The primary catalyst for the WWE’s ban came in 1997, when Owen Hart badly injured Stone Cold Steve Austin with a botched piledriver at SummerSlam. Austin was briefly paralyzed after being dropped on his head due to a legitimate, literal broken neck. The Texas Rattlesnake would be forced out of wrestling for months, and the damage lingered for the rest of his career.
Austin’s career would be irreparably changed by the neck injury. He was forced to miss months at a time due to lingering issues, and wound up leaving the ring long before his time.
The move would be largely banned by the WWE in 2000, in large part due to this incident. There are still two exceptions to this rule, however.
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