Remember this was a roster still very raw from the death of Owen a few months earlier. D Lo had been a bright spot of that period, working well with Jarrett over the IC title.
I am sure D Lo's confidence was shot after this, something not helped by Droz being perhaps the 2nd most likable guy on the roster behind Owen, his spot in Beyond the Mat summed him up - a class act. So that would have hurt D Lo as much as the actual prognosis.
D Lo didn't disappear, but he clearly didn't get back on the horse to the level required to sustain his push. It's well known guys who have a near miss are a little more cautious, as are those who work with them... this is still the most severe incident in an actual match to have taken place in the US for 20 years. Hayabusa's was his own fault and only Misawa's has ended up worse in the business at all.
Unfortunately the other side of this is that it's very likely that even if the accident wasn't his fault and Droz and the E didn't blame him that it's possible some guys of the time didn't want to work with D. Lo. Not cos they didn't trust him, but were worried he didn't trust himself...which can be as bad. You saw it with Kennedy a few years back, guys were so wary that the first chance Orton got he ratted him out and got him fired... he didn't botch that badly, but that he could have was enough. Someone like Austin, already injured once might have seen it as a "bad sign" and actively avoided D.Lo in the ring... not cos he blamed him, but just didn't think the risk was worth it.
Low Down was a crap team, but that wasn't D Lo's fault by an stretch, Chaz was a far weaker link and the gimmick was utter poo... It's telling D Lo was given a very prominent role in TNA as a trainer/backstage guy - his experience is valuable, being the "little nobody" who made it and how to deal with the mistake. Much as Droz is still employed by WWE, D Lo should really be too... hopefully one day it can happen.
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