THIS WEEK MARKED the 20th anniversary of one of the most infamous moments in the history of professional wrestling.
Back in 1994, Mick Foley, who is no stranger to insane stunts, had his ear ripped off in Germany during a a WCW European tour.
The accident took place in a match with Vader when he was wrestling under his ‘Cactus Jack’ pseudonym, after ring staff had tightened the ropes unduly, following earlier complaints that they were too loose.
He was attempting to perform a move called the hangman, in which a wrestler’s head gets caught between the ropes.
Foley subsequently struggled to break free from the extremely tight ropes (see video below from about 7.30 onwards) — a situation that can result in cerebral anoxia, brain damage and even death.
In the ultimately successful struggle to free himself (largely thanks to the referee’s assistance), Foley ripped off most of his ear and needed to undergo surgery to get it reattached.
He then decided to postpone the surgery in order to wrestle in a match in which he would ultimately win the tag-team championship, and later became upset with WCW’s reluctance to greenlight a storyline surrounding his missing ear.
Foley gained notoriety for this incident along with many other dangerous occurrences throughout his career, thereby earning him the nickname of ‘The Hardcore Legend’ as a result of his fearless style.
He is now retired from wrestling, though still appears on WWE television frequently.
The ear loss is described in detail in the video below, with his opponent Vader recalling that he was “within minutes of dying”.
