15 Wrestlers Who Faked Serious Injuries

June 2024 · 15 minute read

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Professional wrestling is incessantly mocked for being fake, and there’s no denying that it's certainly scripted, however there’s additionally no denying that the performers are surely hanging their bodies at serious chance every time they step into the ring. Injuries occur always in wrestling, and as of this writing WWE is dealing with considered one of their worst eras with regards to injuries, with countless top stars getting injured and forced into early retirement at a rapid fee. If this all sounds lovely serious that’s as a result of it is, but that hasn’t stopped various wrestlers from making a mockery out of their own occupation by faking serious injuries.

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At first, the idea of faking an damage most probably seemed brilliant, particularly since the actual toll wrestling takes on one’s frame hadn’t been realized till just lately. Unfortunately, it kind of feels like the trend is accelerating with time instead of decreasing, with a variety of wrestlers faking injuries to this day. This has started to amass quite a lot of controversy, since one of the crucial injuries they’ve faked have in truth claimed the careers and even lives of wrestlers who got here sooner than them. That said, a few of those examples are still viewed as classic angles, or even we admit some of them have been beautiful humorous. Read on if you want to know about 15 occasions wrestlers can have sold just a little bit too much and lied about a serious harm.

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15. Shawn Michaels - Faked A Head Injury

Shawn Michaels was virtually inarguably the best wrestler in WWE all over the mid-90s, but he was also a huge jerk to everybody he met on the time. In October of 1995, Michaels was legitimately attacked by a questionable number of Marines outside of a bar, and desperately needed day off from wrestling to heal. To give himself time without work, the following month he wrestled a match with Owen Hart and “collapsed” after being kicked within the head with an Enziguri. We’re going to start feeling like a broken document quick with this checklist, but bearing in mind how possible it's for a wrestler to in reality cave in within the ring, particularly after taking an actual kick to the pinnacle, the perspective comes off as pretty tasteless with a couple of decades of hindsight. Michaels returned from his mysterious cave in only a few months later, predicting years of professional sports ignoring simply how serious head injuries will also be.

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14. Jerry Lawler - Faked Anal Bleeding

It’s not that uncommon for wrestlers to faux or exaggerate some obscure or nondescript minor injury, like a “bruised shoulder,” or a “ripped back muscle,” and even if that’s still offensive to the people struggling real back and shoulder injuries, we let it slide as wrestling being wrestling. At least once, regardless that, WWE went in this sort of atypical direction with it we need to give it some consideration on our record. In September of 2011, Lawler was once attacked via Mark Henry and slammed throughout the announce table. Somehow, this translated to Michael Cole bestowing Lawler with some affordable, obscure, and nondescript bruised ribs, and likewise…anal bleeding. Booker T can merely give a lifeless stare and ask “What?!” in response. Can't assist you to there, Book.

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13. Michael Cole - Faked A Spinal Injury

Proving that being a WWE broadcaster is among the most dangerous careers in broadcasting a person may just consider, Michael Cole joined his longtime spouse Lawler in lying about a serious harm. While Lawler’s sin was absurdity, Cole’s fake injury used to be a subject of specifically horrible timing. In March of 2015, Brock Lesnar attacked Cole and left him with faux injuries described on WWE.com as “a conceivable cervical fracture.” Now, if that they had long gone with their same old imprecise “back injuries,” there may be no hurt, no foul, however sadly, barely over one week previous, popular Mexican wrestler Perro Aguayo Jr. actually died during a match by fracturing his vertebrae. Some people will argue this whole list is complaining about wrestling being wrestling, however this example specifically proves that sure considerations want to be made when faking injuries, lest it look like WWE is trivializing the well being and lives in their skill.

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12. Bob Orton, Jr. - Exaggerated A Broken Arm

This record may get destructive speedy, so we’ll keep it mild with this fun one. Bob Orton’s broken arm is generally regarded as probably the most funniest and maximum impressed heel moves of the 80s. Like several items in this list, the harm began off as actual. Orton broke his left arm in a fit with Jimmy Snuka within the mid 80s, and in short needed to wear a forged. After his arm was utterly healed, he saved dressed in the solid, the usage of the hard protective plaster as a weapon towards his fighters. Orton rode the faux injury gimmick to the highest of the cardboard, ultimately becoming a normal associate to the generation’s most sensible villain, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Though lauded at the time, Orton and his inflated damage have roughly been forgotten, in part because of the increased sensitivity against injuries over time, and partly because Orton has been overshadowed by his infamous family.

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11. Joel Gertner - Faked A Neck Injury

Like Bob Orton, Joel Gertner’s fake injury was fondly viewed as smart comedy on the time it was offered, but given what number of wrestlers have retired younger due to neck injuries, it’s exhausting to appear back and giggle. The Quintessential Stud Muffin was once a longtime supervisor in ECW, who eventually went on to change into the co-host of ECW on TNN and Hardcore TV, along with many of ECW’s Pay-Per-Views. On the first actual ECW PPV, Barely Legal, Gertner was at the receiving end of John Kronus and Perry Saturn’s Total Elimination, which “broke his neck.” He wore a neck brace for most of his occupation after the transfer, or even now we have to admit dressed in a bowtie on most sensible of mentioned neck brace was once a gorgeous impressed transfer.

10. Chyna - Faked A Neck Injury

Chyna will forever be remembered as a historic and troubled figure inside of WWE history. She broke ground in wrestling in ways few women may just even dream to this day, and after her tragic demise in April of 2016, it kind of feels she’s in any case getting some recognize from the corporate she as soon as loved working for. One thing that may by no means get recognize is the pretend broken neck that happened Royal Rumble in 2001. Chyna was wrestling Ivory for the WWE Women’s Title, and “collapsed” after a handspring elbow. The crowd didn’t buy the “re-aggravated neck injury” WWE were trying to sell, and issues had been simplest made worse when Jerry Lawler “rushed to the ring” to test on Chyna. Lawler in truth rushed to the hoop when Owen Hart died, and having him start doing so all through angles makes an perspective out of one of the vital darkest days in corporate history, as though faking profession ending injuries due to moves that couldn’t hurt a ballerina wasn’t dangerous sufficient.

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9. Pitbull #1 - Exaggerated A Neck Injury

Pitbull #1, who used to be born as Gary Wolfe, in truth did destroy his neck in a match, which is probably why he and virtually everyone concerned with this “vintage” ECW angle had been beautiful uncomfortable when it got here time to fake he used to be still injured and really take the theory of choosing at the disabled to the prohibit. Wolfe’s neck was broken in a match with Shane Douglas, and the level of his injury required him to put on a halo with precise screws bolted into his skull. Obviously, the injury was once beautiful unhealthy, but Wolfe actually totally healed ahead of he ever gave the impression in ECW once more. That’s now not what they informed the fanatics, despite the fact that—Paul Heyman manipulated the wrestling media and stored Wolfe hidden sufficient that lovers believed his neck was once in reality still broken, which resulted in true vitriol when Shane Douglas grabbed him Wolfe his halo and threw him to the bottom. It was once a actually dastardly transfer, however it arguably went approach too some distance.

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8. Scott Steiner - Faked Multiple Injuries

Scott Steiner actually faked serious injuries a number of times in WCW, so much in order that it may well be argued having no respect for the fickle creation that is the human body was a part of his gimmick. Steiner first performed the fake damage card at Road Wild 1998, having the if truth be told lately injured Buff Bagwell wheel him to the ring on a gurney, just for Steiner to just about in an instant pop up and attack his brother Rick. Although Bagwell had just about ended his occupation with a real damage simplest months earlier, he just laughed in conjunction with the similar loss of recognize as the Steiners. Barely a 12 months later in December of 99, Steiner pulled an almost similar shtick, pretending that serious back injuries have been forcing him to retire. Before the evening was over, it used to be proven to be a ruse, and Steiner used to be nWo for existence yet again, and the very real possibility of wrestlers forced into early retirement was once observed as a punch line once more.

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7. John Cena - Exaggerated A Pectoral Injury

One of the last true surprises in professional wrestling came at the 2008 Royal Rumble. The clock struck 0 for the 30th access and out walked…John Cena. It’s onerous to peer the fuss in hindsight, but on the time, Cena used to be believed to be out for up to an entire yr with an excessively serious injury to his pectoral muscle. He injured himself while wrestling Mr. Kennedy in October of 2007, and he was once still some distance en path to recovery when the Royal Rumble came over. Cena had been making posts on Twitter that his recovery used to be shifting sooner than expected, but gave no hints precisely how fast he meant until he in truth confirmed up that night time. In fact, Cena heavily implied it would still be months sooner than he got back in the ring. Some a part of the damage used to be clearly actual, and because it was used to such dramatic impact, perhaps it was alright to bend the truth on this instance.

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6. The Rock - Faked A Hand Injury

Most of those pretend injuries happen either inside or no less than on the subject of a wrestling ring, but The Rock has transcended wrestling, so it is smart his faux injury happened on a movie set. While taking pictures the film Central Intelligence, The Rock used to be fascinated by some more or less minor onset coincidence, and decided to document the effects on his Instagram. The Great One joked and laughed all the way through the video, and also equipped an image of his hand—including a ring finger that was either damaged or about to snap off totally. The Rock shared it with Instagram as though it were all real, but it seems the damaged finger used to be only a prop from the film, and the onset twist of fate was most likely just a prank altogether. Real onset injuries happen in film all the time, too, so the reality it came about thus far away from a hoop is infrequently an excuse.

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5. Jonah Adelman - Faked A Neck Injury

Maybe it isn’t solely honest to name Jonah Adelman a wrestler, although he undoubtedly gave it his very best effort. Jonah was once one of the vital contestants at the third season of WWE Tough Enough in 2002. Tough Enough started out as a real existence taste documentary show portraying the educational means of in reality amateur wrestlers, on the lookout for a shot at the big time in WWE. That integrated an advent to injuries and hardcore bumps, which Jonah took to the extraordinary all the way through a “prank” early on in his season. After a specifically bad bump, Jonah was forced to visit a clinic. Luckily, it turned out to be a minor issue unrelated to his neck, but Jonah and display producer John Gaburick determined to prank the rest of the contestants, and pretend Jonah had suffered a profession ending neck injury. The prank went over surprisingly well with the solid, but it surely’s worth noting this actual episode has been got rid of from the WWE Network, as well as greater than half of Tough Enough’s debatable 3rd season.

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4. Matt Hardy - Faked A Spinal Injury

This faux harm is still under construction as of this writing, but there’s enough evidence in the market for us to name it faux, even though we don’t know where the tale goes to finish. Matt and Jeff Hardy wrestled an “I Quit” fit in late March of 2016, and the fit aired on Total Nonstop Action’s Impact Wrestling roughly one month later. It ended in a “No Contest” with both brothers stretchered out of the sector, and after the published, Matt Hardy took to Twitter to assert a piece of probably the most tables damaged within the match lodged into his spine inflicting permanent harm and forcing him to retire. The drawback is, in between the match happening and the match airing on TV, Matt had already wrestled a handful of matches. It's something to mention you’re taking some day off because of a difficult match, however faking occupation finishing injuries is totally uncalled for.

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3. Stevie Richards - Exaggerated A Neck Injury

While the morality of faking an injury is ultimately up for debate, no less than one performer in this listing has expressed some excessive remorseful about for doing so, despite the fact that his reasons are lovely explicit to his situation. In past due May of 1997, Stevie suffered what at first gave the impression of a serious neck injury in a fit against Terry Funk. Although Stevie’s profession and ECW both gave the impression to be moments away from exploding within the wrestling world, it seemed like Stevie would have no selection however to retire, or at least that’s what he informed everyone at ECW so as to get out of his commitments with them. In fact, only a few months later, he discovered the injuries weren’t nearly as unhealthy as they first appeared, and signed a freelance with WCW. Stevie wasn’t appearing on my own, being attentive to unhealthy recommendation from Raven and others, but he reflects on the incident by admitting he acted immaturely. He additionally said he considers the true neck damage that began the lie the scariest moment of his existence, which once again is going to show how serious the things these wrestlers lied about is.

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2. Ric Flair - Faked A Heart Attack

All of the opposite faux injuries on this list are reasonably offensive on the earth of professional sports, the place completely any one can endure a serious harm at any time. Faking a center assault takes the offensiveness to a degree past, laughing in the face of the #1 cause of demise on this planet. In the past due 90s, Ric Flair did precisely that, and he did it in the midst of a WCW ring. In December of 1998, Flair was once giving more and more intense and passionate promos about his hatred of Eric Bischoff, often starting off his clothes and turning crimson in the face while screaming about no matter got here to his thoughts. The announcers would laugh and tell him to calm down lest he have a heart attack, until one night on Nitro it looked like Flair did exactly that. Wrestling being wrestling, they later published Flair was once if truth be told poisoned, but for a minimum of a few days it looked like probably the most most sensible names in wrestling may just’ve suffered a sad fate on national tv—the same tragic fate numerous co staff of his in fact faced in front of crowds of masses at highschool gyms.

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So, what could possibly be worse than faking a middle assault? Well…

1. Vince McMahon - Faked A Fiery Exploding Death

Vince McMahon is the biggest and loudest persona in wrestling history, in command of arguably the largest and loudest sports entertainment company in television history. Obviously, this can be a guy who goes large or is going home, so if he’s going to faux an harm, he’s going to move all out on an epic degree. In July of 2007, Vince McMahon walked into a limo at the end of an episode of Raw, and seconds later the limo exploded. WWE actually reported on their web site that McMahon was presumed dead, and claimed authorities had immediately begun investigating the probable “murder.” Any wrestler can stare into the eyes of destiny and ridicule it with a faux injury, however to actually stare down death and giggle? Now that takes a McMahon. Unfortunately, WWE instantly came upon just how bad an idea this was once, as lower than two weeks later Chris Benoit murdered his circle of relatives and due to this fact dedicated suicide. Suddenly the pretend explosion gave the impression a little bit gauche.

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Sources: WWE, Wrestling Inc

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