There are injuries where you know the timetable.
Six weeks. Three months. Surgery, rehab, return.
And then there are injuries where nobody can tell you whether you're ever going to do this again.
Samoa Joe has opened up about one of those periods in his career, revealing that after suffering serious concussion issues in 2020, he believed his wrestling career was essentially over.
Speaking with Craig Altman of Grace Family Church, Joe reflected on a turbulent stretch that changed virtually everything about his career.
In February 2020, Joe suffered a concussion while filming a WWE commercial. It came shortly after another concussion, leaving the veteran dealing with two head injuries in a relatively short period of time.
“Within the span of two months, I had received a concussion and my career was essentially over,” Joe recalled.
Instead of returning to the ring, Joe eventually found himself behind the commentary desk.
And when you're a wrestler, that's a strange place to be when you don't know whether the move is temporary.
I've talked before about how much of a wrestler's identity can become intertwined with wrestling. You train for it. You hurt for it. Your schedule revolves around it. Your friendships come from it. Your body becomes part of the job.
Then suddenly someone tells you that you can't wrestle.
There's a difference between choosing when you're finished and wondering whether your body just made that decision for you.
Joe has spoken about the severity of that period before.
When discussing the injury in 2021, he explained that his primary concern wasn't forcing a timetable for his return. It was getting his brain and body healthy. He admitted the injury was worse than others he'd experienced and that it frightened people close to him.
That's something worth remembering.
Professional wrestlers are conditioned to work hurt. We're conditioned to push through pain, finish the match and worry about everything else afterward.
A brain injury isn't something you can grit your teeth through.
Joe ultimately spent more than a year away from active competition. WWE found another use for him at the commentary desk, and Joe was very good at it. He has since spoken positively about the experience and about how much it taught him regarding the production side of professional wrestling.
But commentary wasn't where Samoa Joe's wrestling story ended.
After being released by WWE in April 2021, Joe returned to the company only months later and eventually stepped back into the ring at NXT TakeOver 36, defeating Karrion Kross to become NXT Champion.
Then came another turn.
WWE released Joe again in January 2022.
Four hours later, according to Joe's recent telling of the story, another opportunity arrived: a call regarding “Twisted Metal.”
Joe eventually became Sweet Tooth in the Peacock series, opening an entirely different lane in his career.
And wrestling still wasn't finished with him.
Joe debuted for Ring of Honor at Supercard of Honor in April 2022 before joining AEW, beginning another remarkable chapter of a career that, only a couple of years earlier, he wasn't certain would continue.
Since then, we've watched Samoa Joe become ROH World Television Champion, AEW TNT Champion and AEW World Champion.
That's what makes his comments hit differently now.
We know what came afterward.
Joe didn't know.
That's one of the cruelest parts of being injured in professional wrestling. Fans see the eventual return. They see the entrance music hit and the wrestler walk through the curtain again.
They don't necessarily see the months where that wrestler doesn't know if the music is ever going to hit again.
Joe has previously said that taking the necessary time away ultimately helped him tremendously. Looking at everything he's accomplished since, it's difficult to argue with that decision.
Because sometimes the toughest thing a wrestler can do isn't working through the injury.
It's stopping.
It's listening.
It's waiting.
And it's accepting that there may not be a comeback waiting on the other side.
Samoa Joe got his.
And six years after wondering whether his wrestling career was essentially over, he's still here...