WWE's Tyson Kidd Reveals His Attempt to Return to Action That Vince McMahon Shot Down

Former WWE Tag Team Champion Tyson Kidd recently got fans' hopes up when Natalya uploaded a photo of him running the ropes and training inside of a wrestling ring. Kidd suffered a spinal cord injury back in June 2015 that required 16 staples, four screws and a surgically-inserted rod in order to repair, promptly ending his in-ring career. He's been working backstage as a WWE producer since 2017. However in a new interview on New Day: Feel The Power, Kidd revealed just how close he got to making a comeback as an active wrestler.

"I wanted to close that book of me being an in-ring performer," Kidd said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). "I thought what better way than the Royal Rumble, in terms of I wouldn't have to get slammed. I remember talking to Vince about it. He said, 'Do you need an answer today or do I need time to think about it?' I said, 'Of course take your time. Take as much time as you need.' When I was presenting to him, I said, 'I can even do next year's, Royal Rumble. It can be anytime.'"

Unfortunately, Vince McMahon couldn't sign off on the idea.

"He called me one day and said he put a lot of thought into it and we would try to control everything in or end, but what if something outside of our realm were to happen and it was to undo all the good that has happened over the last two years in terms of me being a cruiserweight," he said. "His thoughts were why risk that — in my mind, his visual was me coming from the entrance and getting hit from behind and whiplashes me and my neck's super messed up.

"I remember thinking, okay, I offered this to Vince and he had two weeks to put solid thought to it and this was his answer," Kidd continued. "I had this visual in my mind of somebody coming and pushing me. Three months later, what happens at the Hall of Fame? Some dude slides in and takes Bret and Nattie down. This is almost like what I envisioned happening to me and I remember thinking that almost as a sign of, 'Okay, I know what I'm supposed to be doing. yes, it would be cool if I could write the final page of my in-ring career, but I can't.' When Vince told me that he put a lot of thought into it and just couldn't clear me, I'd say I was 40% disappointed and 60% relieved. As we were talking, I felt that anxiety leave my system. So, I don't have that anymore, but I do get a lot of fulfillment on the matches that I produce. I can almost get the same fulfillment."