Top WWE Stars Address The Worst Bumps They've Taken
Pro wrestling stars put their bodies on the line week in and week out for our entertainment with no regular off-season. ESPN recently highlighted this in a new feature ahead of Saturday's WWE Money in the Bank premium live event.
While catching up with Damian Priest, who is set to compete in a ladder match this weekend, the former United States Champion explained to ESPN what it was like trading kendo stick shots with Bad Bunny during their San Juan Street Fight at WWE Backlash.
"That's one of the worst things that we introduced into this business," Priest said. "I wish that somebody would've never brought those into this business, because man, those are killer, dude. It's not just the day or when it happens, they leave these welts and anything you touch burns and they're brutal."
When asked about which bump from his career hurt the most, Priest pointed out his back-first drop onto the steel steps during his NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020 match against Finn Balor as one that made it feel like everything inside him broke.
Back Bumps May Be The Worst
Several other WWE stars spoke to ESPN about their worst bumps. For Kevin Owens, his was a chokeslam onto the ramp.
Owens recalled, "The chokeslam from Braun Strowman onto the steel ramp at SummerSlam 2018. I felt a ringing in my body for about four months after. I don't know if anything was structurally wrong, but not long after, I took six months off. I don't know if that was related, but it didn't help. I felt that for a long time."
WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley mentioned that she's taken a lot of rough bumps throughout her career, but perhaps the worst one was during her "NXT" Last Woman Standing match against Raquel Rodriguez in 2021. Ripley revealed that a back bump onto the announcer's desk didn't quite go as planned. She hit her back on the edge, and while the table did break, her back hasn't been the same since.
In a more recent story, Bayley explained how she felt after taking a typical suplex onto the ramp during her Last Woman Standing match against Bianca Belair at WWE Crown Jewel last November.
"That was one of the worst feelings I've ever had in wrestling," Bayley said. "It just knocked the wind out of me. I don't know what kind of ramp that was. I don't know if I wasn't ready for it or what, but it knocked the wind out of me. That was bad. I was not expecting that."