10 Wrestlers Plagued By Their On-Screen Self

Of all the weapons Mick Foley brandished during his hardcore career, his body was the most impactful. Unfortunately, unlike broken chairs and snapped kendo sticks, which can be replaced, we each only have one body. In terms of sports injuries, no other competitor in any other sport has suffered quite like Foley.

While many will recall the devastation of Foley’s two Hell in a Cell plunges or those unprotected chair-shots at the hands of The Rock, he was risking his health in acts of masochism before the big time.

He has suffered through multiple devastating injuries, each alone would have retired a lesser man. Foley infamously lost 2/3 of his ear in 1993. During Hell in the Cell alone he was concussed, bruised his ribs, bled internally, dislocated his left shoulder, dislocated his jaw, and lost teeth. Nobody has sacrificed more of themselves for a gimmick than Foley has as the King of Hardcore.

Aside from external injury, Foley believes his wrestling career caused him to suffer permanent brain damage, and though he has had four diagnosed concussions, he estimates he’s had seven more. Three of these occurred during his four-month comeback in 2004.

Foley reflected on his Hardcore legacy:

“I really have to accept the fact that I'm not a young man anymore, that I've probably taken one lifetime's worth of punishment already, and I really do need to be careful. Certainly, I don't want other WWE superstars taking the shots I did.”