10 Dark Secrets Wrestlers Accidentally Revealed

In 1986, Kerry Von Erich lost his foot following a life-threatening motorcycle accident. The appendage remained, but he compounded the injury, possibly in a match against Brian Adias, at which point it was said to have been amputated. His father Fritz swore the narrow inner circle aware of it to secrecy.

In retrospect, it is very obvious, when equipped with the knowledge of this story, that Von Erich wrestled without it.

For two years however, Von Erich pulled off an incredible ruse: he worked without a foot to a standard that halfway resembled his prime. He wasn't quite the same, but then, his decline could have been attributed to the horrific accident. Even Dave Meltzer, in his exhaustive (and moving) obituary, wrote that the amputation occurred "somewhere along the way". There was no definitive moment at which Kerry wrestled, obviously, with one foot. He had successfully worked "the boys", and - an apocryphal tale aside, in which Kerry emerged from a pool with a leaking boot - it was only obvious to them after an incident in the AWA.

In 1988, Col. DeBeers grabbed Kerry's boot to work over his leg. The boot fell off. Fans saw only a sock, were stunned, and the news started to filter throughout the business. Vince McMahon knew, and in a typically awful move, tried to use this information to have the Illinois State Athletic Commission ban Kerry from wrestling. The AWA wasn't a threat, but their pitiful attempt at expansion was an attempt, in Vince's eyes, all the same.

It was only after this incident that the boys realised that something was strange about Kerry turning up to every arena already wearing his gear.