10 Wrestlers Who Risked Absolutely Everything

7. Shane McMahon

Darby Allin
WWE

At the hedonistic height of the Attitude Era, Shane McMahon believed he had to take risks in order to be accepted amongst his Father's employees. Of course, he could have just not wrestled, but when that became no longer an option for the 'Boy Wonder', he took it upon himself to...take a lot of punishment upon himself.

Between 1999 and 2003, this included but wasn't limited to taking bumps from 20-30 feet in the air, flying through announce tables via various moves, going head and neck through glass in a terrifying bout with Kurt Angle, and having his d*ck and b*lls electrocuted by Kane whilst trying to avenge his mother Linda taking a tombstone.

All in a literal day's work for McMahon, who continues to work infrequently enough that he can manage all this stuff. He's taken risks, but none of them have come with the added danger of robbing him of future earnings. Good (sometimes great) to look at, but with nowhere near the gravity of others on this list.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett