Sunday Mornings with the Nitro: 6/12/2022

Paul” The Nitro” Skivers

Welcome to this edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. After the inspirational effort by Cody Rhodes inside Hell in the Cell against Seth Rollins, I thought that I would give you my top 5 most inspirational moments in wrestling history and here is the list:

5. Mike Von Erich-1985: In the spring of 1985, Mike Von Erich was a popular mid-carder wrestler of the Von Erich family. Then, he suffered a shoulder injury on a tour of India for World Class and came back to Dallas for surgery. During surgery, Mike contracted Toxic Shock Syndrome and nearly died from it. But Mike recovered and made his return (which it is ill advised from a new perspective in this era) to the ring and won the World Class six-man tag titles. However, Mike ended up committing suicide in April 1987 after getting pulled over for a DUI the previous week before his death. A sad end to an inspirational comeback, but give Mike credit for making a comeback.

4. Junkyard Dog-1980: JYD was the most popular star in Mid-South Wrestling in April 1980 when the Freebirds blinded the Dog with the freebird hair removal cream leaving JYD blinded for several months. Then, the fans and his family gave him the support that he needed, and he recovered enough to beat Michael Hayes in a dog collar cage match while still partially blind. No doubt, JYD became a legend in the business after this incident.

3. Bryan Danielson- 2018: After suffering from lingering effects from a concussion for several years, Daniel Bryan got clearance to wrestle again after leaving the sport 2 years earlier and he went on to win the Universal Title in September 2018. Now, Daniel is a member of the Blackpool Fight Club in AEW and nearly won the AEW World Title in January 2022.

2. Steve Austin- 1997: Austin suffered a serious neck injury at the hands of Owen Hart at Summerslam 1997. However, Austin would not be denied his vengeance against Owen and came back at Survivor Series 1997 and beat Owen to win the Intercontinental Title. After that win, Austin’s career took off and he eventually became WWE World Champion.

1. Magnum TA- 1986: In October 1986, Magnum was involved in a career ending car crash that left him partially paralyzed. I thought that Magnum would never return to a wrestling event ever again after the accident until it was announced on tv that Magnum TA would be at the Crockett Cup 87 in Baltimore. Then, on night 2 of the event, Magnum walked down to ringside with the aid of a crutch and embraced the Superpowers-Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff. It was a powerful moment that I will never forget.

With that in mind, that will end this edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Thank you for joining us and have a great week everyone.