Stevie Richards Addresses His Future In Professional Wrestling

Earlier in 2023, former WWE star Stevie Richards was hospitalized for an infection that brought him an onslaught of health issues. Richards hasn't wrestled a match in two years at this point, and on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Richards was asked if a return to the ring can be expected once he's fully healed.

"If I say no, will they add another zero? Little Terry Funk action. No, that's not in the plans. It's really not," Richards said, "I really don't know about that, but the spine infection and the fact that two discs and four levels of my vertebrae are eating away and I need to naturally fuse over 12 to 18 months, essentially right now I'm done." Richards added that he thinks professional wrestling is "more difficult" when it comes to leaving the sport, especially when compared to something like the NFL.

Richards went on to provide some insight into his hospitalization earlier this year, now less than six months removed from the debilitating infection and recovery process, "It was the end of January, and the infection went all throughout February. Then I went into the hospital in mid-February, mid to late February. I didn't even start the antibiotic therapy until like February 17. Something like that. So that was eight weeks of that, and then having to learn how to use my body again because my muscles were completely atrophied. It's an even bigger, like what in the world this is crazy. This is a miracle that this happened."

"People didn't see all that. They didn't see the walker video or any of the other stuff, and they think I'm making it up. I don't blame them! I don't blame them, because it's like as much as it turned on a dime that Sunday morning for the bad, it feels like it turned on a dime for the good when all the therapy was over, and we were ready to go and start the road to recovery," he said, "It's crazy man, and I do not wish this infection on anyone or any kind of pain from the infection on anyone. This was the most pain, by far, that I've ever been in my life. I'm talking 24/7 dude, it never went away."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.