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Injuries are fairly commonplace in professional wrestling. Although critics will shut sports entertainment down as "fake", what they fail to realize is that the wrestlers do get injured. Pro-wrestling requires quite a bit of strength, agility, and endurance, so when they push themselves to the brink night in and night out, things are bound to go awry once in a while. Sometimes, an opponent messes up, and other times, their body simply cracks under the pressure.
In many instances, wrestlers worked through nagging injuries and finished their matches as they were planned. However, in some rarer instances, wrestlers persevered despite having suffered catastrophic injuries. Here are ten examples of wrestlers who went beyond their limits to entertain the wrestling world.
However,I would like to give a couple of disclaimers before I begin - first, this list is in no particular order, and second, I am well aware that these are not the only instances of wrestlers working through serious injuries. Feel free to share other such stories in the comments below!
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#10 Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 19)
What was planned to be a "WrestleMania Moment for the ages" became a "WrestleMania Moment" for all the wrong reasons.
During his WWE Championship match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 19, Brock Lesnar ascended the top rope, something we had rarely (if ever) seen him do before. Angle was far away from the ropes, so no one could've anticipated what came next. The near-300 pound "Beast Incarnate" went for a Shooting Star Press, a move more commonly executed by men half his size.
Though he was able to perform the move successfully in dark matches, Lesnar's feet slipped and he landed almost directly on his head.
He was supposed to finish the match with the Shooting Star Press, though, so the two had to shuffle to come up with an ending. Angle quickly covered the severely-concussed Lesnar, who surprisingly kicked out. Despite not knowing where he was, Lesnar hoisted the 220 lb Angle over his head for the F5 and won the match as scripted.
Needless to say, Brock Lesnar better be thanking the good lord he isn't bearing any consequences of that injury right now.
#9 Sting (Night of Champions 2015)
Here's another guy who should be thanking God for surviving a fatal blow.
In 2015, a 56-year-old Sting challenged Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at Night of Champions. About 10 minutes or so into the match, Rollins powerbombed Sting into the turnbuckle. Almost immediately, something seemed wrong - Sting looked unsteady. After collapsing in the middle of the ring following an Irish Whip, trainers and referees surrounded Sting, likely telling the legend that he should not continue the match.
He didn't listen.
Instead, he countered Rollins' Pedigree into a Scorpion Death Lock. The move looked incredibly weak and it was apparent that Sting was in serious distress. Following a second attempt at a Scorpion Death Lock, Rollins quickly rolled up Sting for the victory.
It was discovered after the match that Sting was suffering from cervical spinal stenosis, which was aggravated by the whiplash effect from the Buckle Bomb. The injury would force him into retirement.
A hell of an admirable effort from a man who had nothing left to prove.
#8 Rick Rude (Wrestling Dontaku 1994)
Speaking of Sting, did you know that he was "Ravishing" Rick Rude's final one-on-one opponent?
At New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestling Dontaku event in 1994, Rick Rude faced off against Sting in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. About midway through the bout, Rude took a Suicide Dive from Sting. Upon taking the move, he landed spine-first on the edge of the raised platform at ringside, breaking two of his cervical vertebrae.
Since he was known for being one of the most legitimately tough wrestlers in the business, Rude soldiered on as if nothing was wrong. He took a Suplex on the entrance ramp, he lifted the 250 lb Stinger and dropped him on the barricade, he took a top-rope Clothesline from Sting, and he even performed two moves off the top rope himself.
Ultimately, it was a Knee Drop from the top rope that did tame Sting, and Rude became NWA World Heavyweight Champion as a result.
Unfortunately, he had to drop the title not so long after, as the injury he sustained forced him to retire from wrestling at 35. Five years later, Rick Rude died of heart failure. It's a shame, as he could have had a much longer and more successful career had it not been for that fateful night in 1994.
#7 Sabu (Born to Be Wired 1997)
Sabu is insane. And I don't mean that in a gimmicky sort of way - I mean that he is unequivocally a hundred percent bonkers.
Perhaps the most relevant evidence of Sabu's genuine madness is his match against Terry Funk at ECW's Born to be Wired in 1997. At this particular event, the two were wrestling in a match that replaced the usual ring ropes with barbed wire... you know where this is going.
For whatever reason, Sabu decided it would be a good idea to hit an Air Sabu Corner Splash to Funk very early in the bout. When Funk moved out of the way, Sabu got tangled up in the barbed wire (for those reading on a mobile device, it's at 3:53 in the video), tearing open his biceps. At one point, his bicep muscle was hanging from the nearly 10-inch gash.
Instead of stopping like any normal man would, Sabu started to tape up the wound mid-match. After taking a neckbreaker onto a steel chair (during which he continued to wrap tape around his arm), Sabu sprung up out of nowhere and started wailing on Funk like there was no tomorrow.
Later on, he wrapped himself in barbed wire and sent Terry Funk (who was also wrapped in barbed wire) through a table on the outside of the ring. In the end, Sabu came out victorious, but the two men were in such agonizing pain from being entangled in the barbs that several ring technicians had to cut them apart with wire cutters.
Paul Heyman once said that this match was so gruesome that he wouldn't dare to book another one like it. I can't help but agree with that sentiment.
#6 Triple H (twice)
Fun fact: Triple H holds the distinction of being the only person on this list to appear for two separate injuries on the same part of his body.
On the May 21st, 2001 edition of Monday Night RAW, Triple H teamed up with Stone Cold Steve Austin to take on the team of Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. When Jericho had Austin in Walls of Jericho, the "Hunter" came in to make the save. As he attempted the same, he tore his left quadriceps muscle completely off the bone.
Nevertheless, he continued to wrestle despite not being able to put any weight on his injured leg. He even let Chris Jericho put him in the Walls of Jericho, a move that puts a lot more pressure on the quadriceps muscles.
Five and a half years later, he sustained a similar injury.
At 2007's New Year's Revolution, he and his buddy Shawn Michaels were up against the team of Edge and Randy Orton. Near the end of the match, he came down awkwardly while delivering a Spinebuster to Orton. Once again, he had torn his quadriceps muscle, only this time it was on the right leg.
Not being someone to resist going over, he stood up and delivered a Spinebuster and a Pedigree to Edge (the latter was on the announce table), then wailed on his two opponents with steel chairs. Sure, the match ended in a No Contest, but not because of Triple H's injury. Instead, it happened because Shawn Michaels knocked out the referee.
Powering through a torn quad to finish a match is admirable... but Triple H did it twice, proving to everyone that he really was "that damn good".
#5 The Rock (WrestleMania 29)
Even though The Rock is much more of an actor nowadays, he clearly still loves pro-wrestling.
He proved this at WrestleMania 29, when he defended his WWE Championship against John Cena in the "Once in a Lifetime Match: Part Deux". Much like many of Cena's big matches, the bout saw the two legends trading finishers back and forth.
When Cena hit his first Attitude Adjustment on "The Great One", he suffered a hernia and tore his abdominal and adductor tendons, causing his abs and his adductors to separate completely from his pelvis.
Against all odds, the "Brahma Bull" fought through the pain for several more minutes, delivering two more Rock Bottoms to (and receiving one from) "Big Match John". Rock ultimately lost the match after the third AA from Cena, losing the WWE Championship as a result.
He didn't have to come back; he had plenty of money and prospects in Hollywood, and he surely didn't need to push through such agonizing pain to go through the rest of the match as planned. But "The People's Champion" refused to deny the people their WrestleMania main event, no matter what the circumstances.
This must be why so many people consider "The Rock" to be arguably the hardest working man in show business.
#4 Hardcore Holly (twice)
When your first name is "Hardcore," you are expected to be tough, and Hardcore Holly rightfully earns that distinction.
As if he hadn't already proven that throughout his WWE career, he proved it once again on the September 12, 2002, episode of SmackDown. Near the end of his match with Brock Lesnar, Holly was Powerbombed neck-first to the mat after Lesnar failed to set him up for the move correctly.
Some reports suggest that Holly sandbagged the rookie, as he was known for working a tougher style against newcomers, but regardless of how it happened, Holly ended up with a broken neck. Still, he fought his way out of a second powerbomb, dropkicked Lesnar, countered a German suplex, and took an F-5 for the loss.
His neck injury would sideline him for 13 months, but he displayed a considerable amount of grit by completing a glorified squash match under such circumstances.
Four years later, Holly was a part of WWE's failed incarnation of ECW. On the September 22, 2006, episode of the program, Holly squared off against Rob Van Dam. Right before they went to commercial, Holly suplexed Van Dam out of the ring and through a table.
Unfortunately for him, his back was sliced open by the table's metal railing, leaving him with a gnarly gash. Through the blood loss and the immense pain he was in, Holly continued to wrestle the match, even taking a Suplex on a steel chair at one point. Following his valiant display of perseverance, Holly was rewarded with a standing ovation from the crowd and 24 stitches on his back.
That's one hardcore dude right there.
#3 John Cena (four times)
Whether you love him or you hate him, you have to accept John Cena truly never gives up. And there are four specific instances to prove that.
On the October 1st, 2007 episode of Monday Night RAW, Cena squared off against Mr Kennedy. During the match, Cena executed a standard hip toss but somehow managed to tear his pectoral muscle completely off the bone. Not only did Cena go on to finish the match, but he took a post-match beat-down from Randy Orton, who delivered (among other things) an RKO onto a steel chair to the Cenation leader. The injury was supposed to put Cena on the shelf for seven months to a year, but he miraculously returned in 2008's Royal Rumble match, just under four months after he went down.
That same year, at SummerSlam, Cena suffered a herniated disc in his neck after Batista reversed a top rope leg drop into a Batista Bomb. Sure, Cena didn't wrestle for very long after that, but he still kicked out of that high-impact move and took another Batista Bomb before capitulating to the Animal. He could've just stayed down from the first one and that would've made for a perfectly suitable end to the match, but instead, he kicked out at two and took another forceful bump, which likely exacerbated his neck injury. Somehow, Cena was back just three months later for that year's Survivor Series.
Fast forward to 2013's edition of SummerSlam, when John Cena wrestled Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Two weeks before the match, Cena was sporting a visibly distended elbow, but he continued to soldier on through the pain to put over Bryan. The two wrestled for nearly a half hour, and the next night, Cena revealed that he, in fact, had torn his triceps The injury was set to sideline Cena for four to six months, but he came back in just two months to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio at that year's Hell in a Cell PPV. How he managed to wrestle a near-thirty-minute match with that kind of injury is beyond me.
Remarkably, there is still one more example to share - on the July 27th, 2015 episode of Monday Night RAW during a US Championship match with Seth Rollins, Cena broke his nose following a knee to the face. With his nose clearly out of place, it was very difficult for him to breathe. Still, he kept fighting and ended up retaining his title.
As much as fans rag on "Super Cena," the guy is pretty much a real-life superhero.
#2 Vader (NJPW vs. AJPW Supercard Show, 1990)
This display of resolve solidified Vader's status as one of the most fearsome "legit tough guys" in professional wrestling.
In February 1990, Big Van Vader squared off against Stan Hansen at an NJPW vs. AJPW Supercard Show. Seeing as these two were world-renowned for their stiff wrestling styles, the crowd knew full well that they were about to see two men beat the stuffing out of each other.
What they weren't prepared for, however, was this...
Before the match even began, Hansen broke Vader's nose with his bull-rope. Still, Vader traded actual punches to the face with Hansen for a brief exchange. As the two exchanged blows, Hansen accidentally caught Vader's eye with his thumb, causing Vader's eye to pop out of its socket. Instead of stopping the match like, you know, anyone else would... Vader removed his mask, pressed his eye back into his skull, and kept fighting stiff for several more minutes. The swelling was gruesome, but it actually kept his eye from popping out once again, so I suppose it was a blessing in disguise.
As a result of the injury, Vader had to have a metal plate surgically implanted under his eye. His tenacity drew the attention of World Championship Wrestling, who helped him become a household name in the states as well.
Long story short - do not mess with Vader. Well, unless you're Paul Orndorff.
#1 Mick Foley (twice)
I could sit here all day writing about the agony that Mick Foley put himself through in order to entertain us. I could write about how he went through thumb-tacks, how he went through flaming tables, or how he took 11 unprotected chair shots to the head in one match. But instead, I'm going to focus solely on two moments that I found to be particularly noteworthy.
The first instance was in 1994 during WCW's European tour, when Foley (wrestling as Cactus Jack) faced off against Big Van Vader. During the match, Foley pulled off a "hangman spot," which is a famous wrestling sequence that sees a wrestler essentially "hanged" from the top and middle rope. Unfortunately for Mick, the ropes were tightened just a little too much that night. In an effort to free himself, he ripped most of his ear off. Vader ripped the rest of it off as the two traded blows in the ring. Not only did he finish that match without an ear, but he also chose to win the Tag Team Championships with Kevin Sullivan at that year's Slamboree instead of having his ear re-attached.
Who would've thought that he would top that only four years later?
At the 1998 King of the Ring, Foley (now wrestling as Mankind) squared off against The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. Foley planned a spot where Undertaker would throw him from the cell through the announce table below. At the very least, this spot separated Foley's shoulder and bruised a few of his ribs, but he broke free from the stretcher and went back to the top of the cage. 'Taker then Chokeslammed Mankind onto the roof, which collapsed beneath him, sending him crashing to the ring below.
Many, including the commentators, thought Foley had died from the impact. But he kept going, despite suffering a concussion, a dislocated jaw, a tooth through the nose, and internal bleeding from the landing. He even took a chokeslam onto a pile of thumbtacks after the fact. Though he was praised for his performance in the match, Vince McMahon told him to "never do anything like that again".
Honestly, Foley has not been able to walk the same way since that night in 1998, and he likely never will. But he has most assuredly earned worldwide respect for the sacrifices he made in his career.
