That was by plot device though. It was purely a set-up for the ending of that story, like how in Spiderman 1 Spiderman passes out after 1 whiff of Gobby gas.
Karate Kid was beaten nearly to death by Nemisis kid
What continuity is this? Last time I checked. Karate Kid was beaten completely to death by Nemesis Kid. His statue is in the hall of fallen Legionares. His wife, Princess Projectra almost killed Nemesis in revenge.
Hmmm I just looked at the comic recently but I don’t have it in front of me. I thought after a severe beating he flew into something and died in the explosion to save his wife’s home planet.
I guess “newer” is a relative term, but Doomsday and the Death of Superman storyline mentioned by others previously was in 1992, nearly 18 years ago. (At the expense of showing my age… I was working in a comic shop when it came out; queue of fans lining up to pick up their black-bagged copies).
OK, he didn’t stay dead, but even so, the Man of Steel getting “killed” must be close to the ultimate butt whoopin. 
Note that Projectra kills Nemesis Kid, not almost, but really dead.
tappy tap tap tappity tap tap tippy tappity tap tap tap. {victory dance.}
As I recall it, he was beaten terribly, then stole NK’s flight right (or rather stole his own back from NK) and flew into a stolen fusion power sphere to destroy it. He might well have died anyway, but the proximate cause of his death was, I’m sure, the collision. I think he did it as much as anything to keep NK from being able to say he killed him.
Hercules was once so badly beaten by the Masters of Evil that he ended up in a coma; this did not please Zeus once he found out.