10 Wrestling Matches That Led To Massive Lawsuits

6. Sid Vicious Vs. Scott Steiner Vs. Animal Vs. Jeff Jarrett

Sid Vicious
WCW

When: WCW Sin 2001 (14 January 2001).

A little over two months before WCW crumpled and the promotion's remnants were sold to Vince McMahon, it was Sid Vicious' leg doing the crumpling. At the Sin 2001 pay-per-view, Sid leaped off the middle turnbuckle, landed on one leg and looked on in horror as the limb exploded beneath him into a gnarly mess of bone and tissue.

According to Vicious, the spot was John Laurinaitis' idea, and it wasn't one he was personally keen on backstage. Making matters worse, Sid's contract was cancelled shortly after WCW was sold; he wouldn't even receive any payments due for the remainder of his deal because he couldn't wrestle... even though there wasn't a company to wrestle for.

So, Vicious sued WCW and Laurinaitis for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, tortuous interference with contractual relations, attorney fees, and unjust enrichment (teasing footage of the incident 24 hours later on Nitro). He lost, but appealed the decision in 2005 to no avail.

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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.