WWE's 15 Most Brutal Bumps and Falls of All Time

There's a reason why the WWE runs those videos that say "Don't Try This at Home."

It's because professional wrestling is incredibly dangerous.

As much time as wrestlers spend training, they cannot really prepare themselves for death-defying falls and gigantic bumps that put their bodies, their careers and their lives on the line.

Sure, they usually know when a big spot is coming, but that doesn't completely eliminate the chances of getting hurt, someone screwing up or both.

Yep, sometimes I wonder if these guys truly are nuts when they do the things they do.

Here are the 15 most brutal bumps and falls in WWE history.

15. Shelton Benjamin Nearly Gets Broken in Half

Shelton Benjamin was the star in just about every Money in the Bank match that he competed in at Wrestlemania.

Whether he was running up a ladder or flipping onto the rest of the competitors outside of the ring, Benjamin was always putting on one heck of a show for the fans.

He usually stood tall after whatever crazy spot it was that he pulled off, but this wasn't one of those times.

As Benjamin made his way up the ladder to try to grab the briefcase, Mr. Kennedy and Carlito pushed the ladder, causing Benjamin to flip and crash through a ladder that was set up between the ring and the ringside barrier.

I'm sure his back felt really good the next day.

14. Brock Lesnar Almost Breaks A-Train's Neck

Brock Lesnar pulled off countless displays of incredible strength during his brief run with the WWE, but even he had the rare mishap.

When "The Next Big Thing" tried to hit A-Train with his patented F5 finisher, he wasn't able to swing A-Train all the way around and instead, sent him to the mat in a really awkward position.

A-Train took the blunt of the fall on his neck, and suffice it to say, it looked nasty.

I'm not sure whether I feel worse for him or Hardcore Holly.

13. Sheamus' Powerbomb on Sin Cara

Sin Cara was suspended earlier this summer for his first violation of the WWE's Talent Wellness Program, so the creative team needed a way to write him off of television.

And this is how it happened.

During the Smackdown brand's Money in the Bank match, Sheamus picked up Sin Cara and absolutely destroyed him with a huge powerbomb through a ladder on the outside of the ring.

Let this be a lesson to any other WWE wrestlers out there: If you are going to test positive for some sort of banned substance, then you probably shouldn't do it when a pay-per-view that involves ladders is right around the corner.

12. Edge Spears Jeff Hardy off a Ladder at Wrestlemania 17

Whenever Edge and Christian, the Hardy Boyz and the Dudleys got together, the recipe for disaster (in a good way) was always there.

Leaps off ladders, chair shots and broken tables were the norm.

Apparently, so were spears off ladders to guys hanging from cables, because that's exactly what Edge did to Jeff Hardy at Wrestlemania 17 in a TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The match itself is one of the best tag team gimmick bouts of all time, and the spot involving Edge and Jeff is one of the most memorable in Wrestlemania history.

There wasn't much margin for error here, but those two ladder match experts executed the spot to perfection.

11. Shawn Michaels Plunges Through Four Tables

At Armageddon in 2002, Shawn Michaels faced Triple H in a "Three Stages of Hell" match.

Hmm, I wonder why they call it that.

Maybe it's because in that type of match wrestlers do things like plummet from the top of a ladder inside the ring through four tables set up outside of it.

That's just a hunch, but I guess HBK was feeling like hell immediately after crashing a good 15 feet through four tables that should be used for picnics rather than professional wrestling.

10. The Big Show Gets Superplexed...Twice

I think you've all seen these two spots by now.

In 2003, Brock Lesnar superplexed The Big Show, causing the ring to collapse and Tazz to freak out on commentary.

Then, the WWE did it again last month when Mark Henry hit Show with another superplex, the ring imploded and the match ended because neither man could continue.

Obviously, the ring was rigged to do so on both occasions, but don't fool yourself: superplexes never feel good, and they feel even worse when your support underneath you (the ring) gives way as soon as you hit it.

9. One of Jeff Hardy's Many Death-Defying Swanton Bombs

You could probably make a list that exclusively features Jeff Hardy's crazy Swanton bombs, especially ones that show him crashing on his opponents as they lay lifeless on some sort of table.

Most of these daredevil antics involving Hardy competing in a tag team match against Edge & Christian, the Dudleys or both.

But one particular spot really stands out in mind: His huge Swanton bomb onto D-Von Dudley at the 2000 Royal Rumble in Madison Square Garden.

There's nothing like a hot crowd to make a maniacal leap seem even more insane than it already is.

8. Jeff Hardy Destroys Edge with a Leg Drop Through a Ladder

Edge and Jeff Hardy again? Are you really surprised?

While Hardy had the chance to grab that Money in the Bank briefcase and win a guaranteed World title shot, he was more worried about entertaining the fans with yet another crazy stunt...this time in the form of a leg drop from a ladder set up inside the ring to an outstretched Edge on top of another ladder set up horizontally on the outside of it.

I'm sure that Jeff wasn't feeling too great after this huge bump, but if that's the case, then how do you think Edge felt?

I'm guessing he felt like someone jumped on top on him from a 20-foot high ladder that caused the ladder underneath him to snap in half.

Just a hunch, though.

7. Shawn Michaels Fails to Break the Announce Table at Wrestlemania 24

When Shawn Michaels wrestled Ric Flair in Flair's last WWE match at Wrestlemania 24, he went for his patented moonsault to the outside of the ring.

It was absolutely picturesque, but it didn't matter.

Flair moved out of the way, and the announce table epically failed to break as HBK's midsection landed directly on it. The table had no give whatsoever, and Michaels writhed in pain as soon as he hit the move.

Yeah, that wasn't supposed to happen. It looks like someone forgot to rig the table, and I wouldn't be surprised if that person is no longer employed by the WWE.

6. Shane McMahon with the World's Biggest Leg Drop

It amazes me that Shane McMahon was never trained full-time to be a professional wrestler because the guy did things in and outside of the ring that not many others were willing to do.

You can call him a spot monkey, a one-trick pony or whatever you want. But I call him a certified lunatic.

Shane O'Mac was incredibly entertaining to watch, a guy who gave you that "anything can happen" feeling anytime he was involved in a match.

If you don't believe me, then just check out Shane hitting The Big Show with the biggest leg drop in wrestling history. 

Yeah, that man needs a straitjacket.

5. Brock Lesnar's Shooting Star Press Attempt Is an Epic Fail

At Wrestlemania 19, Kurt Angle faced Brock Lesnar in a WWE Championship match that was just what you would expect from two wrestlers of their caliber.

But what you didn't expect to see was the 265-pound Lesnar attempt a move that's typically done by guys like Evan Bourne: The shooting star press.

Yet, that's exactly what Lesnar did. Well, at least it's what he tried to do.

Lesnar failed to rotate all the way (probably because Angle was too far away), and he took a disgusting bump on the back of his neck.

How Lesnar didn't break his neck, I have no idea. But it probably has something to do with the fact that he's not human. 

4. Jeff Hardy Hits a 30-Foot Swanton Bomb on Randy Orton

Remember in an earlier slide when I wrote that "You could probably make a list that exclusively features Jeff Hardy's crazy Swanton bombs?"

Well, this one takes the cake.

When Hardy was ascending to the main event scene in 2008, he faced Randy Orton on an episode of Monday Night Raw, climbed to the top of the titantron and hit a Swanton bomb on Orton from nearly 30 feet in the air.

I remember watching that and looking something like this, minus the fact that I'm not a rabbit.

3. Undertaker Chokeslams Mankind Through the Top of the Cell

The moment that The Undertaker picked up Mankind and went for the chokeslam, I though to myself, "No, no, no. There's no way he's actually going to do that!"

Sure enough, Taker did it. Then, I lost my mind, and announcers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler did as well.  

Lawler: "That's it, he's dead."

Ross: "Will somebody stop the damn match? Enough's enough."

I mean, the match was outrageously entertaining so I definitely didn't want it to stop, J.R.

But I do agree with "The King"—I also thought Foley was dead.

2. Shane McMahon Takes a Huge Plunge at SummerSlam 2000

Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman. Hardcore Championship. SummerSlam 2000.

I was only 12 years old at the time, and I watched every WWF pay-per-view religiously, including this one.

I remember sitting there, watching McMahon and Blackman climb and thinking that nothing good can come out of what's about to happen.

I was wrong.

We got to witness one of the craziest falls of all time, as Shane O'Mac plummeted from the top of the SummerSlam set without even being able to see where he was going.

Good thing he didn't screw it up. 

1. Undertaker Throws Mankind off the Top of the Hell in a Cell

Whenever someone hears the phrase "brutal bump," they think of Undertaker vs. Mankind at King of the Ring in 1998.

The match itself was a bump-fest for Mankind, who did so many ridiculous things during this match that I really don't understand how he was able to even get out of bed the next day.

As if being thrown through the top of the cell with a chokeslam wasn't enough, Mankind was also thrown off the top of it and sent crashing through the announce table in what was the craziest stunt in WWE history.

The reactions from the live crowd and the audience at home went something like this: "WTF?!", "Holy s**t!", and "I can't believe that just happened."

To this day, I still react the same way.