This isn't fake: Seven serious real-life accidents/injuries in WWE

In professional wrestling, the match results are pre-decided, the wrestlers do not really attack each other with gumption, and even some injuries are faked to advance a feud. Professional wrestling is thus looked down upon by several people, especially adults, who ridicule it as a fake sport meant for children.

Though it is true that matches are predetermined in professional wrestling and that wrestlers often do not legitimately assault their opponents, it is nevertheless one of the most dangerous disciplines in the world. The events on a pro wrestling show are scripted in advance, but even one mistake can lead to severe or permanent injury, or even death. Thus, the professional wrestlers are trained to wrestle in a manner that is not legitimately injurious to their opponent. The show is scripted in such a manner that it seeks to tell sensational (and often, unbelievable) stories without causing grave harm to the participants.

Recently, reports suggested that popular WWE superstar Daniel Bryan may find it very difficult to make a return to the ring anytime in the near future, thanks to neck and elbow injuries which require surgeries.

Some 'injuries' or 'accidents' in professional wrestling are scripted i.e. they are unreal and used only to advance a story. However, at times, legitimate and career-threatening (even life-threatening) injuries or accidents do occur. Here we look at some of the worst such incidents in the premier professional wrestling company in the world, the WWE:

7) Joey Mercury, Armageddon 2006 (Face injuries): Not many casual fans would know Joey Mercury, but he was part of a team called MNM (Melina, Nitro and Mercury). At WWE's event Armageddon in late 2006, Joey Mercury and his partner Johnny Nitro were part of a four-team match in which the Tag Team titles were hung high above the ring and had to be accessed using a ladder. Several ladders were brought into the ring and used as weapons during the course of the match. Midway through the bout, a ladder placed vertically upon another hit Mercury hard in the face (especially the nose), completely blooding his face. He broke his nose and had to take time off from wrestling. 

6) Brock Lesnar, Wrestlemania 19, 2003 (Neck injury/ concussion): The main event of Wrestlemania 19 featured new superstar Brock Lesnar against Kurt Angle for the WWE championship. Towards the end of the match, Lesnar climed to the top rope and attempted to do a 'shooting star press' on a fallen Angle. He overestimated the distance he would have to jump, and nearly landed on his head after flying through the air, sustaining a serious concussion. Fortunately, Lesnar, who was booked to win, managed to finish the match and get the gold.

5) Mick Foley, King of the Ring 1998 (lost consciousness, injuries to several body parts): Mick Foley, also known by ring names Dude Love, Cactus Jack and Mankind, was known to be a very, very tough wrestler. Throughout his career, he had no qualms engaging in all kinds of hardcore matches, taking multiple chair shots to the head, going through tables, barbed wire and what not. All this however, came to a head at WWE's King of the Ring event in mid-1998 in Mick Foley's match against the Undertaker. The match was a 'Hell in a Cell' match, meaning a steel cell measuring 15 to 20 feet was erected over the ring, and the competitors had to fight inside it. There were no restrictions on use of weapons like chairs, tables and even thumbtacks. 

Undertaker and Mick Foley however, decided to take it a step further, climbing to the top of the tall cell. Undertaker then threw Foley off the cell and into the commentators' table, nearly 20 feet below. Foley reportedly lost consciousness upon taking the fall, but (crazily) got up and scaled the cell again. Incredibly, the two had also managed to take a chair to the top of the cell. To worsen matters, Undertaker then threw Foley through the cell. It was unintentional - the cell gave way and Foley landed hard in the ring, and the chair fell on top of him! Even as medical personnel rushed the ring, Foley refused to let the match be called off, finally getting thrown into a mass of thumbtacks in the ring. Foley later revealed that he had sustained several injuries and could remember very little of the match.

Mankind vs. The Undertaker - Hell In A Cell... by Gus_VoxCatch

4) Stone Cold Steve Austin, Summerslam 1997 (broken neck): Stone Cold Steve Austin was the hottest rising star in the WWE in 1997. After a superb match with Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13, in which Austin turned face (good) and Hart heel (villain), Austin was on a hot streak heading into an Intercontinental Title match against Owen Hart at Summerslam 1997. Towards the end of the match, Owen performed a sit-down, upside down slam on Austin known as the piledriver. Austin's head though, was much below it should have been to be in a safe position. On falling, Austin jammed his head and neck hard into the ground, immediately being unable to move his neck and shoulder muscles. He however, improvised the finish of the match to help it reach its predetermined end. Later, Austin could not actively compete for nearly three months.

Austin would go on to be become on of the most popular superstars and biggest draws in professional wrestling. However, the neck injury forced him to change his style, and further undergo surgery in 1999 following which he was out of action for 10 months. Though he returned and continued his rise to superstardom in 2000, Austin was forced to retire in 2003, because of the impending damage to his neck and spinal cord.

Summerslam 97-Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Owen Hart by leberlous

3) Shawn Michaels, Royal Rumble 1998 (severe back injury): This was the injury that cost Shawn Michaels four years of his career, but even that is in hindsight. Once he had sustained the injury, it was believed that Michaels would never get back to wrestling. Indeed, Michaels himself believed so until his return at Summerslam in 2002.

The injury happened in a 'casket match' between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title at Royal Rumble 1998. The goal of the match was to put your opponent in a casket and close the lid, to achieve the victory. A 'casket' had therefore been placed just outside the ring. Several minutes into the match, Michaels performed a reverse jump from the ring, on top of the casket. However, instead of landing safely, Michaels' back hit the edge of the casket as he landed hard. Though he didn't realise it then, Michaels herniated two discs in his back and crushed one completely.

2) Darren Drozdov, SmackDown 1999 (gets paralysed for life): Not many casual fans know Darren Drozdov. He competed in mid-card matches in the WWE (WWF) in the late 1990s. During a match with fellow wrestler D' Lo Brown on the company's weekly show SmackDown, he landed awkwardly on his head as a result of a botched wrestling manoeuver. The impact of the botched move was increased because D' Lo Brown slammed Drozdov to the ground after an initial hard run. The accident left Darren Drozdov paralysed in his upper body and ended his career, as he fractured two discs in his neck. Drozdov is now confined to a wheelchair, though he has regained some use of his arms.

There is no video available of the incident. This is because WWE tape their SmackDown shows instead of telecasting them live, and the company decided to edit out the match from the show when it was finally telecast.

1) Owen Hart, Over the Edge 1999 (death after a huge fall): Owen Hart's death inside a WWE ring has to be the most tragic incident in professional wrestling ever. Owen Hart, who was at the time competing under the gimmick of an unpopular 'superhero' called Blue Blazer, was supposed to make a superhero-like entrance from the ceiling high above the ring, at WWE's event called Over the Edge. For this purpose, he was to be lowered into the ring through a harness and grapple line. The harness had a quick release mechanism because Owen being a buffoonish character at the time, was supposed to undo the harness as he neared the ring and fall flat on his face.

However, the stunt went horribly wrong. While Owen was being lowered into the ring, his harness apparently snapped, and he fell a distance of 78 feet into the ring, smashing his chest into the top ring rope. Though Hart was immediately rushed to a medical facility, he apparently died quite quickly. Ringside commentator Jim Ross explained the incident to television audiences as a 'real life incident' which was 'not part of the entertainment'. As he was doing this, Hart was being attended to by emergency medical personnel in the ring, and the TV feed cut to show the commentators and the audience. No video is available of the incident, thankfully, because it was way too graphic for public viewing.

There have been many other serious injuries or accidents in WWE as well as other wrestling promotions such as the defunct WCW, ECW and TNA, though these are some of the most gruesome. Professional wrestling is a dangerous business, in which the superstars put their bodies on the line every time they have a match. The chances of getting seriously injured are high every time they step into the ring. One botched move can cause permanent disability or even death. It is therefore unfair to consider professional wrestling a fake sport with cartoonish characters meant for childrens' entertainment.