10 Wrestlers Who Destroyed Themselves For Terrible Matches

When wrestlers put it all on the line in contests that fail to deliver.

Chris Jericho barbed wire
AEW

This wrestling stuff hurts.

And while the average human's body would likely be wrecked by even the most simple of flat back bumps, wrestlers can routinely be found throwing caution to the wind and launching their frames off the top of ladders, cells, and through many an inanimate object in the pursuit of creating a legendary showdown.

Sometimes the terrifying risks that come with a performer putting themselves through sickening spots is worth the reward; Mankind's infamous Hell in a Cell bumps helped immortalise both himself and The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998, for example.

However, in other cases, a star's willingness to put their bodies in perilous situations still couldn't guarantee the match it went down in, or just after, would be remembered for all the right reasons.

Now there's still no denying that each and every star taking up a spot on this list threw their all into creating physical magic in-between the ropes. It's just a shame they ended up utterly destroying their bodies for contests that can accurately be described as disastrous, underwhelming, or just plain uncomfortable to watch.

10. Kane Lands Hard (WWE Fully Loaded 1999)

Chris Jericho barbed wire
WWE

Despite usually being the person responsible for sending sorry souls straight to hell under the WWE banner, on the night of Fully Loaded 1999, Kane was force-fed some of his own medicine thanks to a fellow giant.

With special guest ref Hardcore Holly watching on, Big Show got things off to an absolutely sickening start in the pair's battle by launching The Big Red Machine right over the top rope via gigantic Gorilla Press. And Kane ate absolutely all of it.

Rather than kick off a beautifully violent clash of the titans, though, Kane's horrific crashing and burning paved the way for a largely uneventful contest.

Big Show methodically (read: painfully slowly) thumped Undertaker's brother around the ring for much of the forgettable bout. And when the bright red bumper did finally begin to respond with some half interesting offence, Holly soon interfered before hitting a fast count for the Big Show victory.

In the end, it wasn't just fans who were put through a rather painful experience during this somewhat underwhelming monster mash, with Kane no doubt feeling absolutely every step after the ropes failed to break his truly horrendous early fall.

Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...