Former WWE Exec Jim Ross Recalls Internal Reaction To Droz's Career-Ending Neck Injury

One of the most infamous injuries in the history of wrestling was the night that Darren "Droz" Drozdov not only had his wrestling career ended, but his ability to walk taken away from him for the rest of his life. On October 5, 1999, Droz broke two vertebrae in his neck after a botched powerbomb from D'Lo Brown. Brown could not get a proper grip on Droz, who was wearing a loose-fitting shirt during the match, resulting in Droz landing incorrectly, ultimately leading him to become paralyzed from the neck down.

During a recent edition of the "Grilling JR" podcast, Jim Ross recalled hearing about the incident as he wasn't in attendance when the accident occurred. 

"Vince was the one that made the final call as far as taking care of the compensation to compensate Droz's injury," Ross said. "It was very horrible. I was with Stone Cold when he got hurt, taking a feature at a deer hunting lodge, so I wasn't even there on that day. One of the rare TV's that I missed and it was just hard to believe. We got the call, and we just keep hoping it's not as bad as it seems, and unfortunately, it was worse than we thought."

Ross was involved in helping cover Droz's medical costs and supporting him after his injury, and he admitted that the day he heard about it was one he will never forget.

"I didn't sleep that night at all," Ross said. "Droz was one of our favorite guys, likable, always had a great personality, and you hate to see anybody get hurt, especially somebody that is so well-liked and respected as Darren Drozdov." 

Droz managed to live a happy life after his injury but passed away in June 2023 at the age of 54 from natural causes.

Please credit "Grilling JR" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.