'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Superstars put their bodies on the line and take a lot of risks to entertain the fans. Many miscalculated risks have led to gruesome injuries to a lot of these superstars.
Recently, Ridge Holland suffered a freak leg injury while taking a dive from Oney Lorcan outside the WWE NXT ring. Meanwhile, Finn Balor had to relinquish his Universal Championship a day after winning it following a terrible shoulder injury that forced him to take some time off.
Similarly, a number of top superstars have picked up career-threatening injuries while performing in major matches. The superstars recovered after it looked like their careers were over and continued to compete in the ring.
Trending
Take a look at the five WWE Superstars who sustained career-threatening injuries while performing in the ring.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#5. Sting took a buckle bomb from Seth Rollins at WWE Night of Champions 2015
Sting made his WWE debut very late in his wrestling career. He was still looking forward to making an impact on the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
Soon after his debut in 2015, Sting challenged Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions. During the match, Rollins went for one of his signature moves known as the ‘buckle bomb.
Upon impact with the top turnbuckle, Sting’s neck snapped back, and his legs gave out. The legendary superstar suffered a terrible neck injury that cut short his WWE career and led to his retirement.
WWE.com spoke to Sting about the night that led to one of the biggest injuries of his career. Sting described how he felt tingling and numbness in both arms and knew that something was wrong.
“Bottom line, I had tingling, numbness down both arms, all the way to my fingertips. And then, later in the match, I just fell wrong, whatever it was, and this time [the tingling and numbness] went down both arms and into my legs, and I couldn’t feel my legs too well. They just felt like rubber. I don’t know how to describe it. I had to go down on all fours there for a minute, get my composure. I was a little … I was worried," Sting revealed.
"Long term, well, I’m just going to take care of the short term first and see how the long term might play out.” Sting added.
While it looked like Sting’s wrestling career was over for good, he made a miraculous return to the ring for AEW in 2020. Vince Russo was a recent guest on SK Wrestling's UnSKripted with Dr. Chris Featherstone, where he spoke about how Sting was told never to enter the ring again following his injury.
The legend defied all odds and made a great return to the ring after turning 60.
#4. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin broke his neck during a match against Owen Hart at WWE SummerSlam 1997
WWE Superstars have suffered many nasty injuries in the ring over the past several decades. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was on the receiving end of one move that nearly ended his career instantly.
At WWE SummerSlam 1997, Austin faced off against Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. During the contest, Owen botched a Tombstone Piledriver that ended up breaking Stone Cold’s neck.
Austin spoke about what happened in the ring in an interview following the incident.
“I remember we went into the piledriver deal. I picked him up, and then we reversed that, and he picked me up. My head was about, I dunno, six or eight inches below the bottom of his legs, and he jumped up and spiked me," Austin said.
“As soon as my head hit that mat, I was thinking Christopher Reeve. Cause I thought I was never gonna walk again, ever. I couldn’t feel anything from my neck down.”
“Man, I’m laying there, and now the pain’s starting to set in. I couldn’t use my hands yet, but I could turn over and use my forearms to crawl. It took me a long time to straighten my knees to be able to… [but] there was no way I was gonna lay there and let some ambulance or bunch of paramedics carry me out of that ring. And then finally, I can start using my hands. I hit him with the roll-up… it looks like shit,” Austin revealed.
Austin was out of action for several months after the incident. He managed to recover and return to the ring at WWE Survivor Series the same year. While the injury could have ended Austin’s career for good, The Rattlesnake fought on for a few more years.
However, the injury took a toll on his body and forced him to retire from the ring in 2003 at WWE WrestleMania XIX.
#3. Daniel Bryan suffered a neck injury at WWE WrestleMania XXX, followed by a concussion soon after
Daniel Bryan did not have the best of times during his first stint in WWE. However, his return turned out to be great for the company and the superstar. The underdog superstar slowly became known as one of the best in-ring workers in the world.
His popularity and skills helped him gain the backing of the WWE Universe. At WrestleMania XXX, The Yes Man competed in two epic battles to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. However, somewhere during the two matches, Bryan aggravated his neck injury that took him out of competition for some time.
“I was supposed to only be out for about six to eight weeks after surgery, but what happened when I hurt my neck was that the nerve was compressed and for a long time it was just sending shooting pain down my arm," Bryan continued. "The pain wasn’t really a problem, but it became an issue when it became weakness, and when I couldn’t even unlock my car door."
“So that’s when they decided that I needed the surgery and it couldn’t wait any longer. But then we did the surgery and there was an issue as the strength wasn’t coming back, and there was thought that perhaps the nerve had been compressed too long, that I’d waited too long to get the surgery. I’ve been wrestling a long time, had a lot of stuff happen to me but never really got it taken care of, so I thought it was all coming back to bite me!” Bryan revealed.
Bryan made an unexpected return to the ring after the injury. Things did not go too well for The Yes Man, as he suffered a concussion in the ring during an Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31.
Daniel Bryan retired from the WWE ring soon after but made another miraculous return to the ring after the career-threatening injury. The five-time WWE World Champion has defied all odds multiple times to prove that he’s among the toughest men in the industry.
#2. Brock Lesnar suffered a concussion in his match against Kurt Angle at WWE WrestleMania XIX
Concussions have caused a lot of problems for WWE superstars over the years. Several top names have had to take a lot of time off from the ring or even retire after suffering concussions during wrestling matches.
Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest names whose career nearly came to an end after suffering a concussion during a big match. The Beast Incarnate competed against Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XIX.
During the contest, both men suffered some injuries that could have ended their careers. While Angle suffered a pulled hamstring and a neck injury during the contest, a botched shooting star press from the top rope nearly took Lesnar out for good.
The Olympic Gold Medalist explained in detail what happened during the night when Lesnar suffered a career-threatening concussion.
"He [Brock Lesnar] was going across the ring earlier. You see what he does? He second guesses himself. There is a little pause right before he goes. Ugh! I thought he broke his neck. I was surprised that he kicked out. He didn't even know where he was. Right then, I was like, what are we going to do? He just missed the finish, and I can hear F5 because he's not going to be able to do the Moonsault again. He's out of it. He's telling me he thinks he can do it again, and he kicks me in the gut and F5," Angle revealed.
The Beast Incarnate spent nearly a month away from the ring following the injury. Thankfully, he recovered successfully to defend his WWE title against John Cena on the pay-per-view that followed.
#1. Shawn Michaels suffered a severe back injury at WWE Royal Rumble 1998
The Royal Rumble has hosted some of the biggest matches in the history of WWE. The event has called for Superstars to take some major risks, some of which have unfortunately led to career-threatening injuries.
At the 1998 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, The Undertaker competed against Shawn Michaels in a casket match. During the contest, Michaels went for a back-body drop on the outside of the ring and hit his back on the edge of the casket.
HBK suffered a terrible back injury during the match but continued to fight on. He sustained two herniated discs and crushed the third one in the fall.
During an episode of the Grilling JR Podcast on Shawn Michaels’ career from 1997-98, Jim Ross discussed Michaels’ back injury that forced him to take a 4-year hiatus from WWE.
“All the crying wolf things start to become literally leery and gun shy,” Ross said. “How do any of us say? I’m not him, I’m not in his body. I had doubts, just like everybody had doubts. To say we didn’t have doubts would be lying but we had no proof other than the medical reports. He knew that he could never be himself again with his back in that condition. I didn’t have as much doubt.
Michaels managed to recover from the injury and returned to the WWE nearly four years later. The back injury took years off HBK’s wrestling career, but he did come back for another 8-year run before hanging up his boots for a second time.
