10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Terry Gordy

6. He Had To Relearn Wrestling

Dark Side Of The Ring Terry Gordy
WWE

Things came to a head when Terry stopped breathing mid-flight on 18 August 1993. Peers did everything in their power to keep Gordy alive, but they couldn't stop him from slipping into a coma. That'd turn out to be a watershed moment for the man. Terry Gordy was never the same again; not as a worker and not as a personality.

The incident stripped him of his skills and gung-ho energy. Terry had to learn how to walk, talk and wrestle again, but would never regain his mojo before passing in 2001. According to Mick Foley, there were brief flickers of hope (like a death match between the pair that showed the "old" Gordy), but those were fleeting.

Cornette popped up to reveal he gave Terry a gig in Smoky Mountain Wrestling hoping that’d relight the fire, but it had gone out for good. Gordy was often in a daze, and couldn’t carry a conversation without getting distracted. He was cognitively impaired, and that was that.

Again, sad.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.