The number-one contender tag team tournament finals at WWE Payback ended abruptly on Sunday when Enzo Amore went face-first into the middle rope, bashed his head against the mat and was taken to the hospital with a severe concussion. What went wrong?
Stone Cold Steve Austin has an answer. He’s a guy who knows a thing or two about accidentally suffering career-threatening injuries at the worst times. On the latest episode of his podcast, the Texas Rattlesnake broke down the incident and explained exactly what went wrong, from a performer’s point of view.
“My thoughts on that are, Gotch, when you’re throwing a man through the ropes at that short of a distance, you back off the horsepower. You threw him in with way too much force. I know it was unintentional, I know you were excited, but when you’re that close, you’ve got to slow the horsepower down, and, basically, you just kind of guide him. Give him a little bit of momentum, but you threw him so hard, so close, he couldn’t control anything that resulted in that wicked bump. And, one more mistake: You went and picked him up by his head when he was really in a bad position, he looked bad. You’ve got to be able to sense that.
So, two messages. Don’t use that much horsepower that close … It’s dangerous. And don’t pick a man up by his head if you have an inkling that something went wrong. I’m not coming down on Gotch and I think the excitement got a hold of him, but, man, a really scary bump. Gotch, check on a man before you grab someone by the head if you suspect anything. And that’s just words of wisdom. I’m not eating your ass out. I’m just saying, ‘hey, ease up on the horsepower’.”
Here’s another look at the moment, as a refresher:
Austin also mentioned that he’d contacted Enzo after the match to check on him, and that he still sees a bright future for the team.
“I put a call in to Enzo after the match, just to check on him. He does have a concussion. We had a little conversation. He was all there. And they were riding down the road, booking the territory. So, Enzo, get well soon. I’m thinking about you. I like both tag teams. I’ve really taken a liking to Enzo and Big Cass. I think those guys have a lot of potential and we’ll see what happens with them.”
Just be careful with that horsepower, okay?
