Drew McIntyre: "I got knocked out" in the Royal Rumble

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that professional wrestling is scripted. But despite the pre-planned nature of the spectacle, the dangers faced by the athletes involved are very real...

It was widely reported that former WWE Champion AJ Styles suffered a serious injury in the Royal Rumble match, forcing him to exit the contest prematurely. But did you know the eventual winner was also seriously hurt?

Drew McIntyre, who would outlast all 29 other men to book his spot in the Wrestlemania main event was overcome with emotion after claiming victory. But in actuality, he'd only just regained consciousness mere minutes earlier.

In a behind-the-scenes clip from McIntyre's upcoming Chronicle special on the WWE Network, WWE's The Bump revealed that Drew was legitimately knocked unconscious after suffering a pitch-perfect Black Mass at the hands of former NXT champion Aleister Black.

Just after the 8 minute mark in the video above, you can clearly see a disorientated McIntyre make his way into the backstage area to a rapturous applause from WWE officials, Vince McMahon included. But the first words he utters as he makes his way through the curtain were:

"I got knocked out."

McIntyre would go on to explain the Black Mass kick had caught him clean, leaving him completely out cold for the following few seconds.

If you go back and watch the Rumble from that moment, you will notice McIntyre's absense just after this move.

With all the modern safety concerns surrounding head injuries, it might have been reasonable to have McIntyre exit the match, with a new winner crowned instead.

Thankfully, he recovered and went on to win the event just as planned. Here's hoping we don't see the same unfortunate occurence at Wrestlemania!