Velveteen Dream (real name Patrick Clark) missed time from September 2019 to February 2020 with what was described as a lumbar injury.
Dream was the NXT North American Champion going into NXT moving to USA Network and headlined the first NXT on USA show, losing to NXT North American Championship to Roderick Strong. After the match, Dream didn't wrestle again until February 2020.
Speaking on Dishing Drama with Dana Wilkey, Dream discussed his back injury that kept him sidelined.
"It was [2019], I suffered a back injury. It was the first night NXT transitioned from WWE Network to USA. Before the match, I was in so much pain and tried stretching on the floor, I knew something was wrong. I pushed through and was the main event for the night. Knowing my position on the show, I didn't want to let anyone down. I didn't feel pressure because I was asked if I felt up to performing. I'm gung ho, I want to get to it. I went ahead and performed. We went 30 minutes, it was super safe, [Roderick] took great care of me knowing the pain I was in. After the match, I got to the locker room, sat down for two minutes, and I couldn't move or get up. The next day, I got an MRI -- WWE takes such good care of people -- I got a MRI and X-Ray on my back and found out in Orlando the next morning that I had a stress fracture in my L3 vertebrae and that I would probably need to take time off and that if I didn't take time off, it would have exacerbated the injury and could become a more serious spinal injury," said Dream.
He continued by saying, "Luckily, there was no surgery needed. I was asked if I wanted to wear a brace. I believe it would have taken me a year. They asked for nine months in a back brace and I would be in it for 20 hours a day. I talked to doctors, independent and medical staff, and I was told to sitting in a clamshell brace for 20 hours a day for nine months would put me behind a year and a half before I could even think about competing. I would have to learn how to stabilize myself again and build up my core strength and back strength. Not to mention the conditioning and rehearsal of the pro wrestling world, learning how to bump, spring off the ropes, that impact. It wasn't a pretty situation for me. I chose a speedier but more intense method of recovery and I rehabed every single day until I was told there was an opportunity to be cleared and then I was cleared."
Dream was off television again after his Backlot Brawl against Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
He said about the car accident, "That was something completely different. A car accident didn't cause the back injury. That is still up for speculation as to how I injured my back specifically, but it was a stress fracture in my L3. That's a stress fracture over time, the stress I'm putting on my body. You never know what a stress fracture can come from. I try not to make anyone responsible with that or delegate that."
Dream continued to say that it was years of training and bumps that led to the stress fracture in his back.
Elsewhere during the interview, Dream discussed his WWE release and why he believes it happened. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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