10 Wrestling Matches That Inadvertently Became Infamous

8. Bret Hart Vs Terry Funk (WCW Thunder)

Chris Benoit Elijah Burke
WWE

On December 19th 1999, Bret Hart suffered two brutal shots to his head in a match against Goldberg that would ultimately end his career. After receiving a stiff kick as well as Big Bill's failure to stop his head colliding with the arena floor during 'The Hitman's ringpost figure four leglock, Hart suffered upwards of three concussions and would be left with a crushing post-concussion syndrome diagnosis.

However, due to a combination of issues ranging from injury mismanagement from WCW to a fundamental misunderstanding of the dangers concussions can cause at the time, Bret continued to wrestle through the suffering for a full month before the diagnosis caused him to immediately vacate the company's World Heavyweight Title and completely re-evaluate the rest of his life.

It's upsetting to watch the legendary 'Excellence of Execution' struggle through any of his follow-up matches in such visible discomfort, but the worst case of WCW neglect was on show during in his hardcore rules match with Terry Funk on the January 6th edition of company B-show Thunder.

Predictably, Hart took significant punishment in the weapons brawl, including a wince-inducing running chairshot from Funk that connects with Bret's cranium despite his last-minute rush to get his arms up and block. He's later tipped out of a cart full of weapons headfirst, with the plunder cascading out onto him as he writhes in pain. Naturally, the physically destructive brawl ended in a vapid non-finish.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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