Wrestling legend Ken Patera said to have suffered broken neck
Pro wrestling legend and former Olympian Ken Patera is said to be recovering from a serious injury.
A friend of Patera’s posted a message to a Facebook group asking everyone to send their thoughts and prayers after Patera recently suffered a fall in the gym that resulted in a broken neck. The post was shared by Steve Stasiak of Book Pro Wrestlers, a booking and talent management organization that works with wrestlers and legends.
“I wanted to pass along the news that my friend Ken Patera recently had a fall at the gym that resulted in his C1 being broken,” the original post from Monday said. “Ken had a back surgery 2.5 years ago and had been making great progress on his health, having returned to the gym and dropping a significant amount of weight. Send some thoughts and prayers to my buddy, please.”
There has been no further information regarding how Patera — who is in his 80s — is doing or when exactly this fall happened.
A star for the AWA, WWF, and in Japan, Patera’s wrestling accolades included being the second-ever WWF Intercontinental Champion. At the first Survivor Series, Patera competed in the main event when he was part of a babyface team alongside Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Paul Orndorff & Don Muraco.
Patera represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1972 Olympics and was once an accomplished strongman competitor.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.