X-Men star Hugh Jackman's appearance on WWE programming caused the former World Champion a real injury
Over a decade ago, X-Men megastar Hugh Jackman appeared on WWE RAW and gave former World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler a jaw injury.
Hugh Jackman first appeared on the show on September 19, 2011, to promote his film Real Steel. Unfortunately, Dolph Ziggler and his on-screen partner Vickie Guerrero interrupted the actor's speech in Cleveland, Ohio, and began insulting him.
At the end of their conversation, the WWE Superstar dared Hugh Jackman to pick an underdog, who turned out to be Zack Ryder (now Matt Cardona). Fans were pleased when Jackman accompanied Ryder to the ring and assisted him in his upset victory.
Lol, this reminds me of when Hugh Jackman did a promo appearance in the WWE for REAL STEEL and when he did a ringside interference bit with a big right cross, Dolph Ziggler played it up like he really hurt him. Headlines next day were “Broadway Dancer Breaks Wrestler’s Jaw” https://t.co/TR15BRdOo4
However, the match's big finish came at a cost for Ziggler when Jackman connected a hard punch to "The Showoff's" jaw.
Soon after the show, Ziggler revealed that Jackman's right hook caused a mandibular hairline fracture in his jaw, necessitating using a mouth guard for a short period of time.
What made Hugh Jackman knock out Dolph Ziggler?
Dolph Ziggler was knocked out in kayfabe by the X-Men star punch, allowing Zack Ryder to win by pinfall.
During a conversation with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast, Ziggler revealed that he told the Australian actor to make the hard punch work or else he would get fired.
"I go, 'Don't worry, you can see by the jaw I can take a freaking punch. So, right before we went out, I said one last time, 'Listen, man, if you're going to halfway do it or miss, let's switch this right now because I need you to punch me in the face with my hands down and my head [extends neck forward].' He goes, 'I promise you I won't let you down,' and he cracked me in the face pretty damn hard. It was great," Ziggler said. [H/T - Fightful]
Happy Birthday to former #RAW guest star @RealHughJackman! Remember when he encountered Magneto? #WWENetwork https://t.co/1UEWiLVnVw
In 2014, the Hollywood star returned to RAW, but this time he and Ziggler were allies and appeared in a segment with Damien Sandow, who was dressed as the X-Men character Magneto.
What do you think of Hugh Jackman's hard punch on Ziggler? Sound off in the comments section below.