10 Sickening In-Ring Injuries You Won't Believe Stars Wrestled Through

by Andrew Soucek

1. Bruno Sammartino Fractures a Vertebrae

On April 26, 1976 Sammartino took one of the rare losses in his historic career. Despite fracturing his neck during the match, it was actually blood loss that did him in!

Sammartino was undoubtedly the biggest star in the WWWF in the 1970s. He was the company's biggest draw, and was relied upon to sell out the major arenas. The company had him defend his world title against the rough and tough Stan Hansen, who was never known for being gentle in the ring. Neither was Bruno, and it ended up being a match that could have ended his career.

Sammartino fractured a vertebrae in his neck after taking a sloppy bodyslam. Instead of staying down, he briefly composed himself and then fought for another 15 minutes just so he could go along with the planned blood loss finish. After the match, he even refused to go to the hospital. He didn't want his parents worrying about him, so he actually got on a plane that night! He then should have stayed at home healing for a long time, but Vince McMahon Sr. needed him back badly to wrestle at Shea Stadium (due to lousy advance ticket sales without him), and got him back in the ring just two months later for a rematch against Hansen.

This injury may not be as well known as some of the others on this list, but somehow being able to wrestle the majority of a match with a broken neck is the most sickening injury a WWE star has ever wrestled through.

Contributor

As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com