10 Scariest In-Ring Wrestling Accidents

Steve Austin and Owen Hart’s Intercontinental Title match at SummerSlam 1997 should has been as safe as it gets, given the performers’ respective capabilities. Unfortunately, it resulted in a serious injury for one of wrestling’s biggest stars, and shortened his legendary career.

Owen set Austin up for what Stone Cold thought was a Tombstone Piledriver, but Hart wound-up delivering a spiked inverted Piledriver instead. Austin immediately lost all feeling below his neck, and as the two stumbled towards a bumbling finish, the fans immediately knew something was up. The landing was incredibly awkward, and as Austin crawled onto Hart for the pinfall, its impact was very, very clear.

While Stone Cold initially worried he’d never walk again, he somehow returned to competition just three months later. He was made to seriously curb his wrestling style, however, and was regularly forced into long periods on the sidelines as a result of recurring neck problems.

This ultimately contributed to his eventual retirement in 2003, and while Austin still became one of wrestling’s greatest stars and draws during this time period, it’s amazing to think what he could have accomplished, had he not broken his neck.