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Current WWE star and LWO member Joaquin Wilde revealed a life-threatening medical scare he had that almost halted his wrestling career.
Wilde was a staple on the independent circuit in the United States and Mexico before he joined the big leagues in 2019. He wrestled as Zema Ion and DJZ in Impact Wrestling, while using Shiima Xion mostly during his time in AAA.
In an appearance on Ryan Satin's Out of Character podcast, Wilde discussed suffering a ruptured colon during a match in Mexico back in 2017. He revealed that he was lucky to not just continue wrestling, but also continue living.
"I remember speaking to a gastroenterologist two months after the injury happened," Wilde said. "When he looked at my X-rays and told him my story and whatnot, he looked at me and said, 'I feel like I'm talking to a ghost right now. You should be dead.'"
Joaquin Wilde returned to wrestling two months after undergoing successful surgery for his colon injury. WWE came calling 21 months later and Wilde thought that was the reason he had a second chance at life.
"I just thought to myself, like, 'Why was I given this second chance? Why was I spared? Why am I still able to wrestle? Why am I still alive?' And I just always thought it's because there must be something left for me to achieve in this business. And yeah, I guess WWE was that thing, and here we are. I'm so glad that it all worked out." (h/t WrestlingNews.co)
Joaquin Wilde thinks he would have screwed up if he signed with WWE earlier in his career
Joaquin Wilde was 32 years old when he signed with WWE in 2019. He's thankful that he didn't join the company during his younger days because he would have screwed it up. He's happy that the experience of wrestling all over the United States and Mexico has helped him be mentally ready.
"I'm glad that I'm having this experience at WWE at this point in my life," Wilde said. "Because if this happened when I was in my 20s, I probably would have screwed it up, gotten fired, done something stupid. I just wasn't mature enough now that I look back on it."
Wilde was called up to the main roster back in October as part of Legado Del Fantasma with Cruz Del Toro and Santos Escobar. He's currently part of the newly-reformed LWO and will be part of SmackDown after Backlash.
What do you think of Joaquin Wilde's incredible comeback story from a life-threatening injury? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
