10 Wrestlers Who Almost Died In The Ring

6. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar Kurt Angle
WWE

Imagine almost breaking your neck on WWE's biggest show of the year. Not only that, but imagine doing so when you're in the main event of WrestleMania and scheduled to win with the very move that nearly leaves you hospitalised. Brock Lesnar doesn't need to imagine this, because he lived it.

Going for a spectacular (but ill-advised) Shooting Star Press at 'Mania XIX, Brock slipped off the ropes and couldn't rotate fully enough to land flush across Kurt Angle's chest. Falling just short of his peer, Lesnar also crash-landed on his head. Talk about dangerous, this was very nearly disastrous.

Brock got lucky. Had he touched down on the very top of his head, then it's likely he wouldn't be with us today. Again, this is an example of what strong neck muscles can do. Without such a thick neck, Lesnar's fall would have been fatal, or at the very least left him in a wheelchair.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.