Jamie Hayter’s road to recovery after a brutal 2023 injury continued even beyond her in-ring return last year.
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Hayter spent more than a year of her career on the sidelines after suffering two herniated discs back in 2023. After roughly 14 months on the shelf, Hayter made her return last summer at AEW All In, inside Wembley Stadium.
However, despite being able to wrestle again, there were still some hurdles Hayter had to overcome post-injury. While Hayter felt physically fine once she was cleared to compete again, she still had to battle the mental aspect of bumping in the ring after suffering such a painful setback.
Hayter recently told Justin Barrasso of Undisputed about how the injury “spooked” her for months to follow, and that the feeling has only recently faded for her.
“The injury, it rattled my whole world,” Hayter reflected. “I truly didn’t know how long I was going to be out or if I could even come back to wrestling. Even after I came back, I didn’t feel right. I don’t mean physically. It’s just the injury spooked me, it affected my confidence. I’ve been back for eight months, and now I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. When I’m in the ring, I know who I am again.”
Hayter has a massive opportunity lined up later this month, facing Mercedes Moné in the grand final of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament at Double or Nothing.
If successful in the match, she will go on to face AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm and possibly secure her first title reign in over two years.
Undisputed’s full conversation with Hayter can be read here.
