WWE wrestler Big E broke his neck during a live broadcast of SmackDown on Friday night, the wrestler confirmed on his Twitter account.
The incident occurred when fellow WWE wrestler Ridge Holland reverse slammed Big E (Ettore Ewen) into the ground. Big E’s head hit at an awkward angle, and he did not immediately recover. Nor did he appear again on the broadcast after the fall.
On the upside, Big E tweeted from his hospital room that there was no spinal cord damage despite two vertebrae fractures.
“I can’t thank all of you beautiful people enough for all your concerns and your messages,” Big E said. “It’s very heartwarming. I can move all of my digits. You see that? That’s nice. That’s always a good thing.
“Strength feels fine but unfortunately, they tell me my neck is broken so there’s that. I’m going to be alright. I’ll be good. Don’t worry. Go to sleep. Don’t worry about ole’ me. But for real, thank you. I appreciate all of you.”
“Wrestlemania 38, WWE’s largest pay-per-view event of the year is scheduled to take place over a two-day span on April 2-3. Big E, an 11-time WWE tag team champion, was not included on the card as of Friday night,”
the New York Post reports.
The 36-year-old Ewen has been with the WWE since 2009.