10 Wrestlers Who Nearly Died In Travelling Incidents

2. The Wrestling World Loses Magnum TA

One of the brightest stars of the 1980s never made it to the megastar level that everyone in the industry had prophesied for him. Terry Allen, called Magnum TA because of his slight resemblance to actor Tom Selleck in his most iconic television role, was ready for great things. He was the man who had it all: until his career ended abruptly on the 14th October 1986. Allen had just wrestled a show in Greenville, South Carolina, and was driving to his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. It had been raining, and the road ahead was slightly flooded €“ enough so that, when his car hit the water, Allen€™s Porsche would begin to hydroplane. Allen attempted to steer to compensate, but the car reacted unexpectedly€ he had forgotten that the Porsche€™s engine is in the rear of the vehicle. Gunning the engine, the car leaped forwards, cutting across oncoming traffic and colliding with a telegraph pole. It would be an hour before the wreck was discovered, and another before Allen could be freed. Unable to move his body, Allen was rushed into surgery in critical condition. Two vertebrae had exploded upon impact, and it was only his excellent physical condition that saved his life. Magnum TA€™s right side was paralysed for months after the accident. Still a fan favourite to tens of thousands of people, he received over 75,000 letters in support€ but as the months went by, professional wrestling and the NWA moved on without him. Allen never returned to the ring to wrestle again, making sporadic appearances as an announcer here and there over the years. The man that Mick Foley called a future world champion lost his future at the age of twenty-seven.