On June 1, 2015, Kidd suffered a spinal cord injury from Samoa Joe's "Muscle Buster" finishing maneuver during a dark match on "Raw". Several weeks later, WWE stated that he would be out of action for over a year. Kidd tweeted that only 5% of people survive his injury and that he had 16 staples, four screws, and a rod inserted in his neck. Discussing the injury, journalist Dave Meltzer said "It is unbelievable that Tyson Kidd came through as well as he did", and noted that most people who survive the injury end up quadriplegic, comparing it to Christopher Reeve's injury.