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WWE is not just about fame, money, private jets and the fans cheering for you. It’s also about the broken necks, the torn muscles and the misery of your lifelong dream being taken away from you.
Though a lot of people classify professional wrestling as fake, you can’t ignore the pain and suffering that the wrestlers go through to give the fans what they want. Every last ounce of a wrestler’s body is dedicated for this purpose only, and sometimes it ends up being more than what he can take.
The chance of an injury in the wrestling business is just like that of getting a red light on a busy day, or even worse. Many have paid dearly for the rigors they put their bodies through. While some climb out of it and get back to having another dance, others end up on the unlucky side of the story.
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So let’s have a look at those WWE Superstars whose careers were shortened due to injuries.
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#11 Paige
Paige wrestled in her last match in December 2017. The bout was a six-woman Tag Team match at a house show. The former Absolution member took a stiff kick from Sasha Banks, which hurt her surgically repaired neck. Having made her return only a few months back, the youngest Divas champion was forced to retire from in-ring competition on the RAW after WrestleMania 34.
Since then, she has taken up many non-wrestling roles within WWE, ranging from SmackDown GM to a panelist on the now-defunct WWE Backstage show. The British wrestler has expressed her intentions to make a miraculous return, and we hope the miracle turns into a reality soon!
#10 Droz
Fans that have seen the documentary ’Beyond the Mat’ will surely recognize this name.
He was a great prospect who was brought by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross into WWE for his unique talent of being able to puke whenever he wanted. However, things didn’t go well for Droz as a botched a move from D’Lo Brown at SmackDown Taping in 1999 paralyzed him from the neck down.
Droz fell onto his head and fractured two discs in his neck, giving him no chance whatsoever to return to the ring. He has managed to get some movement into the upper body now, but his body remains fragile after the incident.
He is currently confined to writing articles and essays for WWE and remains loyal to the business.
#9 Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman was one of the warriors in the professional wrestling business who had the luxury of being in the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude era. Despite having his hands on the hardcore title a couple of times, Blackman was mostly restricted to midcard.
That said, the feud and match that he had with Shane McMahon soon propelled him into the limelight.
A standout character from the lot, Blackman had to hang up his boots before reaching the age of 40 due to some severe injuries. After being forced out of the business, Blackman then went on to open a self-defense school and to explore various other areas.
#8 Joey Mercury
Not many in the WWE Universe might have forgotten the exciting tag team called MNM which consisted of Melina, John Morrison (Johnny Nitro during that time) and Joey Mercury.
They were one of the hottest things in the division during their run, with the charisma that each of the three had both inside and outside the ring making them huge fan favorites. However, it all fell apart at the 2006 edition of Armageddon when the team was put into a four-way ladder match.
Mercury got his face cut deep by a ladder, which forced him to retire, which forced him to run back for help with a bloody face, eventually leading to his retirement.
Thankfully, Mercury did return to WWE and had memorable runs, first with CM Pun as a part of the Straight Edge Society and then as a part of J&J Security who acted as Seth Rollins' bodyguards.
#7 Tazz
Arguably one of the best things to come out of the original ECW, Tazz was one of those wrestlers who could woo the fans with his in-ring skills alone. Earning the nickname ’human suplex machine', Tazz played an integral part in setting up the legacy of ECW.
He broke his neck during one match while taking a spike Piledriver, which left him bed-ridden for almost a year. After returning, he won almost all the titles there before moving to WWE. He made an instant impact by defeating the undefeated Kurt Angle at Royal Rumble 2000.
However, the mounting injuries and neck problems pushed Tazz into a less demanding job. He was eventually forced to quit wrestling and take up commentary.
#6 John Layfield
Before getting it on with the mic in commentary, JBL had a great run in WWE which saw him feud with the likes of Undertaker, John Cena, and Eddie Guerrero. Though he was a bit slow in the ring, he produced some classic matches which often ended with him finding a way to victory.
The sight of him getting choke-slammed into a car and through the mat might make for a thrilling memory, but all that work had an adverse effect on his back.
WWE eventually decided to give JBL some time of his own and pitted him in an angle that made the fans think he was out of contract. This gave JBL time to rehabilitate his body, but he ultimately felt that he couldn’t take it anymore and ended up on the announce table.
#5 Ricky Steamboat
A blast from the past! Ricky Steamboat used to be a cult wrestler back in the day. Ric Flair even tagged Ricky as the best wrestler he’d ever faced. That itself is enough to let everyone know how talented Ricky was in the ring.
But after having some great encounters with Randy Savage, Ric Flair and many more, Ricky had to quit wrestling due to injuries. However, his legacy lived on as wrestlers like Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were hugely influenced by his style.
#4 WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart
Bret Hart is considered to be one of the greatest in-ring technicians to step foot inside the squared circle. One can wonder what heights his career could have further reached had he not been forced to retire due to injury.
Bret Hart suffered a serious concussion after taking a kick from Goldberg and was out of action for some time. Though he returned later on, Bret failed to bring back the fitness he had in the ring and eventually gave up wrestling.
Once WCW dissolved, he had nowhere to go, which kept him out of action for the latter part of his career. When he finally decided to return to WWE, it was too late as he was in no condition whatsoever to jump into the ring.
#3 Mick Foley
No surprise here: Mick Foley is arguably the biggest daredevil that professional wrestling has ever seen. From falling off 20-foot cages to going through flaming tables, Foley did everything that he could humanly do with his body.
Taking such punishments on a regular basis soon acted up on his body as Foley was advised not to wrestle again by his neurologist. Foley was thus forced to leave the ring in his early 40s.
Foley could’ve been a great asset on the roster if it wasn’t for his injuries. Just imagining the prospect of Cactus Jack cutting a promo is enough to make us realize what we are missing due to the evil that comes with injuries.
#2 Edge
Edge left the squared circle in 2011 due to neck injuries. During his illustrious career, he did everything that a fan could imagine. He jumped off ladders, he headlined WrestleMania, he went through tables and he became a record-breaking world champion.
But his neck problems restricted him from adding more memorable moments to that list as Edge was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. With that condition, the doctors couldn’t clear Edge to compete in matches without risking him being paralyzed from the neck down or even dying from the effect.
This forced Edge to say farewell to the squared circle at the young age of 37. He was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
At Royal Rumble 2020, Edge made a miraculous return to WWE and while we are all glad that he is back, one can't help but wonder about the scales his career could have peaked had he been able to continue wrestling.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin
There isn’t a bigger star on this list than Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man who single-handedly took the company to the top during the Attitude Era suffered an accident during a match that changed the face of professional wrestling forever.
Austin suffered a broken neck during his match against Owen Hart in SummerSlam 1997, which almost left him paralyzed. The injury haunted him after that as it took him through a plethora of surgeries to keep wrestling.
Being the resilient man that he is, Austin would go on to wrestle with that pain for a few more years before eventually giving in to the demon.
However, Steve Austin made his return at this year's WrestleMania for one final match against Kevin Owens in the main event of Night 1. He would go on to stun Vince McMahon, Austin Theory and a few others on Night 2 in his home state of Dallas.
