October 27, 2024, will be a day Chris Bey will never forget, albeit for all the wrong reasons. During a taping for TNA Wrestling, Bey suffered fractured C1 and C6 vertebrae during a tag-team match that pitted himself and Ace Austin against Matt and Jeff Hardy.
This setback wasn’t just difficult for Chris, but also for his girlfriend, Brittnie Brooks. After Bey took to social media to reflect on the past year, Brooks shared a lengthy statement on her X page, calling the accident “the worst day of my life.”
“One year ago today, our lives changed forever when @DashingChrisBey suffered a severe spinal cord injury and broken neck during a match.
“By far the worst day of my life hearing the news and being so unsure about what was going on.
“Thanks to TNA, and their quick reaction time, i was able to make it to the hospital in Detroit literally about 12 hrs after the injury happened, despite living across the country in Arizona at the time. being by chris’s side and making sure he knew he wasn’t alone was the most important thing to me.
“Between getting the news that he probably will never walk again, and trying my best to be strong for him, the following two months of traveling back and forth to visit him in the hospital and also still tend to my knee (which i was rehabbing from my ACL tear) was very difficult.
“Everyday them coming in and telling him to move his toes ano just not being able to was so hard to see. when you love someone, it’s so heartbreaking to see them in so much pain and uncertainty. but still, he persisted and defied every single thing they told him he wouldn’t be able to do.
“By time he was discharged in december, he was able to move his legs, by our 2nd week of being home in vegas he was out the wheelchair, able to walk with a walker, and 2 weeks later he was on crutches, and 2 weeks after, walking with no assistance.
“Chris is one of the strongest-willed and physically strongest person i’ve ever met. To add onto that, when you go thru a spinal cord injury it’s so much more than not being able to walk. his first week in the hospital he couldn’t move his arms, couldn’t hold his phone, couldn’t feed himself, let alone internally digest the food. so many of his body systems were and still are changed forever.
“I will never understand the pain he went thru, (and continues to go thru daily) but his drive and dedication inspires me daily to constantly be better.
“I’M so honored to be by his side and be able to call him mine. i love you so much @DashingChrisBey and proud is an understatement.
“This is the greatest story ever told, and i’m so happy to be apart of every chapter.”
Bey has been able to make literal strides in his recovery, including standing tall in April 2025 at the fittingly-named TNA Unbreakable. The show was Bey’s first appearance at a TNA event since the injury and was able to appreciate the moment with his ABC ally Ace Austin by his side.
Chris Bey won’t count out a return to the ring, a testament to his ongoing determination. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but Bey continues to prove he is a fighter in and out of the ring.