Former WWE star Gangrel has revealed that one of his returns to the company nearly ended in disaster after a pyrotechnics malfunction left him with serious burns that required skin grafts.
Appearing on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Gangrel recalled the frightening incident, explaining that it occurred years after his memorable WWE debut, when a malfunctioning stage lift had already left him with a crushed foot.
According to Gangrel, the issue stemmed from WWE no longer using the original entrance lift designed for his iconic vampire entrance. He had returned to team with Viscera against The Undertaker as part of a storyline involving JBL.
“They go, we don’t have your regular lift anymore, but we have what Rey Mysterio pops out of,” Gangrel said. “The other one was six foot by three foot. You had three guys on it, three guys could fit. Three guys aren’t fitting on this. Barely my big butt was fitting on that.”
Because the replacement lift featured a much smaller opening, Gangrel said the pyrotechnics behaved very differently during rehearsals.
“When they started the fire, because it was such a small hole, it backdrafted in, so it pulled the flames in on me,” Gangrel said. “So I was standing in this little hole getting barbecued.”
Unlike the automated platform he had previously used, this lift had to be operated manually, forcing Gangrel to react quickly as the flames engulfed him.
“I literally jumped up. I became the most agile I’ve ever been in my whole life. I jumped up out of there, because it was a slow crank lift. They were manual cranking,” Gangrel said, contrasting it with the foot injury on his debut. “My foot stuck in the first one, I wasn’t burning, it was just really hot. This one, I could see the skin.”
Despite suffering significant burns, Gangrel said he refused to let the injury prevent him from competing.
“I get up there and they’re like, oh, I go, no, no, it’s cool,” Gangrel said. “A smart guy would have went and sued and retired or something, right? Not me. I was just happy to wrestle. I love wrestling.”
Medical staff treated the injury backstage before he went out for the match.
“They cut the skin off, cleaned it up, bandaged me up, and then I went. I wrestled,” Gangrel said. “If you look at that match, you see the arms a little thicker, because I had it all bandaged up. And then I was out three, four months. I had to get skin grafts.”
Gangrel also claimed he later learned the pyrotechnics crew responsible for the mishap had been dismissed.
“I heard he fired that whole pyro crew for that,” he said.
Fortunately, the long-term effects of the injury have largely faded over time.
“You don’t even notice it now. It’s a little lighter. I got tats over it, but it’s just a little lighter color,” Gangrel said. “Not bad now, because I had the grafts and they did a great job.”
The veteran wrestler’s story offers a sobering reminder of the risks performers can face during elaborate wrestling entrances, even before the opening bell rings.
