Secret Signal X Moments That Stopped Matches Cold

Pro wrestling may be a world with its own secret signals and, at times, secret language. But for all the terms, jargon, and so on that fans are familiar with, the one they arguably have the most knowledge of is the dreaded X signal. It's the signal that, when fans see it, they begin to suspect the worst. That's because the X signals that a wrestler has suffered a legitimate injury, one that is serious enough that medical attention is called upon to check on the wrestler immediately. While wrestling promotions have at times used the X to work fans and do fake injury angles, in most cases the use of the X is on the up and up, making fans wish that the injury was a work.

So what happens once that X goes up and doctors arrive in the ring? That frankly depends on the situation. In some instances, where the wrestler turns out to not be as injured as expected, or if its a multi-person match with several other talents involved, the match will continue, sometimes with very little changes involved. For the most part, however, the X isn't just a signal that a wrestler is injured, it's a sign that the match is about to end very quickly, in order to prevent the wrestler from getting more hurt than they are, or to protect other wrestlers from being forced to deviate from script. Here now are three of the most notable examples of matches where the dreaded X symbol stopped the matches dead in their tracks.

Everyone has heard the jokes about Kevin Nash and his quads by now, but they may not know how they sprung up. It was from this 2002 match, one that showed how truly snake bitten Nash was in 2002. Arriving back in the promotion for the first time in six years alongside nWo stablemates Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall, it seemed as though Nash was poised for big things. Immediately, things fell apart; Hogan turned babyface shortly thereafter, ending any initial plans for the trio, Hall was released in May following his behavior on the infamous Plane Ride From Hell, and in between all that, Nash suffered a torn biceps muscle that kept him predominantly on the sideline. In fact, this "Raw" match on July 8 was Nash's first match since March, and the first bout since Shawn Michaels had joined the nWo as its new leader.

In hindsight, it's easy to tell that big things were set up for Nash before the injury, as he takes a tag from X-Pac and immediately delivers a Big Boot to Booker T that shows he means business. Not even five seconds after that though did things go wrong; attempting to attack Booker's teammates in the corner, Nash had to step over Booker, did so wrong, and went down in a heap clutching his left leg. And low, the Kevin Nash quad tear was born. Referee Earl Hebner quickly put up the X sign, Bubba Ray Dudley broke kayfabe and moved Nash into the corner to prevent him from getting hit, and less than a minute later, the match was ended thanks to a Michaels Superkick and a Big Show chokeslam. It would be nearly a year before Nash returned, at which point the nWo angle was dead, and Nash began feuding with Triple H, another man who knows all about quad tears.

Shortly after the 2010 WWE Draft, new "Raw" star Edge attempted to convince Randy Orton to reform their old tag team, Rated RKO, which had some success a few years earlier. Of course, the problem was Edge attempted to do this by costing Orton a WWE Championship match in order to "make an impact." As such, Orton decided to feud with Edge instead, leading to a match at Over the Limit. For about 10 minutes, Orton and Edge had the match most people expected they would have, with it seemingly building to Orton attempting his trademark RKO. And that's when the problems occurred; as Orton did his trademark pounding on the mat to psych himself up for the RKO, he appeared to bang the mat too hard with his right arm, causing him to stop and immediately show signs of discomfort.

Checking in with Orton, the referee immediately signaled for the X, although the match didn't immediately end with Edge picking up a win. Instead, Orton and Edge, through communication with the referee, improvised a finish that saw Orton roll out of the ring to recover, with Edge following him. "The Rated R Superstar" attempted to spear Orton through the barricade, only for Orton to move in time, leading to Edge hitting the barricade head first. With Edge knocked out, and Orton in too much pain to continue, both men were ultimately counted out, leading to a draw. Fortunately for Orton, he would only miss a few weeks of action before returning, and he would go on to win the WWE Championship once again later in the year.

There may not be any wrestler in WWE history as unlucky as Tegan Nox was. Signing with WWE in 2017 after a strong run on the indies, Nox almost immediately suffered a torn ACL, one that kept her out for a year and forced her to miss the 2017 Mae Young Classic. It was the first of several long stints Nox would be forced to spend on the shelf during her two WWE stints, and was unfortunately followed by another leg injury a year later, when Nox took part in the 2018 Mae Young Classic. After victories over Zatara and Nicole Matthews in the first two rounds, Nox found herself in a highly anticipated quarterfinals match with Rhea Ripley, taped on August 9.

Immediately, things went wrong, as Nox hit Ripley with a suicide dive and immediately began communicating with Ripley before sending her back into the ring, while Nox hobbled around on the floor, unable to put pressure on her left leg. Despite this, Nox and Ripley continued the match for a few more minutes, with Nox noticeably trying to convince referee Aubrey Edwards that she could continue. Alas, Edwards was unconvinced, signaled for the X, and summoned a doctor into the ring; the match was stopped shortly after, with Ripley winning by TKO. Though Nox was protesting up till the match being stopped, Edwards' decision to throw up the X was correct, as it was later revealed Nox had suffered her second torn ACL, a patellar dislocation, a torn meniscus, and ligament damage. It would be nearly a year before she would return to the ring.