10 Wrestling Matches So Brutal They Hurt To Watch

2. Abyss Vs. Sabu (TNA Turning Point 2005)

Guerrero JBL
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Trust Sabu to up the ante on this list and introduce an actual spike to proceedings. Wrestling fans - of a certain age anyway - are well versed in seeing performers thumped over the head with steel chairs and even crashing through tables. Someone few people can stomach is seeing one man get lacerated time and time again by a crazed lunatic wielding a knife-like object.

That's what happened just moments into Sabu's match against Abyss at TNA's Turning Point pay-per-view in 2005. Stunningly, this so-called 'Barbed Wire Massacre' was the very first match on the show, and nothing else on the card could top the level of violence on display. Not only did both men bump liberally on the wire itself, Abyss also had his arm torn open by his foe.

The whole altercation is just painful viewing, and there's a sense of relief once it's over and done with. Adding to that sick feeling in the pit of stomachs everywhere, Sabu's belly-first bump on the barbed wire scratched up his mid section pretty good. 

Seeing blood coming from the head is one thing, seeing it emerge from arms and stomachs is another.

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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.