Former WWE Star Tyson Kidd Reflects On Transition From Wrestler To Producer

In 2015, WWE star Tyson Kidd suffered a career-ending injury during a match with Samoa Joe. By that point, Kidd had found some success in the tag team division, already having three separate tag title runs, but neither the wrestler nor his fans ever got to see where he could've ended up had his in-ring career continued. Kidd (whose real name is TJ Wilson) has since stepped into a producer role in WWE, which he reflected on during an appearance on "Busted Open Radio." 

"It's way more fulfilling than my own in-ring career," he admitted, before clarifying that his role as a producer wouldn't have happened without first being a wrestler. "The truth is it can be difficult, you know, because now, when I coach people or be a producer in WWE, I have to do it all verbally."

Wilson further explained that he used to be able to get in a ring and show someone exactly what they need to do, and that having to verbally walk people through things has been the biggest adjustment. "Things can get difficult at times, in the sense of always trying to freshen things up and just always be a little bit different, but the fulfillment is off the charts. It's almost — it's immeasurable," he expressed. "There [have] been so many times when I've left an arena or stadium — I could run through a brick wall; nothing could take me down."

During Wilson's time in both WWE and FCW, he often competed against Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler), and since then the two have seemingly built a friendship of mutual respect. Since Nemeth is now a permanent host of "Busted Open Radio," the veteran took the opportunity to share a few kind words for Kidd.

"What a breath of fresh air it was to have TJ join our producers and start putting in some fresh ideas and just having his brain for all of us to borrow," Nemeth recalled about Wilson's early days as a producer in WWE. "I cannot stress enough how beneficial that was for all of us on the roster, and I'm sure he's ten times better now at it. But man, huge 'get' for all of us behind the scenes, that people don't really talk about much."

Wilson thanked Nemeth for his praise, and noted that both Nemeth and Seth Rollins helped him a lot when he was still figuring out how to be a producer. "You're a little shellshocked. There's not a manual: 'Hey, That's How You Become A Producer Now.' You just get everything in WWE and just kind of get thrown into the fire, which is the beauty of it," he said. "I worked with Nic and with Seth a lot, and I mean, they helped me so much. It became such a great relationship, back-and-forth, between the three of us. And, later, Finn [Balor]. ... I thank Seth and Nic a lot, I credit them a lot."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.