10 Times Wrestlers Were Broken In The Hard Way
1. New Japan Dojo: Various
The New Japan Dojo system remains a profoundly intense proving ground that is structured to pummel its rookies into a mindset of humility and respect. The Young Lions ritually perform menial tasks and, in order to acclimatise them to the rigours of the overarching 'Strong Style', training emphasis is placed on brutal neck and back strengthening exercises.
It was once far more gruelling.
Stories of disturbing abuse are legion; Stan Hansen claimed in his autobiography that he witnessed first hand, on several occasions, several Young Lions being tortured before live events to such an extent that they suffered internal injuries. This was symptomatic of the mentality; to graduate from the New Japan Dojo, you had to become indestructible. Those who weren't were humiliated and subjected to physical agony. Within such a system, those predisposed to bullying were afforded license to stretch both trainees and the very premise of the Dojo alike, corrupting it into something beyond even despicable.
Jushin 'Thunder' Liger was accused in Matthew Randazzo V's Ring Of Hell of punching the Lions full force in the face, while fellow graduate Chris Benoit delighted in returning and intensifying the punishment he withstood. Those who suffered inflicted further suffering in an escalatory environment that indirectly resulted in the death of rookie Hiromitsu Gompei in 1995. Several witnesses have alluded since to the massive cover-up of manslaughter at his allegedly taking an unprotected bump delivered by Kensuke Sasaki.
A tragic fable of warped power dynamics, the Dojo is mercifully removed from its harrowing past - and so too is pro wrestling, even if some performers still think nothing of setting careers back months with absurdly stiff clothesline.