At Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar went flying—and only the hand of God saved him and the WWE from certain disaster. Looking a little like the world's clumsiest Rey Mysterio, Lesnar lept off the ring steps and attempted a flying crossbody on Jon Cena. It looked like his intent was to bump Cena to the ground. To be polite, let's just note it didn't quite go as planned. Lesnar hurtled over the ropes, landing and immediately grabbing his knee. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done. It could have been much worse. Often, it is. The rumour is that Cena pulled the top rope down to cause Lesnar to flip over the top rope and crash hard on the floor. Because Lesnar was not expecting this he could have been extremely hurt and injured. Perhaps that was Cena's intent?
Lesnar got lucky. Some of these other guys didn't. Here's what happens when wrestling spots go wrong.
D Lo Brown vs Droz
D Lo Brown had done his running power bomb a thousand times. The move, popularized by Japanese star Jushin "Thunder" Lyger, was a cool spot and a tough one to execute. But Brown was a pro, confident he was up to the task. Against Droz, on a random episode of Smackdown, fans saw just how small the margin of error really was. Droz, wearing a t-shirt, slipped from Brown's grip as D Lo tried to slam him. Instead of a controlled drop, he landed on his head, leaving the rising star a quadriplegic. In many ways, this bump gone wrong ended two careers. Distraught at injuring his friend, Brown was never the same wrestler again. I've still never seen footage of this incident, but I've seen the move several times. It always looked like a bad idea to me. Running and dropping a guy seemingly on his head just seemed like an accident waiting to happen. So when I heard that news that it did I wasn't surprised. I don't know how big of a star Droz would have been, but D Lo was definitely on the way up, but this incident seemed to put an end to his rise in the WWE. Now he works backstage in TNA.
Kevin Nash vs the Giant
At more than 500 pounds, the Big Show is quite a load. Although slamming him isn't impossible, it's certainly a different level of challenge for most guys. Kevin Nash thought he was up to the task. He had done it before. But at Souled Out in 1998, Nash didn't quite get the job done. Instead, he slammed "The Giant" right on his head and neck. Though he would return to wrestle again, if Nash had missed by even a fraction more, the Giant might have been finished wrestling forever. Can I just say that Kevin Nash is a horrible wrestler, with no strength, no skills, no technique what so ever. He was given a career in the WWE because of his size and look, much like the Ultimate Warrior and so many others. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and with the right people (Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels). Then WCW came offering Hall the big money and Nash went along for the ride. But Nash botched almost every move he ever tried, and even his own finisher. So why the idiots running WCW would take their biggest star and have him power-bombed by this idiot is beyond me. Nash botched the powerbomb when he did it to Shawn Michaels who doesn't even weight 200 pounds, so who in the world would think he could pull it off with a guy that weighs over 500 pounds? I'm amazed Nash even got him off the ground.
Stan Hansen vs Bruno Sammartino
Poor Stan Hansen. He had finally gotten his big break in the business, and he goes and drops Bruno Sammartino, the world's biggest wrestling star, right on his head. A routine spot gone wrong, it nearly costs the WWWF its biggest star. Lucky Stan Hansen. The WWWF credits his clothesline finisher with the injury. When Bruno returns to action, they do big business as he gets his revenge. A star, and his finisher, are made by mistake. Never seen this match before, but I think its safe to say that in any wrestling promotion, in any decade, there is always one golden rule that has never changed, hurt the champ, and your career is over! If Ryback went out on Raw and had a match with John Cena and dropped Cena on his head, do you think anyone would ever see Ryback again?
The Rockers vs Chuck Austin/The Genius
Preliminary wrestler Chuck Austin got a tough welcome to the business when he bumped wrong on Marty Jannetty's "Rocker Dropper" finish. He took a forward flip instead of landing face first, with disastrous consequences: Charles Austin, a pro wrestler left partially paralyzed from a supposedly safe stunt, sat in stunned silence yesterday when a jury in Tampa awarded him $26.7 million in his lawsuit against the Worldwide Wrestling Federation. Austin, who landed headfirst on the mat during a 1990 tag-team match against WWF stars the Rockers, had asked for about $3.8 million. Austin, 37, a former linebacker at the University of North Carolina, walks unsteadily on crutches. He no longer can work and relies on painkillers. Could this be the reason Marty Jannetty was punished and his career was ruined in the WWE? If I cost Vince McMahon 26.7 million dollars I would sleep with one eye open and always look over my shoulder lol.
Hayabusa Flip Goes Haywire
At his best, Hayabusa was one of the most graceful high flyers of his era. His name means "Falcon" in Japanese, and he flew through the air with ease, even inventing moves like the Phoenix Splash. Hayabusa did some crazy stunts in his day. But it was a simple "Lionsault" that cost him his career. Slipping on the second rope against Mammoth Sasaki in 2001, Hayabusa broke his neck. In slow motion, this is one of the most gruesome injuries I've ever seen. This is just painful to watch. The absolute worst outcome you could ever see of a move gone wrong. Viewer discretion is advised!
Chris Benoit vs Sabu
Before he was known as "that wrestler who murdered his family," Chris Benoit was considered by many to be the best technical wrestler in the world. No one is perfect, though, and Benoit's accidental head drop on Sabu was a staple of ECW highlight packages for years. In typical pro wrestling fashion, the extent of his injuries may have been overstated. Sabu, despite this "broken neck," was wrestling in Japan just two weeks later. So his neck wasn't broken and he was not paralyzed, but it was a scary moment when he first landed on his head. It earned Benoit the nickname of "The Crippler" even thought he never actually crippled anyone lol.
Masahiro Chono vs Steve Austin
The pre-Stone Cold version of Austin was a wrestling technician, a wrestler known for his holds and suplexes more than his brawling. It was a style that meshed well with a new generation of wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunately for Masahiro Chono, a rising star in the promotion, Austin's technical proficiency went missing in their 1992 match. Instead of dropping to his knees for a Tombstone piledriver, Austin dropped to his butt, smashing Chono's head into the mat. Although he went on to be a big star in Japan, Chono's neck never recovered, and he had to modify his ring style as a result, becoming more brawler than wrestler. This fall actually looked worse than when it happened to Austin.
Steve Austin vs Owen Hart
Do you believe in karma? You might after reading this. Austin, who had injured Chono, had his career shortened in almost the exact same sequence against Owen Hart. What are the chances? So let me get this straight, Austin breaks a wrestlers neck in Japan using a move that he should not have used. Years later in the WWF/WWE Austin is going into a match with Owen Hart and they actually decide to try that same move, the very same way? Austin knew he broke that guys neck with that move, why would he ever let anyone do it to him? And the result was exactly the same. He injured his neck. It shortened his career. He had to change his style and became just another brawler. I think if Austin had not taken this one move he would still be wrestling today. Everyone has always blamed Owen, but clearly Austin had done this to someone before and he let it be done to him the exact same way... why?
Rick Steiner/Lex Luger vs Buff Bagwell/Scott Norton
The Steiner Brothers had a reputation in the business for being a little too rough. They would carelessly toss jobbers and stars alike with devastating suplexes. And what could anyone do about it? They were legitimate amateur wrestling stars and legitimate tough guys. Buff Bagwell's injury didn't have anything to do with that stuff, though. He simply slipped out of Steiner's grip as the two attempted a top rope bulldog. Bagwell hit Steiner's hip instead of the mat, breaking his neck. Wrestlers like the Steiners, the Road Warriors, singles wrestlers like Taz and Kurt Angle, they are all just powerful and talented wrestlers that are capable of doing suplex and power moves most other wrestlers are not capable of. Further more, they have the ability to hurt anyone at any time whether with their size and strength or with their technical know how. So if you heard a wrestler got hurt by one of them you would think it was on purpose that they chose to hurt some one. But that was not the case here. It was just a simple slip, Buff should have went face first into the mat like everyone always does when they receive a Bull-Dog. Only this time Buff stumbled and when he finally fell he went head first into Rick's back. It wasn't Rick's fault.
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle's Wrestlemania XIX match with Brock Lesnar was so remarkable, it's one of Lesnar's most amazing moments: Suffice to say, Kurt Angle was in bad physical shape entering the match, in dire need of neck surgery. But by the end of the match, everyone watching worldwide was equally concerned about Lesnar. The big man attempted a shooting star press, a reverse somersault from the top rope. It's a move even cruiserweights struggle to pull off. Lesnar tried—and failed miserably. He landed on his head and was in a daze, barely able to finish the match. I've seen footage of Brock doing this move before. He had landed it safely before. It was not his first time. The only difference with this time was that Kurt was too far away. Brock tried to jump further but he just didn't quite make it and he was not able to come all the way around as a result. If Brock would have dragged Kurt into the proper position closer to the corner, then Brock would have just jumped higher rather than further and he would have had enough time to complete the flip and would have landed safely as he had in the past.
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