Jamie Hayter Thought She May Not Return to AEW Due To Severe Back Injury

Jamie Hayter recently returned to AEW after more than a year away.

By Haley Miller

After over a year and a half away from the ring, former AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter finally returned to AEW. She made her surprise return during this year's AEW All In pay-per-view where she took out Saraya and her family who hijacked the pre-show festivities. Hayter was forced to vacate the title in May of 2023 due to injury. She had only held the title for six months before losing it. Now she's back with a vengeance and a cool new hairstyle and gear, clearly ready to show the world -- and the women's locker room -- what they've missed.

While speaking to Renee Paquette during a recent episode of Up Close, Hayter candidly revealed she thought she'd never return to AEW. "Sometimes, it wasn't necessarily the injury. It was, 'I don't know if I want to.' It got to a point where, 'I don't know if I even want to do it again.' I don't know why. I think it was just the pain and everything that happened. I really wasn't sure. It's almost like I had to find myself again. Find my purpose and find my passion to do it again."

Jamie Hayter Thought Her Career Was Over

As for her injury, all that was publicly known was that she had suffered a pretty severe back injury that would keep her out of action fo quite some time. Still, fans were hopeful several times over the last year that she'd finally be coming back. Hayter explained that she completely herniated two discs in her back and she had no idea it was there until it forced her to react.

"I completely herniated two discs in my back. I wasn't even aware of the injury until it was really bad. Until I couldn't walk. I couldn't even stand up straight. My body was at an angle," she continued. "I couldn't laugh, sneeze, cough, sit down, stand in the shower, lay on my back. I couldn't do anything. I thought it was a sciatica at first. 

I kept going to the gym and kept wrestling. I did a sky dive on my birthday because I felt really good that day. 'I'm going to do it.' After, 'Oh, maybe I shouldn't have done that.' I wasn't aware of the significance of the injury until I couldn't walk. 'I'm in too much pain 24/7.' It would wake me up in the middle of the night. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy" (h/t: Fightful).

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Hayter officially returned to in-ring action this past week when she defeated Saraya's right-hand woman, Harley Cameron. She made it clear in her return promo that she was tired of talking and instead was ready for fighting. Hayter began appearing in AEW back in 2019 alongside Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.. Unfortunately due to the COVID pandemic she'd remain off television until she officially signed with AEW in 2021. Fans got behind her fairly quickly as she had an impressive meteoric rise in the ranks each week.

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