10 Times Wrestlers Ate Thumbtacks
2. Randy Orton (WWE Backlash 2004)
To this day, there has perhaps never been a better piece of selling for a thumbtack bump in WWE history than Randy Orton's performance at Backlash 2004. There's likely a good reason for that, Orton probably wasn't acting when he recoiled in shock and shuddered in pain. He looked genuinely stunned.
Watching Orton's Hardcore Match with Mick Foley's Cactus Jack character is difficult today. WWE has become such a saccharine place, so it's hair-raising to look back at the way things used to be. Hardcore Matches filled with blood and violence were commonplace in 2004, but Orton and Foley still popped the crowd with their intense level of risk-taking.
Going for his trademark RKO, Orton was caught in mid-flight and thrown down onto the pins by his rival. Nothing was safe, Randy's back, shoulders, the side of his body and even his legs stuck to the tacks gruesomely.
Disappearing for a brawling segment backstage, Orton later emerged with a lot less thumbtacks on his person. It appears the pain was so great that he brushed some off and picked them from his body before resuming the match.