Steph De Lander is opening up about the serious injury that sidelined her career — and the financial toll it took while she was still tied to TNA Wrestling.
During a recent appearance on Inside The Ring, De Lander addressed the circumstances behind her exit from the company. The discussion turned to the neck injury that kept her out of action and ultimately played a major role in the situation that led to her departure. De Lander revealed the full story was more serious than most people realized. According to her, she actually underwent two neck surgeries, something she had never publicly disclosed before.
“So basically, I’ve had a neck injury for a while and I’ve actually had two neck surgeries and no one knows that. I’ve only posted about one, but I actually had two.”
She explained that the procedures were performed by a surgeon connected to WWE and that the goal was to fully repair the damage so she could return to the ring.
“My surgeon wanted to put a little bit more hardware in there. But fully recovered, fully healed. I actually went to WWE’s spinal surgeon to do the surgeries.”
The financial side of the recovery was another major factor. De Lander said none of the medical expenses were covered by TNA, leaving her to handle the entire situation herself. She also revealed that her insurance eventually reached its limit, leaving her with a significant bill still waiting to be paid.
“Yeah, the whole time. Yeah. So I’ve paid for both of my surgeries. I paid for PT for both of them.”
“Like my insurance maxed out, so I currently have a ,000 Advent Health bill sitting there that I’m going to get to at some point.”
The financial strain was made even worse by the structure of her deal with the company. De Lander said she wasn’t receiving guaranteed pay during the time she was recovering because she wasn’t actively working shows.
“But yeah, it was 100% covered on my end. And you know, if you’re not working at TNA, I was not on a salary. I was not getting paid every week regardless. If you’re not there, if you’re not on the road, if you’re not working, you don’t get paid.”
The revelation adds another to the story behind her exit, which came after she says TNA informed her they were not comfortable allowing her to wrestle again despite being medically cleared. With De Lander now out of TNA and declaring herself ready to return to the ring, the focus now shifts to what promotion might be next for the veteran wrestler as she continues her comeback.
What do you think about Steph De Lander paying for her own surgeries while trying to return to the ring? Let us know your thoughts and leave your feedback in the comments.
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