Guest FeArHaVoC Report post Posted August 16, 2002 Freak accident sidelines Valbowski The Big Valbowski was in Australia and at SmackDown! this week, but he didn't compete, much to his chagrin. The former Intercontinental Champion was the victim of a freak accident while working out on Aug. 2, just three days before the superstars left for the Global Warning Tour Melbourne. As he exercised on a rowing machine, the frame in front of him, which held about 300 pounds of weights, tipped over and landed on top of his head. "I remember opening my eyes and seeing four or five guys trying to pull it off me," Val told WWE.com. "So it put me out for a couple of seconds." Val was immediately taken to a hospital, where he got three stitches inside his head and 14 more outside. He also said he probably had a mild, undiagnosed concussion. Potentially even worse, the weights compressed his neck, making him unable to move it. X-rays came back negative, but the muscle is still severely swollen, and Val is scheduled on Saturday to see Dr. Lloyd Youngblood in San Antonio to have an MRI exam. Lita, Scotty 2 Hotty, Chris Benoit and Rhyno had neck-fusion surgery performed by Youngblood; Val is crossing his fingers that his injury is not nearly that severe. "I'm hoping it's just a sprain," Val said, adding that if that's the case, he'll only have to miss a few weeks of ring time. The Big Valbowski just didn't look like the Big Valbowski this week. His was pale and sluggish as he walked around the KeyArena in Seattle on Tuesday. He was in a tremendous amount of physical pain, and he was also emotionally frustrated because he had been looking forward to skydiving and skiing in Australia, and "first and foremost, to competing." In spite of the injury, Val still flew to Australia, and performed as the special referee for the Bra & Panties Match between Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. The 16-hour flight caused the right side of his face to swell dramatically, but he put ice on it overnight and was OK. "The cut wasn't that painful," Val said. "It was more of an annoyance. It's the neck that's the painful thing. I'm used to getting cut. "My body is still getting used to the trauma because (the accident) was pretty severe. I didn't know how severe it was until a few days later." Val, who obviously takes tremendous pride in his physique, is physically unable to work out his shoulder area, and can only exercise other parts of his body lightly. As a precaution, he's been taken off the house-show circuit for the next few weeks, and it's unlikely he'll be at SmackDown! next week either. Credit: WWE.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alfdogg Report post Posted August 16, 2002 Damn, that sucks. SK now has his answer to the "what happened to the Venis-Holly team" question. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Just call me Dan Report post Posted August 16, 2002 It's hard to believe that 300 pounds of weight crashing down on him didn't do worse than that. He made that damned long flight down there for nothing and that really sucks he can't enjoy Ausstralia like he wanted. I wish him the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted August 16, 2002 If that happened to me, people would get sued. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted August 16, 2002 maybe Val can return under a mask, claiming that his face is so pretty that it can't be given away to the fans for free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alfdogg Report post Posted August 16, 2002 If that happened to me, people would get sued. Exactly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted August 16, 2002 Damn, that sucks. SK now has his answer to the "what happened to the Venis-Holly team" question. I was thinking the same exact thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FeArHaVoC Report post Posted August 16, 2002 Maybe the Story is just Fabricated and Val tried to stand up to Bradshaw? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites