Kurt Angle Recalls Breaking Vertebrae In His Neck During Raw match

During the latest episode of his new podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle talked about breaking four vertebrae in his neck in a match against Shawn Michaels on Raw in 2005. 

“I did an Angle Slam from the top rope and landed on the back of my head.  I broke four vertebrae in my neck, again.  The thing is, I went back to the doctor. The good thing was no disks moved.  They stayed in place. The vertebrae were broken.  Then they cracked.  My doctor, I asked him if I could still wrestle because I knew I was eventually going to get the World Title because I stayed healthy for so long, and this setback would have set me back even further and I probably wouldn’t have won another world title in WWE for the duration that I stayed there.  It was important for me to stay in the game and get another World Title.  So, I asked him if I could keep wrestling and he said ‘As long as you’re careful, you’ll be fine.’  I did wrestle.  I won the World Title with my neck broken against Mark Henry.  I actually wrestled Undertaker at No Way Out with my neck broken.  It wasn’t a smart move, but it was something that I felt I needed at the time.  

Angle then talked about why he didn’t have the neck fusion surgery on his neck:

“I was going to have to have three of my vertebrae fused together.  If you get three of them fused together, you’re done. You’re retired.  You can’t wrestle anymore.  So, I decided to have the repair done the first couple times.  It worked for me temporarily, but fusion would have been the better option, but I would have had to retire.”

H/T to WrestlingNews.co