WWE’s Rey Mysterio and Huge Present had been concerned in a program again in 2003 that led to a match at that yr’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 shouldn’t be what folks nonetheless keep in mind about that evening.

Following the match, Mysterio was loaded onto a stretcher after Present had initially left the ring. As soon as Mysterio was totally 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 towards the ring put up.

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 keep in mind we had gone over it and that was the plan. After I was strapped onto the stretcher, all the pieces 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 thought of what occurs once you hit,” Mysterio mentioned. “Due to the burden, there was no means Huge 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.”

In relation to a smaller celebrity like Mysterio, who stands at simply five-foot-six, the impression actually goes to look much more grotesque than it in any other case would to a bigger celebrity.  Because of this, Mysterio’s angle with The Huge Present will certainly be one of many extra memorable and extra painful spots that he is carried out through the years.