Luke Harper took to Twitter today and confirmed that he was cleared to return to action back on February 6th. He also noted that he has not been brought to one WWE TV tapings since going down with an injury last October.
Harper pointed to how he will be facing WWE NXT Superstar Dominik Dijakovic at the WrestleMania 35 Axxess tapings for the WWE Network next Thursday, and said his WWE career has come full circle. Harper also addressed the speculation on his future and said he still has so much to prove to himself, WWE, the industry and his wife. He went on to say being “ignored and left home for months” by WWE brought on a lot of doubt and negative thoughts.
He wrote, I have so much to prove to myself, to WWE, to the industry of professional wrestling, to my wife and it is my responsibility to show my kids how to handle adversity. Next Thursday is the answer. Are the doubts real or is this the first step of the climb? I promise you I will come prepared and you will get my very best that night Mr. Dijak. Just know, be careful thinking of this as just an axxess match because to me, this is Wrestlemania. I’m not throwing away my shot.”
As noted, Harper has worked recent live events, including shows for the RAW brand, but he has been off TV since losing the SmackDown Tag Team Titles when Rowan suffered an injury last summer.
You can see his full statement below:
I’m 39 years old.
I’ve been cleared since February 6th. I haven’t been brought to one television taping since I left to have double ligament reconstruction surgery on October 2nd, 2018.
6 years ago, I wrestled multiple matches at Axxess as part of FCW and was involved in Undertakers entrance. 5 years ago, I had a front row seat to watch Bray Wyatt wrestle John Cena. 4 years ago, I competed for the Intercontinental Championship in my first Wrestlemania singles match. 3 years ago, I wrestled Brock Lesnar in Toronto on a network special. 2 years ago, I came within inches of competing for the WWE Championship in the very math AJ Styles won his first and within inches of being part of the WWE championship match at Wrestlemania with Bray and Randy. 1 year ago, I won the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships with Rowan while my wife and 2 sons watched from the front row.
Next Thursday I will be wrestling Donovan Dijak at Axxess.
Full circle.
I read all the texts I got that said, “you’re back on axxess???” I was kind to all the people at the gym asking if I’m retired. I swallowed my pride when agents and writers aasked me if I was still hurt when completely healthy. And now here we are. April 4th, 2019 “When Worlds Collide” at Axxess. Luke Harper vs. Donovan Dijak. How will I respond? How will I change things? Well to all of you this may just be a throwaway Axxess match, but I can assure you to me it is much, much more. This is test. No one has to be happy with the results except me. That’s the true test. Do I still have it? Can I compete with a young, up and coming, incredibly talented, nxt prospect? Am I too old? Has the game passed me by? Am I as good as I really think I am? It brings me near tears to write this because I truly believe I have so fucking much to offer this industry. I believe I will be a World Heavyweight Champion someday. I believe that, but these are the doubts I live with daily. These are the doubts that creep in your head during rehab. These are the thoughts you think when you watch your left side atrophy. Being ignored and left home for months exasperated these thoughts and it sucked.
I have so much to prove to myself, to WWE, to the industry of professional wrestling, to my wife and it is my responsibility to show my kids how to handle adversity. Next Thursday is the answer. Are the doubts real or is this the first step of the climb?
I promise you I will come prepared and you will get my very best that night Mr. Dijak. Just know, be careful thinking of this as just an axxess match because to me, this is Wrestlemania. I’m not throwing away my shot.
Good luck.
— Brodie Lee (@ThisBrodieLee) March 29, 2019
