Pro wrestling is not just about entertainment. It includes real risks as well, and one scary moment from WWE Backlash 2003 shows just how dangerous things can get. It involved Paul Wight (then known as Big Show) and Rey Mysterio, and it’s something Wight still remembers very clearly.
The former WWE star admits that the incident has stayed with him ever since. Even though no harm came about, he still doesn’t like watching it and says it gives him nightmares.
Paul Wight recalls a scary moment during a WWE spot with Rey Mysterio
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Wight talked about the famous stretcher spot that didn’t go as planned. After Wight brutally dominated and won the match, Mysterio had to get into a stretcher as part of the storyline. However, Wight came up with the idea to make the moment more dramatic.
The plan was that Wight would swing the stretcher into the ring post to create a wild visual. Wight honestly confessed that he “hates” that spot.
“I hate that spot. That gives me nightmares. That went so bad. Oh, that went terribly because it was my idea, because Rey was tied in it, and then I thought I’d rib him in the afternoon, where I was, ‘Oh, I’ll just pick him up, scare him.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I can..This isn’t that tough.’ I said, ‘So what about swinging the pole?’ And he was, ‘Oh my God, that’ll look crazy.’ But the whole thing was, I was gonna swing him on the pole, swing him on the pole again, and I was gonna shove him back in the ring,” Wight said.
But things didn’t go exactly as he planned.
Wight explained that the ropes and area around the ring had become slippery because of some hair conditioner used backstage. When he tried to swing the stretcher, he lost his grip at the worst possible moment.
“So when I swung Rey into that pole, that thing popped right out of my hands, like it squeezed, like a hard-boiled egg or something. It just popped right out, then I saw Rey go, and I went, ‘Oh, I just killed Rey. Oh, Jesus!’ So I’m freaking out on the inside, but we’re still doing our thing. He’s moving. ‘Oh god, they’re putting him in the ambulance. Oh my god,” Wight said.
After the show, he rushed backstage and drove straight to the hospital. He even thought about quitting wrestling if Mysterio became seriously injured.
“I ran back to the locker room, grabbed my clothes, threw them in the car, and drove to the hospital in my rental car, because I’m thinking, ‘Man, if Rey’s seriously f*cked up, I’m done. I’m quitting. I’m done.’ Because I really cared about taking care of the other guys,” Wight added.
Thankfully, things turned out much better than he expected. Mysterio even told Wight that the moment looked great on TV.
“I get there and Rey sits in the hospital bed with his hands behind his head, just chilling. ‘Hey, man, that was good, huh?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re okay?’ He says, ‘Oh yeah, man, I’m fine.’ I’m like, ‘You know what I went through driving over here worrying?'” Wight said.
Wight also mentioned how Rey Mysterio used to sell his chops to raise the impact. The Backlash spot is just proof of how much risk and trust wrestlers put in each other.
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