10 Biggest WWE Summerslam Controversies

3. Owen Hart Breaks Steve Austin’s Neck

Chris Jericho Brock Lesnar Randy Orton Paul Heyman WWE SummerSlam 2016
WWE.com

When: SummerSlam 1997

What Happened: Owen Hart wore the same facial expression at SummerSlam '97 as he had when he told brother Bret Hart, "that's why I kicked your leg outta your leg" at the 1994 Royal Rumble. Basically, Owen knew he'd f*cked up when Steve Austin couldn't get up after a sit-down Tombstone Piledriver.

'Stone Cold' was temporarily paralysed on the mat.

Hart could only stall for time by jawing off with fans as Austin desperately tried to regain enough feeling in his arms to roll Owen up for the worst three count ever. Meanwhile, on commentary, Vince McMahon knew that this was a dire situation and that Steve could be benched for quite some time.

There were actually worries that Hart had ended Austin's career live on pay-per-view. Backstage beforehand, Steve had asked Owen not to sit down during the spot, but Hart did it anyway and broke the Texan's neck like a twig.

Potentially life-threatening injuries live on air? Yeah, that's drama.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.