MAN STUFF: Vet Loses Leg In Iraq But That Doesn’t Stop Him From Becoming A Pro-Westler
Most people would crawl up in the fetal position and live on pity and handouts the rest of their lives but not this warrior. Check it out.
A heroic Iraq War veteran has overcome a life-threatening injury to become a professional wrestler.
Purple Heart recipient Chris Melendez, from East Harlem, New York, lost his left leg in an IED explosion eight years ago, but was recently signed to a multi-year contract with the TNA Impact Wrestling League.
The 27-year-old made his professional wrestling debut last week, during a three-day TNA taping at the Manhattan Center, where he beat two other competitors during the August 8 fights.
In a TNA pres release, Melendez says he was inspired to join the military by his father, who was a Vietnam War veteran.
So he enlisted at the age of 17, following the aftermath of the September 11 attacks that left his home city shaken.
But less than a month before his two-year-stint was up in 2006, Melendez was hit in an IED explosion.
‘When I was able to open my eyes after the explosion I looked across the battlefield to see what I thought was a fellow-soldier in need of help,’ Melendez said in a TNA press release. ‘I quickly realized it was my leg.’
Read more: Daily Mail
