A former WWE superstar has turned to fans to help pay for surgery after a devastating injury brought her 26-year wrestling career to a premature end.
Mercedes Martinez, 45, tore the ACL in her right knee during a match last month, forcing her to abandon her farewell tour and retire earlier than planned.
The wrestling veteran, who has also competed for AEW and Ring of Honor, says she does not currently have health insurance and faces paying for her surgery and rehabilitation out of her own pocket.
She has now launched a $25,000 (£18,400) GoFundMe asking supporters to help cover her medical costs and bills while she is unable to work, as reported by Need To Know.
Martinez suffered the injury while wrestling Allie Katch on 15 August.
She had already announced that 2026 would be her final year in the ring and had embarked on a retirement tour intended to bring the curtain down on her lengthy career.
But the ACL tear instead forced her to call time on wrestling months earlier than she had planned.
Martinez said: “Definitely not the way I envisioned ending my in-ring wrestling career.
“But… such is life.
“After almost 26 years in this business, I’ve learned that you can plan, prepare, and give everything you have… and sometimes life throws you a curveball you never saw coming.”
Martinez began wrestling professionally in 2000 and spent much of her career balancing the sport with other jobs.
She finally became a full-time professional wrestler six years ago before signing with WWE in 2020.
She went on to sign for rival promotion AEW in 2021.
Martinez, from Waterbury, Connecticut, said those contracts provided her with money towards health benefits – but that disappeared after her AEW deal expired.
Returning to the independent wrestling circuit also resulted in her income falling significantly, she said.
Martinez said: “Since then, I’ve been paying for my healthcare completely out of pocket.
“And now, this injury has created a situation I never expected to be in.
“I need surgery on my right ACL, followed by rehabilitation.
“Because I currently don’t have health insurance, I am considered self-pay, which means the surgery has to be paid for outright before it can be scheduled.
“The same goes for rehab. Each session has to be paid for at the time of the appointment.”
The wrestler said the unexpected injury has also left her without the income she expected to earn during the remaining months of her farewell tour.
She added: “I honestly didn’t expect to have no income through the end of December.
“This injury completely threw a massive curveball into my plans for the next year.”
Money raised through the fundraiser will go towards her surgery, medication, physical therapy and rehabilitation as well as her regular bills while she cannot work.
More than $10,200 (£7,500) has so far been donated towards the $25,000 target.
Martinez has now raised enough to pay the deposit for her operation, which has been scheduled for 15 October.
But she said she is still short of the amount required to cover the procedure in full.
In an update, Martinez said: “Good news! ACL surgery is 10/15.
“Enough to cover deposit, but not quite at full surgery cost.
“TY for every donation/share. Truly humbled & grateful.
“Goal 1: Surgery.
“Goal 2: Rehab.”
Martinez said she had made it through almost her entire career relatively unscathed aside from two previous shoulder operations – both of which happened when she had health insurance.
She said: “I never expected my in-ring career to potentially end this way.
“But I also know that wrestling has given me so much more than the ability to step between those ropes.
“It gave me a life.
“It gave me incredible experiences.
“It gave me people I love.
“And it gave me a community that has supported me through some of the highest and lowest moments of my life.
“So now, I’m asking that community for a little help getting through this one.”
Despite her enforced retirement from competing, Martinez does not intend to leave wrestling altogether.
She hopes to recover from surgery and eventually find a role outside the ring.
She added: “My goal is to get this surgery, get through rehab, heal properly, and then figure out what the next chapter looks like.
“I hope that once I’m healed, I can continue to be part of this business in a non-in-ring capacity.
“Because I’m not ready to walk away from wrestling completely.”
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