10 Wrestlers Who Broke Their Neck For The Business

8. Sabu

AJ Styles Yoshi Tatsu
WWE

One of many cases in which Paul Heyman helped turn an awful situation for one performer into a money-spinning one for another, Chris Benoit's 'Crippler' moniker was forged from the result of his brutal ECW Arena non-match with Sabu in November 1994.

Time hasn't eased the discomfort of watching Sabu's headfirst near-90 degree plunge into the canvas, and it's one of the many bumps he probably now regrets as he continues to make a living on the fringes of wrestling's otherwise-thriving independent circuit. An eerie sense of panic enveloped the ordinarily bullet-proof bingo hall as he hit the deck and rolled to the outside, with Heyman and in-house monster babyface 911 both dropping character to tend to the fallen 'Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal' star.

Sabu missed hardly any time despite the fall (a practice that will be increasingly commonplace in this article), whilst the remainder of Benoit's time in ECW and entire stint in WCW were defined by his propensity for breaking bones. Though it flew in the face of his crisp, technical style, it gave gravitas to his steely and occasionally vacant personality.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett