10 Wrestling Stunts Which Nearly Went Very Wrong

9. Hawk Nearly Suffocates Everybody

Gangrel Being Choked
WWE Network

The word 'stunt' suggests a difficult physical endeavour that, though still dangerous, is performed with such skill and artistry as to be as safe as humanly possible. The Road Warriors' decision to gas up everybody in attendance at Chicago's Rosemont Horizon during their chaotic WrestleMania street fight opposite the Nation of Domination definitely did not fall under that purview.

As per Bruce Prichard, recounting the near mass-asphyxiation event on his Something To Wrestle podcast, most (properly organised) wrestling shows keep two fire extinguishers at ringside: one containing CO2 that leaves behind no residue, and a powder extinguisher, which discharges a plume of room-filling, lung-tightening chemicals. Hawk, of course, picked the wrong one, causing the entire arena to vanish in a fog of brown dust.

However, Hawk being Hawk totally no-sold the heave-inducing, eye-watering effects of his actions, and blasted off another round. And then another, as Jim Ross on commentary just about managed to wheeze out, "Hell of a place to sit if you've got asthma!"

Prichard recalls that the only reason Hawk didn't suffocate all 18,000 fans was because "we had stage-hands crawl and take the fire extinguishers that they were using." Ooooooh, what a brush... with death.

In this post: 
Randy Orton
 
First Posted On: 
Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.