Horrifying Injuries That Changed Wrestlers FOREVER

8. Joey Mercury

Nikki Bella neck brace
WWE Network

For years, Joey Mercury had been able to market himself a gifted the performer that cared as much about his looks as his exceptional wrestling skills. Having spent years alongside Christian York as one half of ECW (and independent wrestling)'s answer to The Hardy Boyz and then as part of MNM with Johnny Nitro, he looked set to spend a lifetime in some version of the pretty boy persona.

He was forced to rethink that slightly when his face was smashed to bits by a ladder at Armageddon 2006.

The brutal shot immediately took him out of the match, and he later went on to describe how his dependencies on various banned substances worsened during his rehabilitation. He was in and out of WWE in the aftermath, before settling into a henchman gimmick for both CM Punk and Seth Rollins during a seven year stretch with the company between 2010 and 2017.

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