Droz vs. D'Lo Brown (partially found unreleased footage of WWF wrestling match; 1999)

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Droz vs. D'Lo Brown was a 1999 wrestling match that was originally slated for WWF Smackdown. In the match, Brown incorrectly executed a powerbomb finisher, which injured Droz's neck, ending his career.[1] Most footage of this match is lost.

Events

On October 5th, 1999, Darren A. ("Droz") Droznov wrestled D'Lo Brown in a one on one match during a taping of Smackdown. The match carried on as planned, and in the final seconds of the match, Brown incorrectly executed a powerbomb finishing move. Droz admits that his shirt was loose, so Brown could not get a sufficient grip on Droz to properly perform the finisher.

In any case, all combined 548 pounds of their body weight landed on Droz's head, fracturing two neck vertebrae. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where successful surgery on his neck saved his life, albeit leaving him a permanent quadriplegic. [2]

Post-injury

Droz and Brown reconciled the injury just days after the incident. Both wrestlers understand that it was an accident, and both are great friends to this day.[3]

Footage

The match was taped in its entirety, but because the venue was WWF Smackdown, the match was taped days before its airing, giving WWF time to edit out inconsistencies (as they had done previously with every Smackdown airing). Because of this, WWF technicians have withheld the footage of the match, deciding not to release it in any format. However, the footage of him being taken out on a stretcher has been seen in WWE's "Don't Try This at Home" public service announcements.

As with the video of Owen Hart's death, the tape carrying footage of Droz's paralyzing career-ender is currently stored in the WWE Archive, with "instructions never to view, copy, or destroy." [4]


The only footage of the match at 0:12

                                                          Some shots made by John Barrett in 1999

                                                                               Droz.jpg


                                                                               Droz2.jpg

References

  1. Darren Drozdov Talks WWE Accident that Paralyzed Him 12-16-2014. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  2. Surgery for Paralyzed Wrestler. CBS News. 10-7-1999. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  3. Droz is still not angry at D'Lo Brown for paralyzing him. From Give Me Sport. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  4. Droz and Owen Hart tapes inside the walls of the WWE Video Library vaults. 05-23-2013. Retrieved May 2, 2015.