The fear of her wrestling career being over was real for Alexa Bliss.

The WWE superstar had suffered multiple concussions and battled their effects since last fall, causing her to be out of in-ring action for long stretches, along with a few starts and stops along the way. She missed out on having a match at WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view Evolution, WrestleMania 35 and most recently Money in the Bank. Bliss was concerned she would never wrestle again.

“Absolutely, I think after the second concussion I was very worried about not being able to get back in the ring, especially because I didn’t know what was going on with my brain,” Bliss said in a phone interview ahead of facing Bayley for the SmackDown women’s championship at Stomping Grounds beginning 7 p.m. this Sunday on the WWE Network.

“There’s so many different types of concussions and I didn’t know that at the time. Each one had to be treated differently and the fact that I didn’t know what was going on with my brain and didn’t know until I saw the concussion specialist, it made me very scared.”

A trip to Pittsburgh to see concussion expert Dr. Michael “Micky” Collins has helped put many of Bliss’ fears to rest and given her a better handle on her injury. Bliss said she has also talked in passing to Daniel Bryan, who nearly had his career cut short because of concussions, about ways to keep the brain healthy.

After missing Money in the Bank last month, she has wrestled regularly on WWE’s television shows and at live events.

“The stuff that he [Dr. Collins] taught me about concussions and injury has been so mind opening and mind blowing, actually,” the 27-year-old Bliss said. “It made me feel like for the first time that I actually was in control of my own injury and actually well aware of what was going on in my brain and it made me feel so much better about returning to the ring because concussions are a scary thing.

“But the way they explained it, it made it seem tolerable and the fact that you could make a full recovery, and them being certain of that, just made me feel that much better.”

The natural workaholic described herself as antsy and stressed during her time away from WWE because of her injuries, but it was refreshing in other ways. For the first time in six years she had prolonged time for “adulting,” spending time with family and friends in addition to decorating her home.

“When I’m not able to work it drives you crazy a little bit,” the five-time WWE women’s champion said. “I have animals at home I got to hang out with and I have a house and so it all worked out because I was able to do things in life that I wouldn’t be able to do if it weren’t for having the time off.”

Her current good health has allowed her to return in a meaningful way. Bliss is intertwined in storylines with Bayley and set for her first women’s championship match on a pay-per-view since facing Ronda Rousey last September at Hell in a Cell.

She has also forged a friendship with Nikki Cross that has already resulted in the pair competing for the women’s tag team championships on “Monday Night Raw” this week. Bliss wants to see more stars built for the women’s division to continue the momentum from a WrestleMania where “our women took over.”

“We need to keep developing these characters and giving them exposure because the more people that are built, the more people we have to work with and the more stories we get to tell,” Bliss said.

Bliss and Bayley also feuded in 2017 and “The Goddess” believes this time will be different, joking that hopefully they don’t do another “This is Your Life” segment, which was not well received.

“This time it should be a little more tame,” said Bliss, who noted Cross being at ring side Sunday adds a fresh element.

It’s Cross’ first major push on the main roster since being called up from NXT. Bliss said the two are feeding off each other now after not being “sure how the dynamic was gonna work.” One of the things that has come out of them working together is the “Twisted Bliss Coffee” angle.

Bliss decided to bring a coffee mug from her “Moment of Bliss” talk show to ringside on Raw and later sip from it during a six-women tag match on May 20. WWE has turned it into an on-screen angle with its own t-shirt and mug to boot. Bliss now has “an excuse” to drink coffee as she works.

“That actually was a thing that wasn’t planned,” she said. “I knew I was going to be ringside for the match and I just brought the coffee with me and actually drank it ringside and then it became a thing. Everyone knows I’m addicted to Starbucks and coffee and I probably have four-to-five cups a day. It’s very much real and the fact that they turned it into a thing is quite incredible.”

It’s one of the positives that came from WWE finding ways to keep Bliss on TV when she wasn’t cleared to wrestle. She was put in a general-manager-type role, was the host of WrestleMania and hosts “Moment of Bliss.” She said she could see herself sticking around WWE in those types of roles when her in-ring career is over because she loves to perform in front of a crowd.

“I liked overseeing of the women’s division, because I always like being in charge,” Bliss joked.

One of the opportunities she — along with Natalya — was given was traveling with the WWE contingent for Super ShowDown to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia earlier this month. The two weren’t allowed to have a match at the show because of the country’s sharia law, but did get to visit children in the oncology ward of a local hospital.

Bliss said it was amazing to see the kids light up when they came into the room. Bliss felt the people she came into contact with were ready for a women’s match to happen in Saudi Arabia.

“One person came up to me during the show, shook my hand and thanked us for being there and said, ‘We really hope to see you guys have a match here soon,’“ Bliss said. “So it’s definitely something that would be embraced, I feel.”

Right now, Bliss is embracing the opportunity in front of her at Stomping Grounds against Bayley because “WWE opportunities don’t always come back.” Her health is in a good place and so is her career.

“I’m definitely happy to be in the ring and not having any more issues,” Bliss said. “It makes you appreciate the time you do get in the ring, especially when you are forcibly taken out of the ring. I’m very happy to be back and I’m very excited for Stomping Grounds.”