Chris Bey now ‘able to live an independent life’ after broken neck

TNA star Chris Bey continues to hit huge personal milestones as he defies the odds in his broken neck recovery.

It’s been nearly one year since Bey suffered a broken neck during an in-ring accident while competing at a TNA TV taping in October 2024. There was initially doubt that he would ever walk again, but Bey is back on his feet and has now been discharged from physical therapy. On a new episode of Talk is Jericho, Bey revealed that he is able to live an independent life where he can do things on his own.

“I’m completely independent where I can dress myself, I can feed myself,” Bey said. “One of the things that I struggled with last was my grip strength as far as opening things. I couldn’t really open bottles and stuff. And I still have trouble depending on the type of bottle, opening things. But I can drive myself now. I can pretty much do everything that I need to do, you know, on the day-to-day basis.”

The one thing Bey is not able to do, at least at the moment, is wrestle. His present goal is just to wake up and feel good in life. As far as long-term, Bey believes he’ll be able to wrestle again one day even if it’s just one more match — but he knows that it will be no time soon.

“I truly look at it like, I’m going to let time tell me. And I’m going to let my body tell me,” Bey said. “I think when I think about wrestling, it’s not so much about going back to wrestling and getting back in wrestling as much as it is at least finishing my story my way, whether that means one more match or one more program, whatever it is.”

The 29-year-old Bey said he wants to eventually focus on having a family one day. While out of action, he’s open to contributing in other roles like producing or even doing something on-screen. Bey said he’s talked with TNA about potentially shadowing other agents when he’s able to. Bey noted that part of his recovery has been learning how to speak again, so doing something like commentary would help him build up those skills.

Bey made an appearance at TNA’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view in Lowell, Massachusetts last weekend. Before the show, TNA President Carlos Silva celebrated him with a TNA All Star Award.

In TNA, Bey is a three-time Tag Team Champion and was one of the promotion’s top up-and-coming stars before his injury.