Page 1 of 4
Everybody knows that pro wrestling isn’t real by now, except when it is real. When you get two massive, roided-up guys with huge egos in front of millions of viewers, sometimes the plan goes right out the window, known in the world of wrestling as a shoot. Here are some examples of fights that took a dangerous turn for the real.
Brock Lesnar vs Hardcore Holly
Holly has a reputation of being a bit of a bully inside the ring. Brock was a newer guy trying to make his name. In other words, fire and gasoline. Hardcore Holly decided to pull deadweight when Lesnar goes for the powerbomb (The cardinal sin of wrestling is to go stiff/deadweight), but Lesnar didn’t care at all and it resulted in this awkward landing that broke Holly’s neck.
Rikidozan vs Masahiko Kimura
Here’s the classic example from 1954 and one of the most notorious shoots because of what happened afterwards. Around the 2 minute mark is when things start to get real. Kimura is a Judo legend, and Rikidozan is one of the founding fathers of Japanese professional wrestling. Rikidozen was stabbed to death in a nightclub with a urine-soaked blade, ultimately dying of an infection. Allegedly, it’s because of a mis-placed kick in this wrestling match that lead to it becoming a real fight.
Kimura
The man who stabbed him, Murata, served seven years in jail. Every year on December 15 he telephones the remaining family of Rikidozen to apologize and then visits his victim’s grave. Damn.
Continue to page 2:
Page 1 of 4:
