10 Awful Injuries Which Led To Amazing WWE Matches
6. Stone Cold Takes A Stinger And Starts On A Multi-Year Path Of Destruction - SummerSlam '97
Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't yet the Stone Cold we would come to know and love at SummerSlam 1997. He was steadily climbing the ranks in popularity, but wasn't quite there yet when he suffered an extremely severe injury at this PPV.
Austin was facing Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Title, with a stipulation that if Hart won Austin would have to kiss his ass, because Vince McMahon.
During a piledriver/tombstone reversal spot, Hart placed Austin too low and dropped him head first onto the mat, causing a 'stinger' - partial paralysis and numbness of body parts.
Hart, immediately recognizing what had happened, improvised a roll-up for Austin, winning him the title. Austin recovered, but his neck and spine were never the same again.
However...
This real-life event changed the trajectory of Austin's career. He became more of a brawler, and, concurrently more of a pain in Vince McMahon's ass. While he healed, his anti-authority character grew through skits and promos, while the Mr McMahon character developed as Vince took harsher and harsher steps to keep Austin out of the spotlight.
This led to some of the best matches of the Attitude Era, as Austin took on all comers and revolutionized WWE.