During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, veteran WWE referee Charles Robinson recounted the story of the most dangerous bump of his career, an elbow drop from “Macho Man” Randy Savage that led to a collapsed lung and a 12-day hospital stay. Robinson explained that he took the move because Ric Flair, his partner in the match, was not going to.
“The worst bump I’ve ever taken, Randy Savage elbow. But it wasn’t a ref bump. I was a worker then. He put me in the hospital for 12 days,” Robinson said. “It was Ric and I against Madusa and Savage, and he came off the top with the elbow. And Ric Flair wasn’t going to take the elbow from Savage, so they let Little Naitch… Cracked my sternum, collapsed my lung.”
Following the match, Robinson knew something was seriously wrong. “I said, ‘Oh, man, I just can’t breathe.’ Went to my room. Two hours later, I still can’t breathe. Called Jimmy Hart, lifesaver. He called the EMTs,” he recalled. The situation was complicated when the initial hospital cleared him to fly the next day. “That hospital, I won’t say what city, they released me the next day to fly home to Charlotte, which, with a collapsed lung, you’re not supposed to do that. So I went straight to the hospital for 12 days.”
Despite the severity of the injury, Robinson holds no ill will and remembers Savage’s compassion during his recovery. “Randy Savage called me every day. Just to check on me,” he shared. “What a guy. I thought that was pretty cool.” The match took place at WCW’s Slamboree pay-per-view in May 1999, part of a storyline where Robinson was portrayed as a biased referee fiercely loyal to Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
