10 Devastating Injuries That Made Wrestlers WORSE

2. The British Bulldog

Triple H Before And Way Before
WWE.com

The sight of Attitude Era British Bulldog remains a cursed image.

It's difficult to accurately gauge how good he was in the ring before he put the jeans on. The Bulldog was inconsistent. He didn't share the world-class gifts of his in-laws, but when he was in the ring with them, he didn't need to be carried. He worked a match with Owen Hart in 1997 so goddamn great and so gorgeously accomplished that it stood out as a classic on a show so dank that it compelled the WWF to change everything about its TV format. It was the most grim vibe WWE's production crew has ever generated beyond the mid-pandemic Performance Center shows, and Davey Boy worked an enduring classic on it.

One of the best opponents ever, if that makes sense, the Bulldog's in-ring prime was cut short by the grotesque mismanagement of WCW. Nobody smartened him up to the trapdoor from which the Warrior was set to emerge later that night at Halloween Havoc. Bulldog bumped awkwardly on it, was hospitalised following a serious spinal infection, and was released by WCW because professional wrestling is a f*cking awful game.

Mired in painkiller addiction, he resurfaced in the WWF a year later. He was bloated to the point of alarm, and worked a pedestrian nothing style mirroring his, yes, bizarre new look.

A sad attempt to grab the reality-hued zeitgeist, Bulldog just looked mundane.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!