WWE Botches That Left Wrestlers Seriously Injured

Professional wrestling may be a scripted, pre-determined sport, but the "please, don't try this at home!" warnings many fans saw as kids growing up were broadcast for a reason. The risks the men and women of WWE take are real and though infrequent, there are times where things go horribly wrong in the ring, leading to injuries that could put a star on the shelf for months, or even worse, end their careers.

WWE stars put their bodies on the line to entertain fans and the phrase "pro wrestling isn't ballet" is common within the industry to highlight how tough it is, despite it being an art form. No wrestler wants to botch a move or injure another within the squared circle, but sometimes, it just happens.

One of the most recent examples of a botch in the ring causing injury occurred during a "WWE SmackDown" triple threat match for the WWE Women's Championship. Tiffany Stratton defended her gold against Jade Cargill and Nia Jax, and the match is known in part for its botched ending, where the referee stopped counting despite Jax not kicking out. The injury-causing botch, however, occurred minutes before the pin attempt, when Cargill emerged from a Samoan Drop spot on the steel steps with a nasty gash above her eyebrow. 

Cargill emerged bleeding from the spot, which she hit on Jax, and she later posted a graphic image of the injury to social media. While something obviously went wrong to split the former Women's Tag Team Champion open, just what happens remains unclear. A commenter on her Instagram post attempted to explain what could have happened, saying, "Jax threw her into the steps.. by the top of her head/hair.. she couldn't get her head up in time to avoid her face hitting the steps." Following the injury, it took Cargill just over a month to get physical in the ring again.

Hardcore matches are some of the most dangerous in the professional wrestling industry for obvious reasons, and ladder matches fit that category perfectly. When it comes to using ladders as weapons, whether they're gimmicked to break easier or not, there's not much room for error when it comes to big spots. MNM member Joey Mercury found that out the hard way when he was on the receiving end of a bad botch at Armeggedon 2006. 

Mercury and his tag team partner, Johnny Nitro, were facing the Hardy Boyz, London and Kendrick, and William Regal and Dave Taylor in a fatal four-way ladder match at the pay-per-view. Ladders were brought into the ring almost immediately and just a few minutes into the bout, MNM and Jeff and Matt Hardy were brawling near one of the turnbuckles. Matt held the MNM teammates down while Jeff jumped off the turnbuckle and onto a ladder. Jeff hit a leg drop, but caused the ladder to shoot upward, catching Mercury directly across the face. The former tag team champion's nose started gushing blood almost immediately upon impact, and Nitro did his best to shield his partner while he attempted to get his bearings. Nitro had to finish the bout on his own, with Mercury being taken out of the match due to the amount of blood he was losing.

Mercury suffered a broken nose and received more than 30 stitches at a hospital following the match. He told WWE.com after the injury that he had four fractures on the inside of his nose alongside with five stitches inside it, as well. He told the website that he never lost consciousness in the ring, and compared the injury to being hit in the face with a baseball bat swung by Sammy Sosa.

Big E was on the receiving end of a botch that ended his career, something the big man confirmed in a recent update about his health in October. Big E was teaming with New Day stablemate Kofi Kingston on a March 2022 episode of "WWE SmackDown" in Birmingham, Alabama against Ridge Holland and Sheamus.

During the match, Holland hit Big E with a belly-to-belly suplex on the outside of the ring and botched the move, causing the New Day member to land awkwardly on his neck right on the floor. It was revealed that Big E suffered a broken neck. The star fractured his C1 and C6 vertebrae, though he confirmed he didn't suffer any damage to his spinal cord. He joked that the best place to break your neck is in Birmingham, where Andrews Sports Medicine, a primary location for WWE doctors who deal with more severe injuries to stars, is located.

As of October on an episode of "What's Your Story" with Stephanie McMahon, Big E said that his in-ring career was "kind of" behind him. He said he thought he had a really good career and he is proud of it. Before speaking with McMahon, back in April, around WrestleMania 41 buzz, Big E confirmed to Tyler Breeze during a Fanatics stream that he had not been cleared. Despite not competing in the ring, Big E has remained a huge part of WWE, serving as a pre-show and post-show host for premium live events.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was such a force in the then-WWF's Attitude Era, it's difficult to remember that his career was once in jeopardy due to a nasty botch. At SummerSlam 1997, Austin was on the receiving end of a botched reverse piledriver from Owen Hart during their match for the Intercontinental Championship. The botch occurred near the end of the match. Instead of Owen falling to his knees, like The Undertaker during his Tombstone piledriver, Hart sat down, dropping Austin directly on the top of his head, injuring him immediately.

Austin laid motionless on the canvas for a few moments, temporarily paralyzed, and Hart played to the crowd to give his opponent time to recover, not knowing the extent of the damage. Austin would actually win the match with a quick roll-up after regaining enough movement, though he looked to be in pain while doing so. He had to be helped to his feet and led to the back by several referees following the match.

"The Texas Rattlesnake" suffered a bruised spinal cord, and after relinquishing the Intercontinental title and the WWF Tag Team Championship he held alongside Shawn Michaels, he was put on the shelf until Survivor Series that year, where he'd regain the IC belt from Hart.

Austin has previously described the injury in detail, saying he couldn't feel anything from the neck down and didn't think he'd be able to walk again. The relationship between Austin and Hart soured following the botch, as Bret Hart, Owen's brother, revealed he thinks that Owen forgot to call Austin following the injury, though Austin has said Owen called him once while he was in the hospital.

The 2019 WWE Super ShowDown match pitting WWE Hall of Famers Goldberg and The Undertaker against each other is one of the messiest matches in the company's modern history. Goldberg revealed in later years that he started off the match with a concussion before even walking out to the ring. He admitted he headbutted his locker room door when his music started to play, and knocked himself out, even botching his attempt to hype himself up. There was another point in the match, however, that could have exacerbated the concussion, when Goldberg flew head and shoulder first into the ring post.

The Undertaker spoke about the disaterous match on an episode of his "Six Feet Under" podcast and said the various botches throughout the match led to his back being "jacked up." Both men could have seriously injured one another, as Undertaker hit a Tombstone where Goldberg's head hit the mat, and when the former WCW star hit his own version of Undertaker's move, both men fell over awkwardly. In the final sequence of the match, Goldberg attempted a Jackhammer, which he botched, and almost dropped 'Taker on his head. The match ended when Undertaker hit a chokeslam for the victory, and "The Deadman" looked visibly upset as his hand was raised by the referee.

While both men would go on to have more matches in the company and weren't severely injured to the point of wrapping up their careers following the disasterous match, Undertaker has gone on record numerous times to express his disappointment in the bout.

The late Darren Drozdov, better known as Droz during his time in the professional wrestling world, was the victim of a botch that ended his in-ring career and changed the course of his life for good. The former NFL player briefly wrestled for ECW before joining the then-WWF in 1998. His career came to an abrupt, premature end when he suffered a severe neck injury that would paralyze him during a match with D'Lo Brown. The incident happened during a "WWF SmackDown" taping in October 1999.

Brown attempted a running powerbomb, but couldn't get a good grip on Droz. The late star later said it was because he was wearing a loose shirt during the match. Droz wasn't able to jump correctly to aid Brown in the powerbomb. He landed badly on his head and suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck. He was immediately taken to an area hospital, where he underwent surgery to stabilize the pressure on his neck. Despite attempts during surgery and further extensive medical care, Droz would initially be quadriplegic with no movement below his neck, but would eventually gain movement in his upper body and arms.

Following his injury, Droz continued to work as a writer and WWE.com columnist. Later in life, he used a customized tank-like wheelchair that his college friend, and founder of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, designed and paid for. The late star repeatedly said prior to his passing in June 2023 that he didn't blame Brown for the injury and he held no animosity toward him. Droz died of natural causes at the age of 54.