Former WWE talent Brady Booker suffered a gruesome injury during Wednesday night’s episode of “Survivor 51.”
Booker, who previously performed as Bodhi Hayward in WWE NXT, accidentally chopped off part of his thumb with a machete while doing work around camp. Booker estimated that he had cut off roughly a “quarter” of the digit.
The injury immediately raised concerns that Booker could be medically evacuated from the competition just four days into the game.
“I’ve always been my own worst enemy,” Booker said while awaiting word on his status. “And it’s always come down to me not thinking, using the brain I’ve been blessed with.”
Fortunately for Booker, doctors were able to treat the injury at camp and cleared him to remain in the competition.
“When doc told me I get to stay in this game, it was like new life,” Booker said. “Sure, it’s a little numb, but I can touch all the fingers, I can touch the far end, I can clap, I can grab.”
Booker added, “Sure, brodie, pain exists, but I’d rather feel pain than nothing at all.”
Booker’s Toka tribe went on to win immunity, meaning nobody from the group was eliminated and Booker remained in contention for the show’s grand prize of at least $1 million.
“Survivor” host Jeff Probst later revealed that Booker even tried to keep the severed piece of his thumb as a souvenir from the experience.
“Brady had a great sense of humor as he pleaded with our medical team to wrap the piece of thumb and put it in a cooler to save for him after the show so he could take it home,” Probst wrote. “Talk about a one-of-a-kind ‘Survivor’ souvenir.”
With “Survivor 51” filmed in advance, Booker has since returned to the ring. He currently competes for QT Marshall’s One Fall Wrestling promotion and has also regularly worked dark matches at ROH tapings.
Booker previously competed for WWE as Bodhi Hayward, where he was a member of the Chase U faction in NXT before being released by the company in 2022.
