I just canโt believe it. I just canโt believe him or anybody cares about me that much or thinking about me that much because Iโm 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.โ
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)