"In The Neck" - Ex-WWE Star Recall Horrifying Shooting Incident That Left Him Seriously Injured

Perry Saturn's recollection of one of the most frightening moments of his life isn't completely clear. The former WWE and WCW star remembers being in a fight behind a strip club in 2004, but the actual shooting is something he describes through broken pieces of memory. He initially didn't even understand that he had been shot. Saturn thought he had simply been hit during the fight, only realizing later how serious the injury really was. 

Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Saturn went into detail about what happened that night and why parts of it remain difficult for him to remember. He said he was trying to protect a woman from two men when the situation turned violent. One of the men eventually shot him before both attackers fled, leaving Saturn badly hurt and dealing with the consequences long after the confrontation itself was over. 

Saturn Didn't Realize He Had Been Shot During The Fight 

The former Hardcore Champion explained that the first impact didn't register in his mind as a gunshot. His body spun after he was hit in the shoulder, and Saturn believed someone had punched him. 

Then another shot hit his neck. 

"I got in the neck, and right here you can feel the hole," Saturn recalled, explaining that his collarbone was gone because of the shooting. Even after being injured, he didn't immediately think he needed an ambulance. 

Police had to argue with him to get him inside one. 

Saturn connected his confusion to the shock of what had happened. His own description of that night is fragmented, with the former wrestler admitting, "My memory's very unclear." 

The Attack Left Saturn Dealing With Serious Consequences 

Saturn's account also included what happened when the police arrived. One attacker managed to escape and was never caught. The other was eventually sent to jail, but Saturn said that man was later killed while incarcerated. 

The physical injuries were only part of what followed. According to the account shared in the interview, the incident also had a major effect on Saturn mentally, and he became addicted to methamphetamine afterward. 

His description of the shooting shows how confused he was in those first moments. Saturn said his eyes watered and his legs buckled after being shot in the neck, yet he still thought he was simply losing a fight. 

Saturn's WWE Career Had Already Taken A Strange Turn 

The shooting happened in 2004, after Saturn's WWE run had already ended. His time with the company included The Radicalz, the group he joined alongside Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero in 2000. 

He won the European Championship and captured the Hardcore Championship twice before WWE released him in 2002. 

Earlier in his WWE run, Saturn had also been given the infamous Moppy gimmick after his incident with Mike Bell. He later said he believed Vince McMahon intended it as punishment. 

By the time Saturn was describing the 2004 shooting years later, the story was no longer about wrestling. It was about an incident he could remember only in pieces including the moment he finally understood that what he thought was a punch had actually been a bullet.