5 Things you need to know about Tommaso Ciampa

#3. His neck injury is much worse than you think it is

Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa

While wrestling is a scripted sport and the athletes in the ring are trained professionals, professional wrestling is not a safe sport. At any time, these gladiators may suffer an injury that could instantly jeopardize or even end their careers.

Unfortunately, Tommaso Ciampa recently suffered a career-threatening neck injury that forced him to relinquish his NXT Championship and miss NXT's biggest TakeOver event of the year on WrestleMania weekend.

Ciampa recently underwent anterior cervical fusion surgery to take pressure off his spinal cord. The surgery included replacing a ruptured disc with donor bone and bone from Ciampa's hip, as well.

Ciampa detailed his injury on E&C's Pod of Awesomeness,

"I wasn't under the threat of paralysis per se. My spinal column wasn't in jeopardy....all of a sudden whatever was happening over the course of the few months because I have spinal stenosis [the same injury that ended Edge's Hall of Fame career] that must have progressed and that's when everybody had to say, 'Wait a second, there's no more risking this.'"

The former NXT Champion claims the injury is different from any other injury he has ever faced and he has endured many throughout his professional wrestling career.

He adds, "I was so freaked out getting neck surgery, especially this young." After surgery, Ciampa has been asked to limit his daily routine, which has been a struggle.