I Miss Tyson Kidd

Professional wrestling isn't the same without Tyson Kidd.

When news of his injury first started to make its way around the internet, I felt terrible. Tyson wasn't someone I expected to adopt as one of my favorites, but a visit to Full Sail University for an NXT taping last summer changed everything. Tyson was everywhere that night, and coming into his own. I think he did a match for every show, either in a tag team with Justin Gabriel or advancing his ongoing feud with Sami Zayn.

It seemed like the crowd at Full Sail was just beginning to appreciate Tyson's talents. First came the chants of "Nattie's husband", then later, "Tyson Chicken". For one tag team match, Natalya had accompanied Tyson and Gabriel to the ring. At one point, things were breaking down, and I screamed from my seat at Tyson to get his wife under control. Standing on the ring apron awaiting a tag with his back turned to me, Tyson titled his head ever so slightly. He heard me, and I was instantly won over.

During NXT's first year on the WWE Network, Tyson Kidd was one of the anchors of the show. On the main roster, he had become lost in the shuffle, but in NXT he finally had a chance to stand out. Perhaps most surprising, his personality (and love for his cats) which was so much fun to watch on Total Divas was also shining through.

Tyson was suddenly a well-rounded performer, and the great matches piled up quickly. In May of last year, he challenged Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship in the main event at NXT Takeover.

The magical run didn't end there. Last September, Kidd was part of one of the best matches in NXT history - the main event of NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way.

Last October, Kidd and Neville did it again in what was billed as Kidd's "Last Chance" at the NXT Championship.

Not long after his "Last Chance", Tyson was back on the main roster and in a tag team with Cesaro. It took them less than three months to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. They were a breath of fresh air for the division, using innovative moves. Fans were behind them. 

Then, disaster struck. A neck injury took Tyson Kidd out of action. It could be a year before we see him again. There's even a chance he'll never wrestler again.

I pray this isn't the end of the road for Tyson Kidd. I hope he returns and finds even greater success than he has up to this point in his career. Until then, I hope he doesn't mind seeing Cesaro borrow the Sharpshooter every night.