Brian Fritz sent this in.
http://www.betweentheropes.com/467/episode-22-adam-pearce/
It was just a year ago when Adam Pearce thought this career might be over after sustaining a serious neck injury. Fast forward a year and he is the NWA World Heavyweight Champion for the fourth time and defending that championship all over the world.
Brian Fritz of BetweenTheRopes.com spoke with “Scrap Iron” about his injury, if he thought his career was over, how much longer he thinks he will be in the ring, being a traveling champion with the National Wrestling Alliance, what that heavyweight championship means in other countries, leaving Ring of Honor, how close he came to joining either WWE or TNA, NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, his upcoming match at the NWA Ring Warriors event on March 29 in Fort Lauderdale and more.
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Here are a few portions of the interview:
On the serious neck injury he suffered just over a year ago and how he is now:
I’m completely healed. My neck is fine. Again, it was severely sprained. They thought there was a break in there which, thankfully, there wasn’t. The nerve bundles is pretty much back to where was. I’m always going to have some lingering nerve damage. I have some numbness – very, very dull. They told me to probably expect that for as long as I’m around. If I was going to put a number on it, I would say I’m 97% the man I once was.
On how much longer he would like to keep wrestling:
When I first started the kind of comeback trail and dubbed it ‘One Last Ride” I’m in for as long as I’m physically able to do it. And I feel great. Right now, I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in probably 15 years. The schedule has been overwhelming to me and that’s huge credit to the promoters and the fans who I think got behind me and allowed me to come and say thank you to all these places I’ve been going to over the past 7-8 months. I’ve never set a timetable on it but I would be surprised if I’m around much longer than 2012.
On if he is in the prime of his career right now:
Yeah and that’s kind of the difficult part too. The last year – I would actually say from the middle of 2010 until now – has been a whirlwind of emotion from being let go from Ring of Honor and them immediately sending out feelers to TNA and WWE and getting feedback that I didn’t expect. I thought that prior to being injured I was going to be at FCW in Florida and if it wasn’t for this wonderful three letter word ‘age’ I think I’d be there. In fact, I planned on even moving across the country. I’m at a point now where I feel great. I feel like I’m working better now that I have in a long time and surprising people that have been around me for years with what I’m doing.