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Wrestling is one of the meanest sports in the world, and the action inside and outside the ring can take a toll on the Superstars’ bodies. This has prompted WWE to constantly remind fans never to try the moves that the professionals perform inside the ring at home, in school, or at work, and only trained athletes can perform the moves perfectly.
Even though the men and women who entertain us in the ring go through years of intense training and are well versed with all the moves required to keep them safe, there’s always a chance that things can go wrong and cause injuries to the performers involved.
While injuries have kept many top Superstars from taking breaks, going under the knife, and even retiring temporarily, a few botched moves and injuries have completely ended the careers of the men and women who entertain us.
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In this article, we will look at ten Superstars whose careers ended due to injury, and what they are doing today.
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#1 Corey Graves
Corey Graves’ wrestling skills were one of the hottest topics when he was an active competitor. However, he had to take a break from wrestling, and ultimately retire from the sport in order to keep his health above everything else.
Graves was popular during his days in NXT, and fans who’d been following him since his indie days expected him to become a breakout star for the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
However, while battling Neville, Graves suffered his first concussion which left him out of action temporarily. In early 2014, he suffered his second concussion which caused him to take some time off and eventually retire from the ring.
Since moving out of the ring, Graves has found a comfortable position near the ring at the announce table where he continues to work as a pre-show panelist and a main roster color commentator for WWE.
#2 Dynamite Kid
Dynamite Kid was definitely named after his wrestling ability, as he was agile and skillful in everything he did. He made waves during his wrestling career and is still regarded as one of the better wrestlers of his generation.
While the Superstar had some of the best highflying moves, the same moves came back to haunt him later in his career. The injuries he sustained piled on, and he was forced to retire from the sport soon after as he couldn’t keep up with the damage his body had taken.
The diving headbutt was one of the moves that kept taking a toll on his body and health. He suffered several concussions, which were followed by a couple of seizures mainly triggered by the use of LSD.
Kid suffered so many back and leg injuries that he lost the use of his left leg in 1997, sending a grim reminder to other highflying performers. He battled on for many years but passed away on December 5, 2018, his 60th birthday.
#3 Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan was largely seen as a great tag team performer and managed to become a multiple-time Tag Team Champion for the company. Even though he was never seen as the best solo performer, his time with other Superstars in tag teams saw him win gold on all three brands of WWE.
After he split with Chad Gable, he was thrown into a storyline with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle and was revealed as his kayfabe son. However, the story did not get much traction, and Jordan soon started picking up some injuries that proved to be too much for him.
A legitimate neck injury put the wrestler on the sidelines and forced him to go on a hiatus and possible retirement.
Jordan currently works as a backstage producer for WWE, and it’s likely that he won’t be returning to the ring any time soon. With the amount of praise he has been getting for his backstage role, it seems like he wouldn’t want to return to the ring after all.
#4 Sting
Sting ventured into the greatest wrestling promotion in the world in the twilight years of his career. This allowed him to become one of the biggest names in the industry who never fought for the company for a long time.
In 2014, Sting stepped into the WWE ring and even went as far as to challenge Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at the age of 55.
However, the move proved to be costly for the Superstar as he suffered a serious neck injury while battling Rollins at Night of Champions. The injury occurred after a Bucklebomb from Rollins and Sting was told he would need surgery to rectify cervical spinal stenosis.
This left the Superstar out of action and forced him to retire from the ring without winning a single title in WWE. It also broke the heart of fans who wanted to see a dream match between Sting and The Undertaker.
Sting is still signed to WWE under a Legends contract and makes sporadic appearances for the company. He continues to appear under his wrestling persona during event promotions and for charitable causes.
#5 Christian
Christian was always thought to be the second-best at everything that he did throughout his career. He was seen as a sidekick even after achieving a lot more than the other Superstars could have ever dreamt of, and even after becoming a two-time World Heavyweight Champion, multiple-time Tag Team Champion, as well as winning several other championship with WWE and other promotions, he will always be remembered as Edge’s ‘best friend’.
However, it was always Christian’s superior talent and in-ring abilities that got him over, and he won over 20 Championships during his elaborate wrestling career. During his second run in WWE, Christian suffered many concussions and other injuries which began to take a toll on him. The injuries piled on so fast that many fans did not even know when and why Christian disappeared from television and retired from the ring.
The concussions continued to haunt the Superstar who started to have recurring post-concussive symptoms, and he decided to bid farewell to the squared circle. Even though many Superstars continue to tease their return even after retiring, Christian seems to be happy with what he’s currently doing and continues to stay away from the ring.
He’s now acted in a few movies and television shows and has also hosted Knight Fight. Most notably, he has been the co-host of The Edge and Christian Show along with his best friend, Edge.
#6 Bret Hart
Bret Hart was already approaching the end of his career by 1999. Even though he was seen as a megastar in WWE, WCW, and other promotions, he was always a victim of questionable bookings.
One of his most famous rivalries was against Goldberg, where the two became the main crowd pullers. Goldberg, who has never been known as a safe wrestler to work with, and is well-known for very stiff strikes, brought Hart near his retirement.
Even though Goldberg warned Hart about an incoming kick, Hart was unable to block the stiff sidekick and ended up with a severe concussion.
It was so bad that Hart starting having trouble remembering things and began suffering from emotional issues. After retiring, Hart has written columns in newspapers, contributed to Roddy Piper's autobiography, and acted in several movies, television shows.
Hart was most recently seen on television when he made a surprise appearance at All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) inaugural pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, to unveil the AEW World Championship.
#7 CM Punk
We all are well aware of how CM Punk’s wrestling career came to an end and on what terms he left with the WWE. Punk’s outspoken nature got him in a lot of trouble with the company, but it’s not just the staph infection that he revealed during his revealing Art of Wrestling podcast, but also multiple concussions that got to him
Punk revealed that during his final Royal Rumble appearance, he received a concussion following a clothesline from former tag-team partner Kofi Kingston, which was the third he had received recently in the ring. The concussion was enough to keep him away from the ring and reconsider stepping back into the ring again.
If it wasn’t for his differences with the company, it would have been the concussions that would have marked the end of his career sooner than later. Therefore, after leaving WWE, Punk did not sign up with any other promotion and allowed himself some time to heal.
Punk has since tried his hands at Mixed Martial Arts but hasn’t been successful in that type of combat sports. He is currently an employee of FOX and appears on WWE Backstage as an analyst. He has also frequently appeared in movies and television shows.
#8 Tyson Kidd
Tyson Kidd was among a list of a handful of fast-rising mid-carders in WWE around the 2010s. He managed to make a name for himself as a tag team wrestler, and along with Cesaro and Natalya, created a really good faction.
In 2012, Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Kidd the Most Underrated Wrestler, and the Superstars won the WWE Tag Team Championships thrice in a short time.
At a time when there was no stopping Kidd from rising up the cards, a "Muscle Buster" from Samoa Joe halted his progress. Kidd suffered a spinal cord injury during a dark match on Raw in June 2015 against Joe, and the move rendered him bedridden.
Even though the company stated that Kidd would be out for a year, Kidd tweeted that only 5% of people survive his injury and that he had 16 staples, four screws, and a rod inserted in his neck.
Thankfully, Kidd made a recovery and has since taken on a safe role as a backstage producer for the company.
#9 Paige
Just like Tyson Kidd, Paige is another young Superstar who suffered a devastating injury that led to the end of her career.
The inaugural NXT Champion and two-time Divas Champion became an overnight sensation when she appeared on the main roster and held both the NXT and Divas Championships at the same time.
At a time when fans believed that Paige would completely revolutionize the wrestling industry for women, she suffered a serious neck injury followed by a stiff kick from Sasha Banks that caused her to retire at the age of 25.
Paige was left devastated by her injury but turned the negatives into positives by becoming a manager in WWE, followed by an analyst for WWE Backstage.
Paige ventured into the online clothing business in December 2017 and launched her store under her real name, Saraya. A movie revolving around her life and career has also been released in 2019. She has also collaborated with Hot Topic to launch an exclusive makeup line which has gotten popular.
#10 Edge
Just like his best friend Christian, Edge also suffered an injury that cut his career short and upset the entire WWE Universe.
Edge was a Superstar who enjoyed a lot of success during his prime and became the face of the company at one point. He became so good at what he did that whoever was associated with him became an independent star on their own.
Edge’s extraordinary looks, mic skills, wrestling ability, and persona helped him become one of the biggest stars of his era. Just like many other Superstars, Edge too suffered a serious neck injury in 2003 that started to slow him down.
While Edge did return a while after, the injury kept breaking him down while the fans were unaware of what was going on. Edge shockingly announced his retirement in 2011 and was subsequently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
Since his retirement, Edge has managed to make it to the silver screen, and the WWE continues to mint money off his success to date. Apart from that, he is also the host of the Edge and Christian Show.
