Amazing Red has revealed that a serious leg injury suffered during a WWE 2K motion capture session prevented him from competing in WWE’s 2016 Cruiserweight Classic.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Amazing Red explained that he had been selected for the 32-man tournament and believed the opportunity could finally lead to him signing with WWE.
“I’m super hyped. This is it. This is finally what this whole thing paid off for. I knew as soon as I stepped foot in any of these matches, confidently, like I’m getting signed.”
However, the week before the Cruiserweight Classic began, Red participated in a motion capture session for WWE’s video game. He described the work as physically demanding, comparing it to wrestling several matches consecutively.
“Doing this job sucks so bad. I would never do mocap for anything. Mocap is trash. Anybody that tells you otherwise is a liar. That’s like doing five matches at once. You’re not bumping on the pillow. You’re bumping in the ring. Everything’s legit real, and you’re bumping constantly.”
During the session, Red was asked to perform AJ Styles‘ Spiral Tap on multiple occasions so different variations of the move could be captured.
“So I had to do this move like seven or eight times, and a spiral tap is a move I don’t like because I’m looking at the ground. With the infrared I’m kind of backwards, so I don’t see what I’m doing. I just throw myself.”
By what Red recalled as the eighth or ninth attempt, he felt he should stop. However, he agreed to perform the move once more after being asked.
“I get up there, and I just had a gut feeling, like I gotta stop. And the guy goes, can you just do one more, man? I’m so sorry. Can you just do one more? I’m like, damn. My body’s killing me.”
Red explained that two crash pads had been placed together for his landing. During the final attempt, his foot became trapped between the pads while the rest of his body continued moving, resulting in his leg breaking.
“I go up there. For some reason, I just jump, and everything just blacks out for me. I hear this, and I wake up, and I’m on the crash pads, and my leg is backwards.”
Low Ki, who was also working at the session, immediately recognised the severity of the injury.
“Low Ki screams at the top of his lungs, is anybody gonna help him? He broke his leg. And once he said that, when he took my leg out, it was backwards. Once I saw that, instant pain, heat everywhere, all in my body. And then I start screaming.”
The injury meant Red missed the Cruiserweight Classic when tapings began the following week. The tournament had represented another potential route into WWE after Red previously competed in a dark match for the company against CM Punk in 2005.
Amazing Red Said WWE & 2K Told Him Not To Tell Anyone How His Injury Occurred
Amazing Red also claimed that both 2K and WWE instructed him not to publicly discuss how the injury occurred, with the expectation that another Cruiserweight Classic would eventually take place.
“2K told me to be quiet about it. WWE told me to be quiet about it. He said, don’t worry, because we’re gonna plan to do a season two, and you’ll be right on board for it. Ain’t no season two. I think it ended up being 205 Live. I never got a call for either.”
A second Cruiserweight Classic never took place. T.J. Perkins won the inaugural tournament in September 2016 before WWE introduced 205 Live later that year.
Despite his disappointment at the time, Red now views the injury differently and believes it ultimately had a positive impact on his personal life.
“I know why it happened, and that was a blessing in disguise. Breaking my leg was the best thing that happened to me.”
Red returned to TNA at Slammiversary on June 28, competing in an Ultimate X match in his first appearance for the company in 15 years. He is also set to enter the TNA Hall of Fame alongside ODB and Konnan at Bound for Glory on October 11.
