10 MORE Wrestling Matches That Became Inadvertently Infamous

5. Tyson Kidd Vs Samoa Joe (WWE Raw Taping, 1 June 2015)

Samoa Joe Tyson Kidd
WWE

A difficult debut for a man destined to become one of the company's most vital all-rounders, Samoa Joe's introduction to WWE was - in every sense - a dark match.

Running the ropes with ever-present utility man Tyson Kidd, Joe was only to go through the motions for the benefit of the live crowd and those backstage perhaps unfamiliar with his repertoire, but disaster struck when he inadvertently injured Kidd's neck and spine with his Muscle Buster finisher. A move he'd delivered hundreds of times without incident prior to working for Vince McMahon had, at the first attempt, nearly crippled one of his most reliable rank-and-files.

Predictably, the 'Samoan Submission Machine' lost use of the move for the most part, but thankfully the still-relatively-young dungeon graduate didn't lose use of his arms and legs. After a lengthy rehabilitation though, his career as a WWE Superstar was sadly terminated by the bad landing. Taking positives from the deeply unfortunate negative, Kidd noted that "only 5% of people survive similar injuries", and was at least given the opportunity to become a producer/agent to make use of his superlative skills in in the closest fashion to physicality.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett