Matches That Proved How Dangerous Pro Wrestling Is

The most dangerous thing about a wrestling match is that a career can end at any moment. One mistake or botch to create an injury can directly impact someone’s life to the point of never being able to wrestle again.

Starrcade 1999 featured the infamous injury of Goldberg stiff kicking Bret Hart. The injury led to Hart having to retire from the sport in his prime because of a concussion. Neither man used weapons or over the top hardcore spots in this match, but one simple mistake forced a legend to retire.

Shawn Michaels Vs Kane

Unforgiven 2004

Wrestling fans often wondered what caused Shawn Michaels’ eye to move out of place around the mid-2000s. This actually happened years before it became visible during a match against Kane at Unforgiven 2004.

Michaels took an ordinary bump, but he felt something different during a big boot that eventually was revealed as a detached retina. The match came off so normal that no one checked to see if anything was wrong. Michaels’ eye issue started to become more visible as time went on to have fans question what happened.

Willow Nightingale Vs Mercedes Mone

NJPW Resurgence 2023

One of the most dangerous situations in wrestling comes when one of the talent gets injured early in the match and attempts to finish it. Mercedes Mone suffered a broken ankle within minutes against Willow Nightingale, but she gutted it out through the pain to have a full match.

The veteran also changed the finish that originally had her winning and made sure that Nightingale got the victory to defend the title moving forward. NJPW trusted Mone to appear for them again once cleared due to being so unselfish in a tough situation.

Randy Orton Vs Daniel Bryan

Monday Night Raw

WWE hopes to stop a wrestling match early if a talent gets too injured to continue for the overall safety of those involved. This led to a tense situation during a live television match of Randy Orton facing Daniel Bryan on Monday Night Raw.

WWE made the call to stop the match and end it in a no-contest due to Bryan suffering a stinger that looked scary. Bryan was livid backstage and confronted Triple H in a loud argument since Triple H continued matches while hurt and Bryan hoped for the same fate.

Beulah Vs Bill Alfonso

ECW TV

Paul Heyman placed two non-wrestlers in a bloody match to prove a point after Bill Alfonso was accused of being a plant helping WCW steal talent from ECW. The shocking match featured female valet Beulah destroying Alfonso in a bloody brawl.

Even the bloodthirsty ECW fans had shock and awe reactions to seeing two characters they never associated with violence having such a performance. Fonzie saved his job that night, and Beulah earned the respect of the locker room.

Steve Austin Vs Owen Hart

SummerSlam 1997

Steve Austin’s career almost ended before he reached a top spot to change the industry forever. The face turn was still playing out in 1997 for Austin to challenge Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship at the second biggest PPV of the year.

A botch at the end of the match gave us a terrifying moment of Austin getting dropped on his head during a piledriver. Austin had to exert all his energy to even get up and roll Hart up for the victory. Everyone was ecstatic that Stone Cold got cleared to compete just three months later.

Bryan Danielson Vs Kazuchika Okada

Forbidden Door 2023

Bryan Danielson is considered one of the toughest men in the wrestling industry for good reason. The legend has taken a beating in countless matches and loves to fight from underneath, but he has finished matches in intense pain as well.

AEW Forbidden Door delivered a dream match of Danielson facing Kazuchika Okada and suffering a fractured right arm early during one of his usual spots. Bryan finished a long main event and did everything as planned by fighting through the pain.

John Cena Vs Brock Lesnar

Extreme Rules 2012

Sometimes a match is so violent that fans in the crowd have no idea how to react to the moments in real time. Extreme Rules 2012 featured Brock Lesnar having his first match for WWE in almost ten years against John Cena.

Lesnar’s recent UFC history made the story of the match become about his danger level as he clobbered Cena and gave us a rare moment of blood in WWE again. Fans reacted in silence at various points due to the violence that was intended to provide that reaction.

Finn Balor Vs Kyle O'Reilly

NXT TakeOver 31

The worst instance of danger striking in a match is the rare times both performers get injured. NXT TakeOver 31 had this happen during a beloved main event match between Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly.

No weapons were used in this match, but the violence came from both men delivering vicious strikes to make it a hard-hitting affair. Balor suffered a broken jaw from this match, and O’Reilly lost some teeth to endure severe pain on this night.

Vader Vs Cactus Jack

WCW Germany House Show

The rivalry between Vader and Cactus Jack in WCW upped the violence by telling their story through hardcore matches of stiff shots and various weapons being used. Their most violent moment actually came on a non-televised house show during a Germany tour.

Most fans know that Mick Foley lost part of his ear during this match, but not many realize how it happened. Foley got stuck in the ropes, but they were too tight to force a scary situation. Part of Foley’s ear ripped out as he continued the match in an all-time terrifying situation.