Steve Austin suffered a spinal cord injury during his match against Owen HartProfessional wrestling as we all know, is a performance sport and the action we see unfold in the ring (for the most part) is choreographed and done so with super professional precision and skill.However, as with any high-intensity sport which has physicality to go with, accidents happen and the performers get hurt evenry once in while. It could happen to the most skilled and experienced of the bunch, usually due to factors one just cannot control.But the difference is that in a professional wrestling setting, where selling hurt and pain is a part of the act, the performer tries to mask the real pain for the show to continue and that is what separates the men from the boys as this requires other-worldly toughness, especially if the real injury gets woven into the storyline angle.We take a lot at 10 such warriors who put the business and the dedication to their craft ahead of their own personal safety in the squared circle.
#1 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle is one of the legit most tough guys in any pro wrestling locker room. He not only won an Olympic gold medal but did so with a broken 'friggin neck, on his own terms!
By that token, it is no surprise that his name is included in this list. In the Summerslam 2000 main-event match, Kurt Angle was booked in a 3-way match against The Rock and Triple H for the WWE championship. In the brawl with Triple H prior to The Rock making his entrance, Angle was at the receiving end of a botched pedigree on the announce table at the hands of HHH, when the table broke prematurely knocking him out as 'The Game' landed directly on top of Angle's head.
As could be seen by the fervent look on the faces of the ENT doctors who came out to attend to Angle, he was later diagnosed to have suffered a severe concussion needing him to be stretchered out. But ever the toughie, Angle made his way back into the match and was involved in the finish where he took a bump over the top rope at the hands of the Rock! Oh, it's true..it's damn true.
#2 Brock Lesnar
Speaking of amateur wrestlers getting concussions in a pro-wrestling ring, Brock Lesnar suffered a major one at Wrestlemania 19 which comes to mind almost immediately.
The sight of a near 300 lbs monster flipping through the air and landing square on his head is a scary sight all those years later, as Brock suffered a major concussion following the botched shooting star press attempt. However, the burly beast was able to get up following that and finish the match as planned with an F-5 on his opponent, Kurt Angle.
#3 The Rock
'The Brahmabull' had been out of the ring for over 8 years when he came back and faced John Cena at Wrestlemania 28 and beat him. While he looked the part, all those years away from the ring had a major part to play in ' The People’s champion' getting hurt one year later at Wrestlemania 29 in a rematch against the same opponent.
In the match where he lost the title to Cena, The Rock suffered a serious injury wherein he tore both his abdominal and adductor tendons off his pelvis, but finished the match as planned by putting Cena over.
#4 Bob Holly
Bob Holly was a WWE veteran, who hung on to his spot on the WWE roster for 15 years, despite never being a main-event wrestler. But despite his lack of main-event status, Holly was well-respected backstage for his tenacity and toughness when protecting the business.
A couple fo incidents shine through when talking about Holly willing to sacrifice his well-being for the WWE show. The first was when Brock Lesnar infamously dropped him on his neck after botching a powerbomb, breaking his neck in the process. As one would expect of a toughie like Holly, the grizzled vet not only gutted out through the match but ended up taking the F-5 from Lesnar in the end...on a broken neck!
In another match in WWE’s version of ECW, Holly in a match against Rob Van Dam, went through a table positioned outside the ring but on the metal side suffering a severe laceration on his back that needed 24 stitches to close out. In a sheer show of grit, Holly finished the match as planned with blood running down his back, earning him a standing ovation at the end from the crowd in attendance, despite being a heel at that time.
#5 John Cena
A lot of hate towards John Cena from the so called ‘hardcore wrestling fanbase’ is centred around the fact that he is a role-model among kids of the PG -era. But honestly, can you think of a better name that you would want your kids to follow?
While he decks up in bright flashy colours (admittedly making him a target among the male adult demographic), Cena has had his share of gritty moments inside the ring. The most notable one came in 2015 when in a match with Seth Rollins on RAW, he got kneed right in the nose, completely shattering it in multiple places and making him look like one of those badly photoshopped accident survivors.
Despite not being able to properly breathe out of that fractured nose, Cena didn’t stay down, literally, and picked up a win over Rollins as planned.
#6 Triple H
‘The Game’ has been around long enough to know that the show must go on, no matter what happens inside the ring. Having been brought into the business the old-school way by his trainer Killer Kowalski, Triple H has had a couple of injuries happen to him when wrestling in the WWE ring.
Hunter was involved in a 3-way tag-team match back in 2001 when he and Steve Austin took on the team of Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit on an episode of RAW. Towards the end of the match, in what was a throw-away part of the match, HHH landed on his leg wrong and ended up tearing his quad muscle completely off the bone. In what had to be a defining statement of Triple H’s dedication to the business, he not only chose to continue the match but let Jericho put him in the ‘Walls of Jericho’ move that strained his quad further.
In a valiant show of gumption, Tripe H was able to finish the match as planned, but was helped out after the end of it.
#7 Mick Foley
It is not even a surprise to see the name of ‘The Hardcore Legend’ included in this list, considering the extreme nature of the matches he has been involved in throughout his career. However, no list of names of professional tough guys would be complete without the inclusion of the WWE Hall of famer Mick Foley.
In what has become one of the most iconic matches ever, Mick Foley took 2 major bumps (one of them being unplanned) in a Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998. Count a broken hip, busted lip, missing teeth and a severe concussion as the after-effects from the match, despite of which Foley like a true pro finished the match as planned, earning his place in history forever.
#8 Steve Austin
One of the biggest stars in the history of the WWE, ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ was also among the legit toughest and a true professional to boot. He earned his nickname ‘The toughest SOB in WWE’ through an awe-inducing display of courage during his match, relatively early in his WWE career.
When ‘Stone Cold’ was catching fire in the midst of 1997, he was placed in a match for the Intercontinental championship at WWE Summerslam against the late great Owen Hart. In what was a planned spot, Owen delivered a piledriver on Austin, who hadn’t tucked his head far enough, which caused him to land square on his head with his whole body weight on it.
The aftermath was temporary paralysis where Austin was unable to move, and both the ref and Hart were unsure of what would happen next. However, in what was a truly impressive display of gumption and grit, upon regaining feelings in his body, Austin went on to complete the match as planned and did it with a awkward looking roll-up to be crowned the new Intercontinental champion.
#9 The Undertaker
Listing down the times the legendary ‘Phenom’ battled hurt and finished his matches like a true pro would make one to believe that Mark Callaway for real, is a man from beyond death. In a career lasting 30 years, Undertaker has been in countless injuries and battled through all of them like a warrior.
But nowhere was his show of valour more impressive than at the Elimination Chamber PPV in 2010, when he was one of the participants in the main-event for the World Heavyweight championship. During his awe-inspiring ring entrance, Taker was on the receiving end of a pyro screw-up not once but 3 times as fire burnt the legend thrice as he made his way to the ring. As detailed in Chris Jericho’s (one of the other competitors in the match)book, the incident left Taker with second-degree burns and his coat and hat was charred beyond recognition. His whole upper body was beet red from the fire, but guess what....Taker still competed in the match and finished it as planned.
Aside from the no.10 entry on this list, you will be hard-pressed to find a more impressive feat of toughness in WWE history.
#10 Vader
Big Van Vader was an ex-football player who turned to professional wrestling in the 80s’. He did so by becoming a huge star in Japan, where wrestling was far more ‘real’ than the rest of the world.
He also broke in with some of the toughest guys in the history of the business, such as Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. In an AJPW vs NJPW supershow held at one of the massive stadiums, Vader faced Hansen in a brutally worked match which showcased some of the stiffest offense ever. In what has become an iconic image, during one of the exchanges, Hansen dislodged Vader's eyeball from his socket, prompting Vader to take off his mask and pop the eyeball in, going on to continue the match as planned.
Following the match, Vader had to surgically get a metal plate inserted under his eye, among other injuries.
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