Matt Hardy: The Night Darren Drozdov Got Injured In WWE Is 'Burnt In My Mind'

Last week, the wrestling world said goodbye to Darren "Droz" Drozdov after the former WWE and ECW star passed away aged 54. Matt Hardy worked with the late superstar in the '90s, during their respective tenures in WWE, and reflected on the experience during the latest episode of "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy."

According to Hardy, Drozdov was a great human being who was fun to hang out with. However, the AEW star is still haunted by the tragic in-ring accident — which occurred during a match with D'Lo Brown — that ended Drozdov's wrestling career in 1999. Hardy was at the WWE event where the match took place, and he recalled watching it live on the night.

"It was terrible. I mean that's burnt in my mind, the night that he got injured... I was watching it from the TVO, the TV locker room. I remember seeing it live when it happened. I was like, 'Oh my God.' It was one of those things where you cringe but again, it didn't look terrible. I would not have expected him to be paralyzed from the bump that he took. But unfortunately, he was, and it changed the course of his life."

Despite being paralyzed, Drozdov still tried to live his life to the fullest. Hardy noted that the accident didn't change his old colleague's personality, and he made the best out of the situation.

"He really did go into it with as much optimism as could be humanly possible for the scenario that he was in," Hardy added. "He would show up at WWE events later on and it was always great to see him. He would always be smiling, and he would always be trying to put smiles on faces and make people laugh."

If you use any quotes from this podcast, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.