5 WWE Superstars who have broken their leg like Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor's headline fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 ended in a horrifying ankle break — an injury quite a few WWE performers are familiar with.
In WWE, quite a few wrestlers have broken their legs in horrifying manners during matches, or sometimes outside the ring. A broken leg is one of the most gruesome injuries for any professional athlete. For McGregor, it spelled the end of his trilogy fight in the most anti-climatic manner possible, as the fight ended via a doctor's stoppage.
In WWE, some wrestlers have done massive damage to their professional careers because of their leg injuries. While some were able to get back in the ring and continue to perform, for others, it meant the end of their careers as they knew them.
This article will focus on five WWE Superstars who broke their ankles or legs inside or outside the ring.
Before we start with wrestlers, an honorable mention goes out to NXT referee Tom Castor. The referee was at a 2019 NXT live event in Omaha when Tyler Breeze faced Velveteen Dream in a match. During the match, the referee took a superkick and his leg snapped horribly under his own weight. Despite that, he rolled on his side to count the pinfall to end the match in an act of immense courage and fortitude.
Warning: Graphic video and photo below
Now, let's take a look at the five wrestlers who suffered horrifying leg breaks.
#5. WWE Superstars who broke their leg: Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman's ankle break is so iconic that afterward, every time a wrestler attacked another to break their ankle, it was called "Pillmanizing".
Pillman didn't actually break his ankle inside a WWE ring. He was in a car accident where, amidst multiple other serious injuries, his left ankle was completely shattered. In VICE TV's Dark Side of the Ring episode about Pillman, it was revealed that he almost had to have his leg amputated.
Despite that, he returned to the ring with his ankle permanently fixed in a 90-degree position. He had to have another surgery on his ankle early in his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
WWE wrote him off with one of the most memorable segments of 1996. Austin broke Pillman's cane on his ankle and then destroyed it with a folding chair. It was the kayfabe explanation for Pillman to take time off to have surgery.