When your job necessitates constantly traveling at all sorts of odd hours to go from town to town like in WWE, the road could become perilous. Fans have heard about Tony Candelo’s so-called “Death Roads” in Canada. More over though, an accident can happen anytime or anywhere, unfortunately.
Over the course of wrestling history, superstars have traveled across hell and creation to get from town to town to deliver to the fans. Sometimes, some of the worst accidents have happened to stop that from happening and curtail careers and in some cases, tragically lives.
10 Gary Hart
Not one, but two nasty airplane crashes happened in 1975. Both claimed lives and ended careers. The first on this list is the lesser known involving wrestlers Bobby Shane, Buddy Colt, Dennis McCord, and Gorgeous Gary Hart. The group were traveling from Miami to Tampa in Colt’s Cessna plane when a storm hit. The plane got stuck in a cloud bank forcing it down into the waters of Tampa Bay. The plane crashed and broke apart forcing Hart, McCord, and Buddy Colt to get to the shore. Shane unfortunately was not able to free himself of his seatbelt and died in the crash.
9 Shawn Michaels
For a lot of years, Shawn Michaels was considered nothing more than a pretty boy. So when the future Heartbreak Kid had wrecked his motorcycle in the summer of 1991, Vince’s first reaction was something akin to “Shawn rides?!”.
He unfortunately tore up his knee and needed surgery. Go back and watch The Rockers take on Power And Glory at SummerSlam 1991, you’ll realize that’s why Hercules nailed HBK with his chain and took him complete out of the match.
8 Kerry Von Erich
The Von Erich family had suffered tragedy after tragedy and nearly suffered one more when Kerry Von Erich was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident in 1986. His hip was dislocated, and his leg was terribly broken. However, according to Kevin, the doctors were able to fix it. Only when Kerry tried to walk on it did he re-injure it again, forcing doctors to amputate. The Texas Tornado would spend the rest of his life wrestling with a prosthetic, something very few superstars knew at the time.
7 Brian Pillman
In early 1996, Brian Pillman was the hottest act in the entire wrestling industry, literally. He had created enough of a buzz and chaos in WCW, that he orchestrated his release and wound up in ECW for a cup of coffee before getting signed by WWE.
Shortly before he officially signed, The Loose Cannon had wrecked his Hummer after falling asleep at the wheel. The accident left Pillman in a coma and the doctors had no choice but to fuse his shattered ankle into a permanent walking position. The accident significantly altered Pillman’s ability to perform in the ring.
6 Harley Race
Over the years, plenty of stories have circulated of The King, Handsome Harley Race driving down the roads at warp-speed no matter the weather. He’d usually have a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other (one of those hands would also be on the wheel). Early on during his career, the practice caused a car accident that killed Race’s pregnant wife and left him in the hospital. Doctors wanted to amputate his leg, but the future 7 time NWA champion refused, lending credence that he really was the toughest man to ever walk the face of God’s green earth.
5 Joey Marella
Gorilla Monsoon was never quite the same again after his son, Joey Marella died in a car accident, and no one could blame him one bit. Unfortunately the referee was traveling at night with Harvey Wippleman on the New Jersey Turnpike. He unfortunately fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a guardrail. Harvey was saved by his seatbelt, while Marella had not buckled up and died on impact.
4 Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero was always one of the greatest superstars in the ring. Once he finally began to turn his life around is when his career really took off. However, prior to that, Latino Heat did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Even if that was a detriment to his own health. He was on the road on New Year’s Day and was involved in a car accident. It took six months to rehab and get back onto Nitro. For all the flack Bischoff got over years for releasing guys when they were injured, he actually resigned Eddie during this time.
3 Magnum TA
Throughout the Crockett territory during the mid-eighties, the words “Man” and “Cool” were defined by Magnum Terry Allen. Looks wise, Magnum had the Tom Selleck face (hence the Magnum nickname) and the Hoganesque physique and not one iota of the baldness. He was destined to become a huge megastar. But on a dark and stormy night in 1986, he unfortunately lost control of his Porsche and crashed into a telephone pole. His C4 and C5 vertebrae were shattered and there was little hope he’d ever walk again much less wrestle. While that was the end of his career, he was able to regain full mobility of his body.
2 Brutus The Barber Beefcake
Some fans have joked over the years about how Brutus only had a career because of his friendship with Hulk Hogan. That friendship also saved his life. While the two were handing and banging in the waters of Lutz, Florida, the driver of their boat mistimed taking off, pulling his friend’s knees hard into Beefcake’s face, completely smashing it.
Over 100 feet of wire and 32 screws reconstructed his face. Hogan stayed with him and visited as often as he could.
1 Ric Flair
Up until this past season of Dark Side, the only plane ride Ric Flair fans were familiar with was his big plane crash in 1975. The crash killed the pilot, paralyzed Johnny Valentine, and Flair broke his back in three spaces and at 26 was told he was never wrestling again. Clearly that’s not what happened at all - after three months of intense physical therapy, Naitch was back in the ring to cement his legacy.
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