Ortiz says injury made him a better person: ‘I like who I am now’
Ortiz believes his torn pectoral muscle is actually one of the best things that ever happened to him.
The injury occurred during a tag match on AEW Collision in January 2024 and sidelined Ortiz for more than a year. He was off AEW programming even longer than that, only recently returning at Worlds End. Ortiz detailed the injury on a new episode of AEW Unrestricted and explained how it led to him adopting a better mindset.
“It was just from a clothesline. It’s just one of those freak accidents,” he said. “It’s a move I’ve done thousands and thousands of times, but it was just [the] wrong angle. And my muscles were probably tight at the time. And, you know, it was an unfortunate thing that happened, but honestly, one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, because mentally, I’m in a better place now.
“I had to switch perspectives. When I initially got injured, I was very sad. I was down and out. Just got broken up with Santana at the time. I was trying to find myself. Was finally getting to do it with Eddie [Kingston] again. And it just came very abruptly. It was like, ‘I finally got my shot. Yes, let’s do this.’
“And then bam, injury happened. So it was just a very low moment. My confidence, everything, I just — all self doubt kind of kicks in. And then I felt that for a while. And then you could do one or two things. You could either continue down that path or you could do something about it. And I just had to change my perspective and my goals. Just going through that low moment, I was able to come out of it a different person. And I like who I am now.”
Ortiz said the injury made him realize that he needs something to look forward to. When he has a goal that he’s striving for, he is able to do his best work. When he doesn’t have those goals, that’s when he feels lost.
The recovery process was difficult with Ortiz needing to undergo a second surgery a couple of weeks after his initial one. He developed a baseball-sized hematoma on his biceps that had to be taken care of. That prolonged Ortiz’s recovery time, but he made it through by focusing on the small things and then setting new goals as he was able to do more. Ortiz took indie dates once he was cleared and also did some coaching for AEW before making his TV return at Worlds End, where he reunited with Eddie Kingston.
Being back in AEW is the best feeling in the world for Ortiz, who noted that wrestling is the thing he loves most aside from his family.
“Oh, man — really good,” he responded when asked how it feels to be back. “It was a long journey, almost two years since I was on television. Yeah, I felt every minute of that. It feels really good because I’ve been working really hard during that time off. And I’m just excited to be able to show everyone and show the payoff and [it’s] just the best feeling in the world, man. I love wrestling more than anything. Other than my son and my family, wrestling is my number one.”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.