WWE’s Rey Mysterio and Massive Present have been concerned in a program again in 2003 that led to a match at that 12 months’s Backlash pay-per-view. The bout ended when Present caught Mysterio in midair and delivered a thunderous chokeslam for the win.
Nonetheless, the match itself is just not what folks nonetheless bear in mind about that night time.
Following the match, Mysterio was loaded onto a stretcher after Present had initially left the ring. As soon as Mysterio was absolutely strapped in, Present returned and grabbed Mysterio, stretcher and all, from the ring apron. “The World’s Largest Athlete” then swung the stretcher like a baseball bat, smacking it in opposition to the ring submit.
When requested about that infamous second in a brand new interview with CBS Sports activities’ Shakiel Mahjouri, the previous WWE champion admitted the worst half wasn’t the swing itself — it was crashing to the bottom whereas nonetheless trapped within the stretcher.
“I bear in mind we had gone over it and that was the plan. Once I was strapped onto the stretcher, every thing appeared cool. I mentioned ‘How a lot can it damage? The stretcher is hitting first and I am connected to it, so I will not really feel it.’ Properly, we by no means considered what occurs if you hit,” Mysterio mentioned. “Due to the burden, there was no manner Massive Present might hit the pole and maintain onto me. In order that entire weight and the momentum, as quickly as we hit, I went straight down. As I used to be strapped onto the stretcher, my head went ‘boop’ and I hit first. That damage. That in itself damage very a lot.”
On the subject of a smaller famous person like Mysterio, who stands at simply five-foot-six, the affect definitely goes to look much more ugly than it in any other case would to a bigger famous person. Because of this, Mysterio’s angle with The Massive Present will certainly be one of many extra memorable and extra painful spots that he is completed through the years.