I heard Jesse Sorenson (one of my favorite wrestlers on TNA Impact) was seriously injured at the Against All Odds Pay-Per-View this past Sunday, 2/12/12. It seems that Jesse was standing outside the ring and Zema Ion (or Shiima Xion or whatever) jumped off the ropes to slam his knee onto Jesse’s upper back. Jesse collapsed to the floor with a broken neck (his C1 vertebrae) and the ref quickly ended the match and called for help.
Sorenson was hospitalized, but luckily he has feeling in his arms and body and is expected to recover. Will he wrestle again, or want to wrestle again? I don’t know, I hope so.
There is a video clip of this scary scene which you can easily find if you want to see it, but I do NOT recommend watching it — it’s disturbing. I warned you.
When Jesse first joined TNA, I blogged about his Gauntlet Match (Part 1 and Part 2) and his on-going feud with Kid Kash and Austin Aries, two veteran bullies who delighted in punishing the young lion. I even encouraged them to keep beating up poor Sorenson:
“Just know that I could watch Sorenson getting whipped just like this every day and twice on Sundays…”
Now I regret ever wishing harm on poor handsome young Jesse. As much as I want to watch him suffer endless abuse, I only want to see FAKE agony. Instead of “Keeping it real,” pro wrestlers should focus on keeping it fake.
Really, you guys don’t need to jump off the ropes or attempt any risky flips or dives! Just stay down on the mat — old-school style — and apply a bunch of friendly Scissors and Bearhugs and Headlocks. This wrestling fan is totally fine with that (would actually prefer it.)
As much as I delight in displays of suffering (see my Suffering Sunday series for numerous examples), I only want FAKE suffering. Yes, I love the imagery of violence and agony, and part of my brain wants to believe the victim is really in pain — but deep down, I also want to rest assured that everybody is safe and goes home healthy and unharmed.
I haven’t figured out yet why I want to see guys like Jesse Sorenson pretending to be hurt — but the minute they’re really hurt, I regret it and want them to get well soon. I will keep trying to figure that out (probably for the rest of my life), but in the meantime, please be careful guys, keep it fake, don’t risk life and limb just for my entertainment.