Help Out Matt Cross

We here at Wrestling Shame normally take a less-than-serious approach to our discussions of wrestling. But, as we've both pointed out, wrestlers put themselves in dangerous situations on a near-nightly basis, and more often than not have to foot their own medical bills.

One of my favorite wrestlers is Matt Cross. I've had the pleasure of seeing him work three times in person, most recently this past December at the House of Hardcore show here in Wisconsin. Yesterday, Cross posted the following update to his Facebook page:

The danger of assumptions...

On January 13th, in Seattle Washington, as part of DEFY Wrestling's memorable debut event I broke my leg maybe 2 minutes into the opening match. I came down awkwardly on a moonsault, which is a move I've done without issue for close to 17 years. The pain was instant. The pain was debilitating. It's a truly surreal experience knowing that pain in front of hundreds and hundreds of cheering people. I'm not a hero, I'm not a tough guy, but I do know that people work hard for their money. I put another excruciating 8-10 minutes in, and finished the match.

As the night wore on, my condition worsened, and walking became a real struggle. Multiple people offered to take me to the hospital...my thought process being, 'if I can stand on it, and get around, it's not broken'. Only in retrospect do I realize how foolish that sounds.

I had to cancel WrestleCircus in Austin, Texas the next day and one by one, I dropped off my shows week after week waiting for things to improve. Sure, I was in a lot of pain, but nothing ever turned black and blue, there was no swelling, and I didn't miss a single workout

Nearing the one month mark, I decided I better get an x-ray "just to be safe". As soon as the film hit the screen yesterday it was a painfully obvious break. My heart sunk knowing I'd be away from what I love for some period of time.

This happened on my very first show of the year so needless to say, 2017 hasn't started out great for me. This time last year I was wrestling around Europe for a month, and two years ago (to the day), Ivelisse, Angelico and I won the Lucha Underground Trios Championships

I just wanna say thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped to make me feel like I'm not alone.

There's a certain beauty in the wrestling community coming together to help one of its own. We're all bonded together through our appreciation of a misunderstood art form and that's something I've always been proud to be a part of. Professional Wrestling is my sole source of income, and it's unclear at this time how long I'll be out of her arms. From a financial standpoint, it's a huge blow as I've only worked once this year.

My heart is broken, my leg is broken, but my spirit is not.

As I look ahead at an uncertain time with no income and unknown, uncovered hospital bills coming, everything is truly appreciated. No one owes me anything (I'll certainly take hugs), but please take a look at my shirts if you'd like to support

www.prowrestlingtees.com/mattcross

I shouldn't admit it, but I've almost been brought to tears by people asking to send me help through PayPal (which can be done here: [email protected]) If you do any design work, I'd love to see shirt ideas, and if you're so inclined, you can send me snail mail at: Matt Cross PO Box 470921 Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147

Above all, find a wrestler you like, and cheer them on as loud and passionately as you can. None of us last forever.

Thanks guys. I'll see you soon xoxo

We here at Wrestling Shame certainly wish Matt a speedy recovery and give him our best wishes. I'd also like to encourage our readers to buy his shirts on Pro Wrestling Tees, send him some good vibes on social media, or send him some help via PayPal.