If you’re reading this article on this pro wrestling website, there is a close to 100 percent chance that you’re a huge fan of Braun Strowman, a man capable of tremendous feats of … well, just about anything.
While Strowman had been riding a wave of immense popularity even before he started dipping into the world of magical realism, he’s certainly taken things up a notch in the past few months, and it’s leaving WWE fans absolutely delighted. Whether he’s dismantling sets, flipping over semi trucks, running afoul of Brock Lesnar, upending stages, or playing violent ballads on oversized stringed instruments, the man can pretty much do it all.
Shockingly, there was a past injury scare that almost kept any of this from happening. So take solace that we may not be living in the darkest possible timeline after all.
During an interview on SiriusXM, Strowman talked about the injury that left his leg paralyzed us and could have kept him from being BRAAAAAUUUUUNNN. Let’s say a small little word of thanks that it was able to be fixed. (Transcript via WrestleZone.)
“If I could go back and do it all over, just at the beginning, being a little bit smarter with protecting myself and my brand, you know being a big man and not letting people talk me into dumb things that I shouldn’t be doing. Injuries happen, and one injury in particular was really close to ending my career, I ruptured a disc and it cut into my side nerve and it paralyzed my left leg.
“The folks with WWE, they take such great care of us with injuries, and making sure we’re running at peak performance. I went to Pittsburgh with one of the head neurosurgeons in the country, and they got in there and I had to be pushed through the airport to the plane and into the hospital in a wheelchair. My leg was 100% paralyzed, I couldn’t use it. I went in and had surgery, and an hour and a half after I came out of anesthesia I got up and walked to my recovery room.
“The man upstairs has looked out for me throughout these times with stuff like that, and with veterans like Mark [Henry] and Big Show and the big men that have paved the road for where I’m going now. Taking me under their wing and teaching me a lot of the things to do, and the things not to do; I couldn’t have been put in a better position with everything. I’ve just … I feel like I’ve hit the wrestling lottery.”
There’s no telling how early in his career this happened, or what exactly led to that horrific injury. But it likely happened during his early days at the WWE Performance Center. Don’t yell at me if that’s not accurate, please. You can listen to the full interview below.
