I have no idea how Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley aren’t injured after these spots

Taking part in any pro wrestling match is going to hurt physically. But there are specific moments that when you see them, they make you sit up and say “OW!” Sometimes they look so painful you’re sure the performer who took the bump is hurt, perhaps seriously.

There were two such moments during NXT TakeOver: In Your House last night (June 8).

The first happened when Finn Bálor fought out of a Razor’s Edge which would have sent him flying from the ring to the dislodged steps, and instead sent Damian Priest falling backwards onto the steel. It would have been terrifying/impressive if Priest hit with a flat back, but he didn’t. Instead he caught the edge just below his shoulder blades.

Another “holy $#!+” moment came at the end of the night. Io Shirai delivered one of her patented moonsaults from the top, but the wrinkle was that she was delivering it to Rhea Ripley while Ripley was locked in Charlotte Flair’s Figure Eight submission. Not wanting to land on her opponents’ knees, Shirai aimed for the upper part of Rhea’s body but seems to have misjudged. It looked like one, or maybe both, of the Genius of the Sky’s own knees came down right on Ripley’s head.

Amazingly, both performers apparently walked away from these spots without being seriously injured. Priest went on to finish his match, and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp tweeted that Rhea was telling people she was okay when she came backstage after the main event.

In his post-show conference call, Triple H only listed Johnny Gargano as “banged up”. He did add the caveat that “adrenaline is a magical thing,” so it’s possible Priest and/or Ripley would describe themselves as “banged up” today.

Still, pretty great that these weren’t worse.

Don’t try this at home indeed.