Wrestling can be harsh, and for JCW performer Paige Collette, a defeat in a college match spiraled her life into a nightmare. Recently, on LIVE JCW’s Ring Rat, Paige shared with Vince Russo how a typical training bump with WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi became a life-altering moment. The move itself is something wrestlers perform regularly, but for Paige, it triggered a rare and severe neurological illness called CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome), sometimes known as “suicide disease.” She recounted the incident during her time in knock x pro while participating in a student match:
“This gentleman threw me over the top rope, and instead of catching me, I thought, ‘Here comes the wrestler, let’s just sell it.’ But instead of landing on the apron, I crashed into the concrete, and you could feel the vibration… it tore the muscles in my leg.”
Despite the pain, Paige’s instincts pushed her to try and complete the match, though it was the sumo wrestlers who finally stopped it.
“I didn’t want to appear weak, so I jumped up… then I felt like I had no weight and collapsed again. Ultimately, I became a spectacle—[expletive] crawling through the ring trying to finish the match.”
A wrestler eventually intervened, telling her, “There’s a code in wrestling. Pro wrestling hurts. When things get tough, keep going. If you get hurt, run away immediately.”
Unbeknownst to Paige at the time, this fall triggered a debilitating illness that went undiagnosed for nearly seven years. After visiting 15 doctors nationwide, she was finally diagnosed with CRPS—a condition marked by unbearable pain and no known cure.
“I went almost seven years without a diagnosis. The medical community gave up on me, dismissed me, called me fat, said it was all in my head, all while I was enduring the most excruciating pain known to humanity.”
Though confined to a wheelchair and rejected by her family, Paige taught herself to walk again and has returned to wrestling. Despite ongoing pain, she refuses opioids, instead relying on medical cannabis and sheer willpower.
Paige is now writing a book titled Fighting CRPS, detailing everything from her injury and recovery to homelessness and a near-death experience in which she met Jesus face-to-face.
This story isn’t just about wrestling—it’s about survival. Paige Collette embodies the resilience to rise again, even if it means crawling at first.
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Fan Take: Paige Collette’s journey highlights the physical risks wrestlers face and the need for better medical support within the industry. For WWE fans, her story is a powerful reminder that beyond the spectacle, real-life struggles impact the athletes we admire, urging the sport to prioritize health and safety more than ever.
