10 Wrestlers Who Broke Their Neck For The Business
9. Hardcore Holly
Though rumours of Bob Holly sandbagging hot newcomer Brock Lesnar in September 2002 were later debunked by both, it's hard not to subscribe to the narrative that long-tenured misery Holly wasn't a match for the freakish strength of 'The Next Big Thing'. That neither fancied redoing the neck-breaking powerbomb on the pre-taped edition of SmackDown reflects how little either man wanted to revisit the moment.
Nothing particularly goes right for either of them during the spot, but it's the youthful 'Beast' that emerges on the work and shoot right end of the botch. Hardcore Holly worked two tag matches immediately following this televised loss to Lesnar, but was sidelined in the aftermath after the broken neck ruled him out for 13 months.
By the time he returned, WWE's blue brand was owned by the man still within the first year of his career when he was shelved. Holly's rehabilitation was transformed into a babyface redemption story against WWE Champion Brock, affording him his one and only pay-per-view title match after a decade with the organisation. He was subsequently squashed too, but was at least able to continue working following that brutal Brock beating.