‘The World’s Best’ Judges Cringe as ‘Space Cowboy’ Swallows 29 Swords at Once

The World’s Best judges had a hard time stomaching the Space Cowboy’s extreme act as the Australian performer defied death with a number of gut-wrenching stunts.

During Sunday’s post-Super Bowl LIII premiere of the new CBS series, hosted by James Corden and judged by Drew Barrymore, RuPaul, Faith Hill and an international contingency, the Aussie daredevil took to the stage with a truly shocking act.

The performer, who holds 50 Guinness World Records, first surprised the crowd by swallowing a neon light tube, filled with toxic gases and tipped with a microphone so that people could “hear [his] gag reflex opening, [his] internals working, and [his] heart beating.”

The stunt elicited a shocked and disgusted reaction from the judges, who noted that they could indeed hear a heartbeat once the tube was swallowed.

For his next trick, the Space Cowboy swallowed a sword welded through a barbell to took two beer kegs weighing in at 132 lbs., using only his face, throat and torso to hold the massive burden without injury.

The final stunt of the evening, the performer explained, “In 2008, I broke my first Guinness World Record when I swallowed 17 swords at the same time.”

Showing off visible bulges under the skin of his chest, he continued, “A couple years later, I had magnets inserted into the chest under the flesh. And as I suspected, it pulled the blades away from my heart and held the swords tighter together—I managed to swallow 19 swords. It’s real, I can wiggle them around for you.”

With even more practice, he added, “Now I can achieve the impossible. I can swallow 29 swords at the same time.

As he slowly swallowed the bundle of swords, twisting and reinserting them in a dramatic show, the judges were clearly at a loss for words.

“Why?” Hill exclaimed, adding, “This is so painful to watch.”

Asked RuPaul, “You know that scared the heck out of us, right?”

Scottish magician Stuart Macleod from the international panel chimed in, “It was sick, it was disgusting, it was violent, and I loved every minute of it.”

Despite the Space Cowboy’s impressive abilities, the act might have been a little too intense for the judges. Hill awarded him a 33/100; RuPaul a 38/100 and Barrymore a 25/100 for an average of 32 heading into the Wall of the World Score, which at 57, meant he would not be moving on.

The World’s Best airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo credit: CBS