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AEW often has talent on the shelf with injuries, but one former Women's World Champion nearly had to retire after hurting her back. Ahead of her high-stakes match with Mercedes Mone, Jamie Hayter has opened up on her injury and how she bettered herself during her hiatus.
Jamie Hayter was the AEW Women's World Champion when she suffered two herniated disks in her back in May 2023. After dropping the title to Toni Storm at that year's Double or Nothing, she took a break from the ring to recover—a hiatus that lasted more than a year.
In a recent interview with Justin Barrasso for Undisputed, Hayter explained how difficult it was to deal with the herniated disks:
"It was an incredibly difficult time,” said Hayter. "I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. The only thing I could do for long periods of time was sit on my stomach."
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She revealed that she had continued working when the pain first appeared, but after a while, it became too much to bear:
"When I got hurt, I didn’t know what it was. I was still training and wrestling at first. After a while, I couldn’t stand up straight. I was in excruciating pain. I couldn’t even get out of bed for PT."
Jamie Hayter spent her time away from AEW wisely
AEW fans missed their former champion during her time away, but Jamie Hayter used her recovery window to grow internally.
In the same interview with Justin Barrasso, she pointed out that whenever something terrible happens, she can ultimately twist it into something positive. While on hiatus, she spent time writing, listening to music, and focusing on herself:
"It gutted me. It sucked. I didn’t even watch much wrestling. I did a lot of writing, listened to music. When I could move, I’d get outside. It’s nice and sunny here in Georgia, so I wanted to be present in my current situation. Wrestling would always be on the back of my mind, but I needed to focus on my every day and focus on me. I was going to need surgery, but then the pain massively subsided. Weirdly, I’m now glad it happened. Personally, on the inside, I feel a million times better."
Jamie Hayter is now back in action and itching to face Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship again. But to do that, she'll have to beat Mercedes Mone in the Owen Hart Cup finals at Double or Nothing. It remains to be seen whether the British star can reclaim her throne.
