Independent wrestler Shawn Phoenix suffered a number of injuries including a broken skull after his attempted 450 splash through a table went horribly wrong.
Phoenix was attempting to hit the move from the top rope onto his downed opponent, who was on a table at ringside. The opponent moved out of the way and Phoenix overshot the table, and hit his head on the floor instead of going through the table. According to Phoenix, the match took place at International Wrestling Cartel’s live event back on October 6th in Elizabeth, PA; he is from Pittsburgh, PA and has wrestled for IWC, Ryse, Blackcraft Wrestling and other promotions in the area.
As a result of the incident he had injuries including a broken skull, bleeding from the brain, a broken ear canal, leaking spinal fluid from his ear, a concussion, paralysis in the left side of his face, and a torn tendon in his thumb.
Despite his injuries, Phoenix appears to be in good spirits and hopes people learn from his mistakes, saying he knows the risks are real and accidents happen. He also noted that he spent six days in the hospital before being released.
The move can be seen in the video posted to Shawn Phoenix’s YouTube channel below:
Since the clip of Phoenix’s accident went viral, he has gotten both well wishes and criticism from the wrestling world, as seen in the following tweets:
Thanks Ms. Martinez! I've got thick skin, people can take shots all day, they won't break my positivity! https://t.co/TuZrpGpkiL
— ???????????? Shawn Phoenix? (@xShawnXphoenix) December 20, 2018
Thanks buddy! Accidents happen. But that doesn't matter to old timers who take the opportunity to bury the business we love! https://t.co/AKoVm6Y351
— ???????????? Shawn Phoenix? (@xShawnXphoenix) December 20, 2018
Modern wrestling, everybody!
Now, what was his plan for not paralyzing himself or his opponent if he had ACTUALLY DONE THIS MOVE THE WAY HE THOUGHT HE COULD? https://t.co/jiX2KBgcbi
— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) December 20, 2018
The evolution of wrestling….poorly trained marks doing stupid shit that ends up as a twitter gif. https://t.co/9lmrfygnRA
— Glenn Gilbertti (@TheRealDisco) December 19, 2018
