Michael Oku escaped a horrific injury when his big debut on PPV at AEW’s London show almost went horribly wrong.
The former Undisputed British Heavyweight champion made his televised debut in AEW last week, competing on the pre-show on AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025.
Michael Oku teamed with Jet Speed to take on Ricochet and Gates of Agony in a six-man tag match that wowed fans in London, showcasing his talent on the biggest stage for the first time.
CHECK OUT: Michael Oku’s 5 Greatest Matches In His Career, Ranked
While the Englishman came close to submitting Ricochat, he was eventually beaten by the bald wrestler in what was an impressive pay-per-view debut in AEW.
However, things almost went horrendously bad for OJMO, as he escaped possible death after one horrific bump.
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Stevie Richards warned that Michael Oku could have ‘died on impact’
Oku took one massive bump that could have broken his neck or even killed him, according to former WWE Superstar Stevie Richards.
Midway through the match, Oku was flung over the top rope by the Gates of Agony. Ricochat ran out of his path instead of catching the Englishman, who appeared to fall neck-first onto the floor from the ring.
While he continued the match and wrestled for an extended period, Richard is shocked he didn’t break is neck, and was amazed he didn’t die from the horrendous botch.
Speaking on The Stevie Richards Show, the ECW original said: “You’ve got to be seeing your entire life flash before your eyes.
“The way he lands here — this is enough to be a what went wrong moment, but what makes it even more egregious is that there’s no X, no stoppage, nothing. Ricochet throws him back in the ring and he just keeps working.
“I’m not saying he isn’t tough, or that he didn’t avoid potentially life-threatening injuries, but I have to assume he was hurt — if not his neck or spine, then just from the impact of his knees hitting the floor. That alone could have blown both knees out.
“It’s about as close as you can get to breaking your neck. Honestly, I don’t know if he didn’t break it. The worst cases I’ve seen are when someone lands with their head sideways — that’s the most dangerous.
“Even landing on the back of your head is bad, but when the neck or spine moves laterally on impact, it can be catastrophic. In that situation, there’s a real chance of severing the spinal cord in a way where he could have literally died on impact.”
It is amazing that Oku walked out of that match unscathed, and continued a busy schedule in the week following.
Michael Oku travelled to Mexico following his potentially career-threatening injury
Oku seemed to shrug off this potential life-threatening injury and continue his busy schedule, hopping over to Mexico just days after his appearance at Forbidden Door.
OJMO continued his relationship with CMLL by wrestling for CMLL in an Arena Mexico event on August 28th, two days after his London bout.
He teamed with his fellow Englishman and self-confessed Bullet Club member Robbie X, who also appeared at Forbidden Door, to take on Los Hermanos Chavez (Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja) in tag team action.
Three days later, Oku competed in the ten vs ten Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre Grand Prix Internacional 2025 Torneo Cibernetico, as part of the losing team against Team Mexico.