15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Vader
9. The Joe Thurman Incident Spooked Wrestlers
Older workers will often spit out stock statements like, 'This ain't ballet' when describing the physical nature of pro wrestling. Aches and pains are viewed as part and parcel of the biz, and injuries are unavoidable. Pretty much every wrestler in AEW or WWE suffers a bad injury at some stage - it's inevitable. Most of them don't wind up paralysed due to rampant recklessness, to be fair.
Aspiring pro Joey Thurmond did. He was drafted in as an enhancement worker by WCW, and the promotion put he (under the name Joe Thurman) and fellow hopeful T.A. McCoy up against Big Van Vader in a two-on-one bout for the 7 November 1992 episode of Worldwide. That was taped back on 27 October, which is a date that would change Joey's life forever.
More details are coming in the following entries, but here's the short version: Vader's behaviour during that match left Thurmond temporarily paralysed and in hospital. Mick Foley then showed face to say he saw younger wrestlers walk into the building with a grin on their faces, but that smile faded once they saw the booking sheets. Upon seeing their names next to Vader on there, some genuinely walked out on the show.
Mick recalls seeing youngsters turn to their friends and say, 'Yeah, I don't think this is for me'. Joey Thurmond didn't get the chance to make that call. He thought everything would be alright and an established star like Vader would take care of him out there. Besides, this could be his big break.
The word "break" was accurate, but not in the way Joey had planned.