February 27, 2003: Lita's quest to return to the ring hasn't ended yet, but she's feeling increasingly better and optimistic.

The real-life Amy Dumas has been going through perhaps her toughest physical and emotional battle since last May, when she needed neck surgery after being dropped on her head while filming the since-canceled FOX series "Dark Angel."

"Obviously with any injury ... you just don't feel like yourself," she told WWE.com. "I still don't feel like myself, but I see the path."

Even though her physician, Dr. Lloyd Youngblood of San Antonio, had told her the chances were good she'd be able to come back one year after surgery, and even though other Superstars who had a similar procedure have returned, there have never been any guarantees. Dr. Youngblood also told her that after six months, she'd be able to return to a normal workout regimen. But the six-month anniversary of her surgery came and went in January, and Lita was still able to workout only intermittently.

Running was particularly difficult. Lita said she felt good while she was jogging, but her neck would bother her for days afterward, and it wasn't just post-exercise soreness. She was beginning to get concerned that she would never recover sufficiently.

"Now, I'd say about the last month, I've really gotten into a good workout schedule," she said.

Still, as a precaution, she hasn't run for several weeks, sticking to other forms of cardiovascular exercise instead until she visits Dr. Youngblood again. "Because things are going so well and I don't want to agitate it," she said. She's due for an appointment soon.

It's a big step forward for the former Women's Champion since the last time she visited Dr. Youngblood. At that time, she said, "I really wasn't feeling all that good. Obviously better than before surgery, (but) I only felt OK when I was doing absolutely nothing."

Today, Lita just figures that it took her longer than six months to get over the hump because women heal more slowly than men do. All of the other Superstars who have had the "Youngblood surgery" -- Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Rhyno, Scotty 2 Hotty and Bob "Hardcore" Holly -- have been men. So if it takes longer than a year for Lita to get full medical clearance to return to the ring, that's OK too.

"At this point, I don't want to rush it," she said. "I'd rather make sure I feel 100 percent ready ... than rush coming back early.

That's another comment you probably wouldn't have heard a few months ago. Back then, Lita was unable to do much of anything -- no lifting, no driving. The fiercely independent soul was forced to sit at home as her boyfriend, Matt Hardy, remained on a full WWE schedule. Occasionally, when she was lucky, a friend would take her to Wal-Mart so she could get out for a change of scenery.

But these days, she has more than enough to keep her occupied, working for animal-related causes near her home in North Carolina, and as a commentator on Sunday Night HEAT.

Of working with animals, Lita said, "It's what really kept my mind occupied, because thinking about (WWE) would've driven me insane."

Lita donated her prize money from the "Weakest Link" and "Celebrity Fear Factor" to animal-related charities. As soon as she was able to operate a car, she began volunteering at the San-Lee Humane Society, a private, no-kill shelter near her home in North Carolina.

When the facility was forced to shut down due to lack of funding, Lita's efforts intensified. She organized an autograph session, raising almost $5,000 for the shelter. "It was definitely a success," she said, although the shelter is still taking steps to fully reopen.

More recently, Lita has been helping out at the Moore County Animal Center, which is forced to euthanize 60 percent of its animals.

"It's really opened my eyes to how bad (animal) overpopulation is," Lita said.

She said that working at the center has made her realize that finding homes for pets is not the only answer -- that it's essential to educate the public about the necessity of preventing unwanted animals. That entails having owners spay or neuter their pets, and make sure to keep them on a leash so they don't end up running away.

"I feel very lucky that I have gotten educated to this problem," she said. "It's close to my heart. It's affected me to the point where I want to stay involved."

But she's had less time to do so since the fall, when she started commentating on HEAT, which she admits is not her forte.

"It's definitely a good learning experience," she said. "I just feel very out of my element."

Regarding her HEAT co-host, Jonathan Coachman, she said, "He's got the smooth style. He's got the 'announcer voice.' He's very professional, and I feel very amateur next to him.

Whereas she feels "amped, excited and ready to go" before a match, she's a different kind of nervous before she goes out to announce on a live HEAT. She describes her emotions as, "Cross my fingers and hope I don't mess up too badly."

Fortunately, over the last few weeks, it seems more and more likely that she'll be able to return to the ring as a wrestler. Now that she's at the show every Monday for the HEAT taping, she says, "I'm around it all the time. But I still don't think about where I'll fit into storylines -- not yet."

For information or to make a donation: Moore County Animal Center P.O. Box 279 Carthage, NC 28327






By Phil Seer
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Sept. 24, 2002 -- Just from looking at her, you would have no idea that Lita had major spinal surgery in May. The former Women's Champion is no longer wearing a neck brace, and she seems to move her head around normally and naturally. Unfortunately, we'll still have to wait about eight months before she can return to the ring. In her time off, she has been volunteering at animal shelters near her hometown in North Carolina. In fact, she recently signed autographs to help raise money for the San-Lee Humane Society, a no-kill shelter that was forced to shut down due to lack of funding.

This week, she's been traveling with the SmackDown! crew. At the SmackDown! taping Tuesday, WWE.com caught up with Lita before doors opened. As she leaned against the ring guardrail, she discussed a variety of topics, including her condition, Matt Hardy's birthday and character, the women's division and more.

WWE.com: What brings you out to California?

Lita: I cashed in some frequent flier miles to hang out with Matt this weekend for his birthday, because we're in California and there was only one flight -- in and out. We could drive the rest of the way, otherwise I'd have to use all my frequent flier miles for one trip.

WWE.com: What did you do for his birthday?

Lita: Obviously, being on the road for your birthday, you can't get all that creative in celebrating. But we were able to have a late lunch before the show, and it was just going to be a regular late lunch. But then the people at the table behind us had an anniversary and the waiters sang the "Happy Anniversary" song and gave them cake. Shannon Moore was with us, and we were all talking about how embarrassing that was. So then I went to our waiter and Matt got the "Happy Birthday" song. We've done it to other people as a joke -- when it really wasn't anyone's birthday. But that's the first time I've actually gotten anybody. Matt said he saw them lighting the candle around the corner, and he knew he'd been gotten.

WWE.com: How are you doing physically?

Lita: I went to the doctor last Tuesday. He told me everything is going well. I was hoping I could do more stuff, but he still has me under the same restrictions, up until six months, saying that the fusion itself is a little soft until after six months. It was three separate bones -- my sixth vertebra, my hipbone and then my seventh vertebra -- and the plate over it with the screws in there. They'll all fuse into one bone. For it to be a hard, solid bone, it takes six months. He said if I look straight up too quickly, potentially the screws can strip themselves right out of your neck. I think they might tell you those things just to scare you. (Laughs)

WWE.com: Yeah, because you look so natural. You're moving your head around so naturally.

Lita: Yeah. But he still just told me not to move my head more than I need to -- not to try to stretch it or anything like that.

WWE.com: Fans seem to have really taken to Matt Hardy's new character on SmackDown! What do you think about it?

Lita: I think it's so fun to watch. The fans are quick to attach to him because they have something new to attach to, but yet they already feel comfortable because they know him. I think he has an advantage. Some people may say a brand new person has an advantage because they have a clean slate. But I think people know who he is, and for him to add a new twist to his character, it makes a clean slate, but yet a familiar face at the same time. I think it's definitely a positive thing for him.

WWE.com: This is Rey Mysterio's hometown. Aren't you a fan of Rey?

Lita: Yeah. I just met his little daughter.

WWE.com: I know you were excited when he debuted in WWE. How do you think he's doing?

Lita: I don't think he could be doing any better. He's definitely one of the standout babyfaces on SmackDown!

WWE.com: Which show is better, RAW or SmackDown!?

Lita: I think SmackDown! is definitely better -- definitely better, by far. And I don't think it's the talent on the show. It's hard to say what it is; it's just my opinion. I just think SmackDown! is better.

WWE.com: There's been some talk recently about the women's division after Eric Bischoff said "nobody cares about women's wrestling" on a recent RAW. What do you think about women's wrestling in WWE?

Lita: I do think women's wrestling is lacking in the people caring about it right now. It's definitely not the quality of the actual wrestling because that's gotten tenfold better. I feel that one of those reasons is that the last storyline I remember is Jazz and Trish. That stuff was really good. That showed a lot of promise, and then Jazz got taken out of the equation and I got taken out of the equation. And I think the women work best integrated with the men. I'm not saying mixed tags constantly. But really involved with the men because the men's characters are so much more developed than the women's. If a male character integrated with each -- and I'm not saying characters always has to be jealous of the other person's boyfriend, either -- you have more variables to have misunderstandings or to expand the storyline. In my opinion, that's the best formula that's tried and true that the fans care about.

WWE.com: Molly Holly said on a recent Byte This! that she thinks WWE needs more female competitors. Do you agree?

Lita: No. Not that they don't need more, but they don't use the ones they have efficiently. I feel the same way about the guys. It's not that they need to find more people to wrestle, it's that they need to efficiently use the talent that they have. And I don't feel as though they are being utilized.

WWE.com: How did the autograph session go the other day?

Lita: The turnout was really, really good for the event, especially the first half of the line -- a lot of people did end up seeing it advertised on the Web site because they were from really, really far away. One girl took a 17-hour bus ride from Albany (N.Y.). There were people from Virginia, Baltimore, South Carolina. Anyway, it went really well. But right as I got there, and right as the animals got there, it started pouring down rain. Pouring, pouring, pouring down rain. It was from 11 to 1, and I signed until 2:30. So a full three-and-a-half hours worth of people showed up, and we raised over $5,000. But I hated that the people were drenched -- soaking, soaking wet -- coming through the line, and that I feel as though we could have raised even more. As many troupers as there were out there, I'm sure more people would have stayed had it been a nice day. And of course it stopped raining as soon as we were done.

WWE.com: So maybe you'll do another one?

Lita: Yeah. Maybe even something more, like a festival more geared toward animals where I happen to be doing an autograph session, as opposed to an autograph session where they happen to be trying to feed some information to people on animals.

WWE.com: Did any animals get adopted there?

Lita: Five animals were adopted, yeah. Which is much more than would have been adopted on a regular Saturday afternoon. So that was really good.

WWE.com: So is the animal shelter going to be able to reopen?

Lita: There are still so many more steps that they're going to have to take to officially reopen, but it was definitely a great first step. They're still a long way off and still in need of a lot more donations, but it was a great first step in getting the awareness out there that that's what we're trying to do. The support of the community was really, really good too, which was nice. Like people I would see in the gym came out there and spent their $15, even though they could have just gotten my autograph in the gym. Stuff like that was nice.



BACK