5 career-threatening injuries WWE Superstars sustained in the ring

#4. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin broke his neck during a match against Owen Hart at WWE SummerSlam 1997

Today in Wrestling History - Stone Cold Steve Austin breaks neck from an Owen Hart piledriver at SummerSlam 1997 pic.twitter.com/FCsIafoA6g

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WWE Superstars have suffered many nasty injuries in the ring over the past several decades. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was on the receiving end of one move that nearly ended his career instantly.

At WWE SummerSlam 1997, Austin faced off against Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. During the contest, Owen botched a Tombstone Piledriver that ended up breaking Stone Cold’s neck.

Austin spoke about what happened in the ring in an interview following the incident.

“I remember we went into the piledriver deal. I picked him up, and then we reversed that, and he picked me up. My head was about, I dunno, six or eight inches below the bottom of his legs, and he jumped up and spiked me," Austin said.

“As soon as my head hit that mat, I was thinking Christopher Reeve. Cause I thought I was never gonna walk again, ever. I couldn’t feel anything from my neck down.”

“Man, I’m laying there, and now the pain’s starting to set in. I couldn’t use my hands yet, but I could turn over and use my forearms to crawl. It took me a long time to straighten my knees to be able to… [but] there was no way I was gonna lay there and let some ambulance or bunch of paramedics carry me out of that ring. And then finally, I can start using my hands. I hit him with the roll-up… it looks like shit,” Austin revealed.

Austin was out of action for several months after the incident. He managed to recover and return to the ring at WWE Survivor Series the same year. While the injury could have ended Austin’s career for good, The Rattlesnake fought on for a few more years.

However, the injury took a toll on his body and forced him to retire from the ring in 2003 at WWE WrestleMania XIX.