10 Times WWE Superstars Were Legitimately Knocked Out
Please, do not try this at home...
If you've ever purchased a DVD of WWE's, you're quite familiar with the unskippable "Don't Try This" adverts that precede the title screens. Despite being well-trained, highly-skilled performers who trust their peers to do right by their health and safety inside the ring, accidents do happen. Whether it's a high-risk move off of or over the ropes, or even a routine manoeuvre dependent on the cooperation of two, the law of averages does catch up to the wrestlers, and injuries are simply a part of the game.
For this list, we will focus on one specific bit of physical trauma: the knockout blow. So many elbows, knees, feet and fists go flying during the course of a worked match, and so many bumps and falls help compose said matches, that once in a while, somebody gets their bell rung legitimately. Those "Don't Try This" PSAs are sobering highlight reels of what could happen in the blink of an eye, no matter how skilled and experienced the wrestlers may be. The list ahead will feature a few examples that were depicted in those disclaimers, and a few you may not have known about.
10. Draggin' Dragon
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more consummate pro than Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, a wrestler possessing both cat-like reflexes and near-flawless technical mastery. Surely a wrestler of Steamboat's highest calibre could be trusted to play the victim for a risky move, but his attacker, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, had his reservations. The angle called for Roberts to DDT Steamboat on the bare concrete floor at a Saturday Night's Main Event taping in the spring of 1986.
Roberts feared he would hurt Steamboat, but "The Dragon" assured him that he could cushion himself properly just before impact. And because we're talking about it on this list, you've probably guessed that Steamboat's assurance ended up rather unfounded. Roberts performed the move with his usual suddenness, and Steamboat's head bonks the floor with a frightening thud, knocking him unconscious. Roberts later described the sound as being similar to a watermelon bursting and lamented having to pick up the completely dead-weight Dragon in order to continue the angle.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
