10 Legit Wrestling Injuries That Were Made Into A Storyline
1. Owen Hart Breaks Steve Austin's Neck
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's horrifying neck injury at SummerSlam 1997 remains one of the most cringe-inducing moments in the history of WWE PPV.
With the Intercontinental Championship on the line, the match between Owen Hart and Steve Austin was supposed to be the culmination of a month long feud. However, the bout would ultimately shorten Austin's career, when a sit-out piledriver by Owen went horribly wrong.
Dropping 'Stone Cold' directly on top of his head, the move would break Austin's neck and leave him momentarily paralysed on impact. Miraculously, 'The Texas Rattlesnake' managed to execute a school boy for the win, despite the excruciating pain.
Nevertheless, Austin was in a bad way and had to vacate the title after the fact. Hart began to brag about the incident on-screen, even boldly wearing a parody t-shirt that read "Owen 3:16" with "I just broke your neck" on the back.
'The King of Harts' would win a tournament to capture the Intercontinental Championship at In Your House 18, setting up the highly anticipated rematch with Austin for Survivor Series '97. 'The Bionic Redneck' would exorcise his loss with victory and recapture the IC gold at the notorious Montreal PPV.
The injury would also see 'Stone Cold' infamously Stunner Vince McMahon as a result of him keeping Austin out of action, kick-starting his ascent to the top of the WWF and changing history in the process.