Candice Michelle hasn’t received the call for a return as a surprise entrant in a WWE Royal Rumble match.
And she thinks she knows why.
During an appearance on the latest episode of INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, which was released on Thursday, the women’s wrestling legend spoke about this subject, as well as reflecting on serious injury scares she had during her WWE career.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where she touches on these topics with her thoughts. Also embedded below is a complete audio archive of the discussion.
On rushing to return from injury during her WWE career: “[Cena] said the business goes on with or without you and I remember, going through that injury, and when wrestlers get injured, and when I was injured, I was doing everything to get back as fast as I could. And actually, I learned after the fact, a little too late. I think Randy Orton has mastered that, because he went through a lot of injuries, but when he went on injury, and I don’t know this, it’s just how I see him, it’s like, he’s gonna go take his break, he’s gonna go heal up until he’s fully healed, have some time with his family, and come back when he’s ready.”
On getting injured during Beth Phoenix match on WWE Raw in London in 2007: “Well, we were overseas, and we were putting together this match, and this is when Arn Anderson and Ricky Steamboat started to really train me. So, you see how really towards the end of my wrestling career is when I really felt like I was getting the knowledge. It was the first time I understood that there’s a philosophy to the match. I literally had no idea. I was never taught it or anything. And there was something in me and Beth that resonated with Ricky and Arn Anderson, and they really stepped up to the plate, and they said, ‘This is how you got to start working this.’ And the fans were really getting behind us. And overseas, we’re having these great matches, and we had this move where I was going to — it was supposed to be, how you open your legs on the top rope and fall in. Just, I’m not that flexible, like I think about it to this day, I just saw somebody in TNA do this move, and I was like, yep, that’s not for me, right? So, I was like, I’ll do my knees instead. That seems a little less flexible.”
On fear of getting paralyzed after a scary spot: “And overseas, I did it one time, and I came back and all the boys were worried because I landed on my neck. I didn’t feel it. It didn’t phase me. I was not injured. I wasn’t hurt, and so I didn’t really think much of it. But we’re on like a 7-10 day tour over there, not much sleep. We fly back to Nebraska. We’re going to kind of do this match again, and my boot catches that rope, and I wasn’t allocated that little extra space, and I landed on my head. I was knocked out. I don’t remember it. The first thing I remember is being on the stretcher, and Stephanie McMahon was leaning over me, and they’re going into Gorilla, and she goes, ‘Don’t worry, we’re flying your husband out.’ I was like, they don’t fly your husband out. So, instantly I was worried. I had a massive concussion, and I broke my collarbone, so I just had one break in it, and flew home and started the rehab journey for that. And the hard part is, you know, it came at a time where we weren’t really educated with that kind of injury, and so being dragged to the center of the ring after that happened, if that was my neck, it would have paralyzed me.”
On not getting the call to be a surprise entrant in a Women’s Royal Rumble match: “I don’t know. I have the story that it’s not my time. I don’t take it personally. I don’t have an ego about it. If they called me, I would show up, they just haven’t called me. So I just think that it’s not my time to show up.”
