13. August 3, 1997: Owen Hart Breaks Steve Austin's Neck
Theres a reason the Piledriver is a banned wrestling move in todays WWE: being slightly out of place to take the move safely can lead to serious damage. But dont take my word for it; just as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Owen Hart was defending his Intercontinental Championship against Austin, and the match was going welluntil Hart performed a sitting Tombstone Piledriver, with Austins head six inches below the safety threshold. So when Hart sat down, Austins head hit the mat for real, with all of his weight being compressed onto his neck. Though Austin finished the match, the long-term damage would lead to Austin retiring from in-ring competition in 2003. He would also have to take time in late 1999 and early 2000 to have neck surgery, missing out on part of what many call the best year in WWF history. Vince must be haunted from time to time over Austin not working with him for a longer period of time. Austin left WWE in 2004, along with top stars Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, and Kurt Angle couldnt wrestle as much due to his own neck problems. In other words, WWE had a major star problem, and a big part of that stemmed from Owen Harts major mistake at SummerSlam 1997.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
