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Everyone must have heard the statement that "Injuries are part of the game". One can try their best to avoid getting injured, but it is something that can rarely be avoided. Sports athletes are much more prone to injuries than others.
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Some injuries can be minor and the injured can recover and get back in action in no time. On the other hand, some injuries can be career-threatening (or even fatal) and can result in the athlete missing months, or even years, of action. Worst-case Scenario, it can lead to retirement or even worse.
Professional Wrestlers are athletes too. Everytime they step in the ring, they are aware of the risk of getting injured.
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As you all may be aware that Professional Wrestling is a form of entertainment. Everything that goes on once the camera turns on is part of a storyline. Storylines are written months in advance. However, sometimes, an injury causes the plans to change.
The storylines can undergo drastic changes especially if a top Superstar is injured. This often leads to another Superstars stepping up to fill their shoes. While sometimes, the ripple effect of the injury can lead to another Superstar's momentum getting derailed.
So, here we will list down and discuss four Superstars who benefited from another Superstar's injury and three who suffered because of it.
Disclaimer: The opinions in the article belong to the writer and do not reflect Sportskeeda's stand.
#7 Batista (Benefited in 2007)
2007 was quite an eventful year for "The Animal" Batista. He was either the World Champion or involved in a match for the Title in every single Pay-Per-View that he was a part of that year.
He started the year as the Champion, lost his title to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 23, regained it five months later and lost it at the last Pay-per-view of the year, Armageddon.
However, The Animal was not initially supposed to remain in the title picture for the entire year.
If you remember clearly, Batista was defeated by then-World Champion Edge at Vengeance: Night of Champions in June 2007. Due to losing that match, Batista could no longer fight for the World Title, as long as Edge remained the World Heavyweight Champion.
Batista was then scheduled to feud with The Great Khali, and a match between the two was set for The Great American Bash.
Edge, on the other hand, was rumored to keep the title until Wrestlemania 24, where he would drop it to the Superstar he won it from, The Undertaker.
However, Edge suffered an injury before The Great American Bash, which led to Batista getting back in the title picture and he eventually ended up winning the title for the 3rd time at Unforgiven 2007.
#6 Luke Harper (Suffered in 2018)
Luke Harper is one of the most talented Superstars on the main roster. He can work both as an intimidating heel as well as a vengeful face.
He has done incredible work as a solo player as well as a team-player. His in-ring skills are quite impressive, However, he can't seem to get his big break due to some reason.
It finally started looking like Harper was about to get his deserved push when vignettes of the repackaged team of him and Erick Rowan started airing in late-2017. The duo, renamed as "The Bludgeon Brothers", arrived on SmackDown Live shortly after and had a dominant start.
The team ended up winning the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships from The Usos at Wrestlemania 34 and held on to the titles for about four months.
During their reign as the Tag Team Champions, they defeated teams like The Usos, The New Day, The Good Brothers and Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan).
Unfortunately, Rowan suffered an injury at SummerSlam 2018, which forced the team to drop the titles on the following edition of SmackDown Live.
Rowan's injury put Harper in the sidelines too as there weren't any plans for him as a solo Superstar.
However, it was rumored that if Rowan hadn't gotten injured, there were big plans in store for the Bludgeon Brothers post-Summerslam. Thus, Harper's push was harmed because of Rowan's injury.
#5 Rey Mysterio (Benefited in 2010)
Rey Mysterio has got to be one of the most decorated Superstars in the history of WWE. Not only has he been a part of uncountable amazing feuds and matches, but he has also won many Championships during his first run with WWE.
He is a three-time World Champion and a former Royal Rumble winner, a match he won by setting a new longevity record.
However, the Master of 619's 2010 World Title reign was due to an injury suffered by The Undertaker in a match against Mysterio himself.
The winner of that match would go on to secure a spot for himself in the Fatal Four-Way match for the World Heavyweight Title at the namesake Pay-Per-View. The Undertaker ended up winning the match.
During the qualifying match however, The Undertaker suffered a broken orbital bone, causing him to miss a few months of in-ring action.
The Undertaker's spot was left vacant and a battle royal was held to determine the final contestant. Mysterio ended up winning the battle royal and also went on to win the Fatal Four-Way to win his second World Title.
Although Mysterio's reign lasted only a month, he still got to become the World Champion. This wouldn't have been possible, had The Undertaker not suffered an injury right before the event.
#4 Randy Orton (Suffered in 2006)
Randy Orton's first reign as the World Champion in 2004 was short-lived and he didn't get to experience another reign for the next three years.
After his split from Evolution and his failed run as a babyface, Orton turned heel during the WrestleMania 21 season to feud with The Undertaker.
The feud brought Orton from Raw to SmackDown in the 2005 Draft Lottery.
Orton's feud with The Undertaker lasted until the end of the year and the two were involved in various types of matches i.e. Casket match, Hell in a Cell etc. The program with The Undertaker helped Orton's character development.
The original plan for Orton after his Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon 2005 was to go on and win the Royal Rumble match to face Batista for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 22.
The seeds for that feud were already planted in late-2005 during the Survivor Series build-up. It isn't known whether Orton was supposed to win the strap at the "Grandest Stage of them All" or not.
A title change was a high possibility, either then or a couple of months later, as Batista had already reigned as the World Champion for nearly a year by then.
However, Eddie Guerrero's tragic demise and Batista's injury caused the plans to be changed drastically. Rey Mysterio ended up winning the Royal Rumble match and the World title at WrestleMania 22, in a match which also involved Orton and Kurt Angle.
#3 Seth Rollins (Benefited in 2018)
After Seth Rollins finally slayed the King of Kings, Triple H at Wrestlemania 33, it looked like he might be catapulted straight into the Universal Title picture. This wasn't the case however, as Rollins ended up reforming his team with Dean Ambrose by the Summer.
Rollins then spent the remaining part of the year as a tag-team player. The Shield was reformed at one point too but the reunion was plagued by injuries. In December, Dean Ambrose ended up getting injured. Rollins was then joined by Jason Jordan.
Like Ambrose, Jordan was sidelined with an injury too. This led to Seth Rollins becoming a singles Superstar once again. He ended up qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match, lasted over an hour in a stellar gauntlet match on RAW, and became a Grand Slam Champion at Wrestlemania 34.
Things have only gotten better for the Kingslayer post-Wrestlemania. Seth Rollins now puts on amazing matches on a weekly basis and is one of the top Superstars of Raw, a status that he truly deserves.
He even admitted that Dean's injury helped his career. It has also been rumored that he will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania 35.
#2 Rob Van Dam (Suffered in 2002)
Rob Van Dam's WWE career was filled with ups and downs. Every time he was about to get a big push, a setback ended up happening.
Van Dam made his WWE debut as a heel in 2001. He was a part of Team Alliance during the Invasion story-line. Due to his innovative in-ring style, Van Dam quickly won over the fans. He turned face immediately after the Invasion story-line ended.
When the brand split happened in 2002, and the WWE Title became an exclusive property of the SmackDown Brand, Raw intended to introduce its own World Title (The World Heavyweight title of WCW). Rob Van Dam was supposed to be the inaugural Champion.
Sadly, that didn't end up happening and Triple H became the inaugural Champion. The original plan for Triple H was to be involved in a feud with nWo throughout the Summer.
However, Kevin Nash suffered an injury in June. After that, the entire nWo disbanded and all plans involving them were scrapped. Triple H ended up reforming DX with Shawn Michaels, only to turn heel on him.
Triple H quickly jumped up the card and ended up becoming the inaugural World Champion (in WWE).
Rob Van Dam, on the other hand, faded into the background slowly and became a mid-carder by the end of the year. Thus, Nash's injury led to Van Dam's push getting scrapped.
#1 Shawn Michaels (Benefited in 2007)
Shawn Michaels and Triple H finally reformed D-Generation X in 2006. After feuding with the McMahons, they were placed in a heated rivalry with Edge and Randy Orton.
The two teams were set to square off at New Year's Revolution and during the match, a double turn was supposed to happen. Michaels and Triple H would have brutally assaulted Edge and Orton to complete their heel turns, while Edge and Orton would have turned face. Triple H was also rumored to face John Cena for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 23.
During the match however, Triple H ended up injuring his right leg. This took him out of action for nearly seven months. Michaels then improvised and took out the referee to cause a Disqualification and then went on to assault Orton and Edge.
The WWE Officials were rumored to be so impressed with Michaels' quick improvisation that they ended up giving Michaels a main event match at Wrestlemania 23 against John Cena for the WWE Title as a reward. John Cena ended up winning the match, which was descried as spectacular.
