Was it like a pro wrestling angle or not? That’s the question on the minds of NFL viewers both at home and live at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday when Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson injured his ribs before a 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers.
During one of their performances, Watson injured his ribs while catching. He was coughing up blood and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. According to a CT scan, Watson did not have internal bleeding and was cleared to return to the field later that evening. His return saw him exit through the side door of an ambulance, which immediately drew comparisons between the now-defunct promotion, WCW, “The Icon” Sting, and The Dangerous Alliance.
Back in 1991, Sting, then the WCW United States Champion, was faced with a moral dilemma as to whether his body was 100 percent capable of putting the title on the line against Rick Rude. If not, he must surrender the title. Although he did not fully recover, Sting was charged from the ambulance Clash of Champions 17:00 to defend his title. Unfortunately, that defense was lost and Rough became the champion.
Rude’s former manager and WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman agreed with many last night on the Watson vs Sting comparisons that said X: (formerly known as Twitter), “We did it with @Sting in 1991 in WCW (vs. ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude) and the industry has repeated it with great success in many circumstances. My sincerest compliments to the @NFL creative team. Well done. He continued to turn on his son’s talk show, “Round Table” which premiered last Wednesday.
We did it back @Sting: in WCW in 1991 (against Ravishing Rick Rude), and the industry has repeated it in many circumstances with great success.
My sincerest compliments @NFL:creative team of
Well done.
PS – Have you checked out The Round Table? More than 1,000,000… https://t.co/btwVtRkNDF
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) October 30, 2026
