Only Five Percent of People Survive the Injury Tyson Kidd Suffered

The horrific injury suffered by Tyson Kidd in his June 1 dark match vs. Samoa Joe in San Antonio has been covered to death. He suffered the injury. People caught wind it was serious. He went in for surgery. The length of his time on the shelf was estimated at 14 months. But Kidd revealed yesterday on Twitter that he was a hair's breadth away from losing more than just his career:

5% of people survive this injury. 16 staples, 4 screws and a rod later and luckily I survived to tell my story. pic.twitter.com/hXpXpA0aAF

— TJ Wilson (@KiddWWE) July 7, 2015

It's staggering to think that anyone can die in a wrestling ring, even in the shadows of the deaths of Mitsuharu Misawa and El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, but the fact that Kidd came so close is a sobering reminder that just because what wrestlers do is staged doesn't mean it's fake. One could credit the WWE medical staff for making sure Kidd was in the five percent of success stories rather than the 95 percent of statistics, and it wouldn't be the first life the crew saved.

Still, the ghastly number of stabilizing items - 16 staples, four screws, and a rod - doesn't portend a great future for Kidd's in-ring career. I will be utterly shocked if he steps into a ring again to wrestle, but I have been wrong before. I truly hope I am wrong this time as well, because no one should have to lose their career on a slip-up by themselves or by someone else.