Chris Bey Was Behind the Two Biggest Feel-Good Moments of Mania Weekend
TNA's own Chris Bey did not need to step inside of a pro wrestling ring to have two memorable WrestleMania weekend moments.
WrestleMania is the biggest event of the year for WWE. It brings fans together from all over the world as the event takes over one city for an entire week. There are many memorable moments created every WrestleMania weekend. From the bright lights of WrestleMania to the independent wrestling shows running all over the town that WWE takes over, fans are treated to memorable moments whether they are watching in person or at home. For the 2025 edition of WrestleMania week, Chris Bey delivered two of the biggest feel-good moments of the entire weekend. Let’s take a look at his weekend and the lasting impression the moments made on fans.
Entering the IMPACT Zone
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) hosted its annual Bound for Glory event on October 26th, 2024, in the greater Detroit area. Bound For Glory is regarded as the biggest event of the year on the TNA calendar. The day after the event TNA hosted a series of television tapings as is tradition for the promotion. It was during those television tapings that tragedy struck Bey.
While teaming with his tag team partner Ace Austin against Matt and Jeff Hardy, Bey injured his neck and the match was stopped. He was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to fuse his C6-T1 discs. Many details of the injury were kept private at first, but the wrestling community poured support out for him. A Go Fund Me was created and raised over $113,000 for him to assist with his medical bills. Pro Wrestling Tees also released a shirt that donated all proceeds directly to Bey to assist in his recovery.
His initial prognosis and outlook were not the best. He was originally given a 25% chance at best of being able to walk unassisted ever again. Bey has always been a beacon of positivity which is evident from his positively themed social media posts he makes. Other wrestlers who shared a locker room with Bey showed their support on social media and reiterated just how uplifting he is to be around.
He channeled that positivity and work ethic to defy the odds. Bey was able to walk again under his own strength as shown in a video released on his social media accounts on February 13th. He also walked through the curtain onto the entrance ramp of the benefit show thrown by Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) in March of 2025. His entrance during WrestleMania weekend, however, brought things full circle.
On Thursday April 17th, TNA hosted the Unbreakable event as part of WrestleMania weekend. Live from the Cox Pavilion on the campus of University of Nevada Las Vegas, the show was main evented by a triple threat between Steve Maclin, A.J. Francis, and Eric Young in which Maclin became the inaugural TNA International Champion.
Just before that match started, Bey’s long time tag team partner Ace Austin addressed the IMPACT Zone from the entrance stage. He brought Bey out to an ovation from the TNA fans. Bey addressed those in attendance and watching live at home in his first TNA appearance since his injury. Seeing Bey walk into the IMPACT Zone under his own power and stand next to his tag team partner was a moment that no one watching will ever forget. TNA has largely been Bey’s home promotion since signing there in early 2020, and exposed him to a national televised audience on a regular basis. He is an easy person to root for both inside and outside of the ring and seeing him make such strides in his recovery left a lasting impression on all who witnessed it. This wasn’t the final feel-good moment of the weekend that involved Bey.
The Next Generation
Jonathan Huber, better known as Brodie Lee and later known as Luke Harper in the WWE was a professional wrestler and leader of the Dark Order stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He debuted in 2020 under his former Brodie Lee ring name for AEW after spending eight years with the WWE.
Unfortunately, Huber died of the rare lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on December 26th 2020. He and his wife Amanda had two sons prior to his passing, his eldest son known as Brodie Lee Jr. became the on-screen leader of the Dark Order and took on the nickname of “Negative 1” a play on the fact that all Dark Order members had a number assigned to them. Brodie Lee Jr. was promised a contract with AEW when he turned 18 by AEW President Tony Khan.
Brodie Lee Jr began to have appearances on AEW television shows Dynamite and Rampage, interacting with members of the Dark Order. Shortly after he also began training with TJ Wilson and Natayla at the Dungeon 2.0 Wrestling School to learn the craft of professional wrestling. He made a very memorable appearance during WrestleMania weekend.
The Connection
Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) holds a weekend full of events every WrestleMania weekend known as the Collective. One of the more popular events of the weekend is the GCW Cluster*uck show, the titular match is a non traditional battle royal with no set number of entrants or time between entrances. Elimination can also occur via pinfall, submission, over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor, leaving the building, or……….death………..
The final entrant had entered the match (so we thought) when some entrance music hit and Chris Bey appeared on the stage at the Pearle Theater at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas. It was there that he introduced the true final entrant in the match, Brodie Lee Jr.
Brodie Lee Jr. went on to win the match, closing out the event with his hand raised as the camera panned out and Dave Prazak thanked everyone for watching the event. This was his first official match and he won by eliminating Joey Janela, who is synonymous with GCW, the Collective, and the Cluster*uck. As the event came to a close the crowd cheered for Brodie Lee Jr who in some ways has grown up in front of wrestling fans who have witnessed his journey and cheered him on along the way.
Although Bey did not step into the ring for the biggest wrestling week of the year, he was part of key moments that left a memorable impression in the minds of fans old and new. Both situations showed the determination and resilience of both athletes involved. Although the starts of their stories were far from happy, they both showed that with a positive mindset, determination, and resilience, anything is possible.
Did you catch either moment this WrestleMania weekend? Sound off in the comments below.
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