10 Ways Wrestlers' Bodies Changed Forever Because Of Wrestling
Blading scars, concave chests, cauliflower eyes, and other battle scars.
Former WWE Champion, veteran pro-wrestler, one-third of one of WWE's greatest ever trios, outstanding babyface: Kofi Kingston is many things, but above all else, the 37-year-old is the only of a really, really weird chest.
Like Chris Jericho, this area of Kingston's body has been going concave for the best part of a decade. The gap between his pectoral muscles keeps widening as he ages and the man himself has a very simple explanation for what happened:-
Kofi is taking the p*ss here, but he wouldn't be the only wrestler to have his body permanent marked by the business. Wrestling takes athletes in as fresh potatoes and spits them out as rotten, lumpy mash. Few other sports generate such wear and tear on the performers and the grind is as relentless as it is unforgiving, particularly today, when risk levels have been elevated dangerously close to unsustainability.
Participating in wrestling leaves a mark on one's body, no matter the level. Each of the names within suffered for their art, even those who willingly modified their own physical form, though duplicate injuries have been omitted (it'd be easy to list 10 wrestlers with blading scars, for example) in the name of variety.
10. Shawn Michaels' Lazy Eye
While Shawn Michaels' buggered eye isn't necessarily the first thing you notice about 'The Heartbreak Kid,' particularly now that he's as bald as a vulture, it's clearly there.
The culprit? Kane, unfortunately. Though Glenn Jacobs is widely regarded as one of the safest wrestlers ever, a bad bump taken by Shawn during their Unforgiven 2004 encounter saw HBK leave the building with the problem. It became increasingly noticeable in the years that followed, though the eye injury wasn't severe enough to necessitate any time off in the immediate aftermath.
The injury is often attributed to Chris Jericho after an angle ran during their wonderful 2008 feud saw 'HBK' suffer a detached retina at 'Y2J's' hands. This was kayfabe. While WWE's in-universe explanation became Jericho claiming responsibility for Shawn's lazy eye, he'd had the problem for four years before he and Jericho tangled in this programme. A good way to put heat on an already-hot feud, but no more than that, as the Canadian antagonist would later confirm on an episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast.