WWE's 12 Fails Of Christmas

7. Joey Mercury's Face Gets Destroyed - Armageddon 2006

Paul Heyman December to Dismember Facepalm
WWE.com

A gruesome moment in a match that wasn’t even announced or promoted beforehand, this now-infamous spot saw Joey Mercury suffer horrific facial injuries after a reckless seesawing ladder smashed him right between the eyes.

In a clash sent out to save a dour Armageddon 2006, the straight tag title match between London & Kendrick and Dave Taylor & William Regal was hastily upgraded to a Fatal Four-Way Ladder Match including the Hardy Boyz and MNM, who two weeks earlier had done their best to save WWE's previous Pay-Per-View shambles (more on that later).

Admittedly the match was tremendous, and absolutely did its job in creating a memorable spectacle for the fans in attendance on that night, but it did so at a high human cost.

Joey Mercury has noted this exact injury fostered a painkiller addiction that would lead to his WWE release in early 2007. A known sufferer with previous addiction issues, he'd been attempting to get clean again before taking this extremely painful and dangerous move.

It would take years again to recover (in every sense) before making his way back into the WWE fold in 2010, rather appropriately as a member of CM Punk's Straight Edge Society.

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