Playing with fire: Wrestler goes viral after erupting into flames as opponent sets CROTCH alight in stunt gone wrong (VIDEO)

Professional wrestling is well-known to be scripted but try telling that a wrestler in a small-town promotion who appeared to have suffered burns after his opponent set his groin on fire in shocking viral footage.

Despite its pantomime nature, pro wrestlers often suffer injuries every bit as real as what you might expect to see in a mixed martial arts cage or an NFL football field - but when you present yourself for emergency treatment after receiving a vicious burn to your nether regions, it might be time to wonder if you should look for a new day job.

The world's leading wrestling promotions like the WWE and AEW impose strict safety guidelines on their workers, with several moves having been outlawed over the last decade or two due to the potential risks they can pose if applied incorrectly. 

Independent wrestling is, by comparison at least, the wild west with several of the more extreme promotions having only cursory safety measures in place which can lead to some wrestlers taking things one step too far in their bid to entertain the (sometimes only dozens of) fans in attendance.

One such incident occurred reportedly this past weekend at the Southern Sickness Cup in Indiana in the United States, when one wrestler agreed to allow his opponent set his crotch on fire and then add to insult to (legitimate) injury when he attacked the prone performer with a weed-whacker.

Things quickly deteriorated, however, after it appeared that the wrestling promotion had neglected to have someone on stand-by with a fire extinguisher - which led to the fire quickly going out of control as the wrestler frantically attempted to put out the flames.

The unnamed wrestler was featured on an event being held by a promotion quite aptly titled 'Pro Wrestling Trainwreck' - but there are no indications as of yet as to the condition of the wrestler who appeared to be injured by the stunt.

Several wrestling promotions have quite literally played with fire over the years, with so-called 'Inferno matches' being popular in sports entertainment powerhouse brand WWE - but those are rehearsed and produced to ensure that chances of injury are minimal.

It doesn't seem as if any such measures were taken in the above clip, though.

"Got paid 50 quid to do that," one wrestling fan remarked in response, highlighting the severe pay disparity which exists between independent wrestling and the WWE.

"You can actually taste and smell how little water is in the room," said another in reference to the ineffective attempts to put out the flames, while a third wondered aloud why "no one had a fire extinguisher ready".

We're reasonably confident that the wrestler in question asked the same thing as he faces applying burn lotion to his groin for the foreseeable future.