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King Of The Ring 1998, one of Mick Foley’s most brutal outingsWrestling involves a lot of risk. And of course, with risk, there’s two sides of the coin. Some wrestlers see the good side, some see the bad. This list (not ranking), looks at ten of the more unfortunate wrestlers, who have suffered through their fair share of injuries, or even more than that.Some may have had to retire due to their injuries, over a short or long term period, and some were able to fight back and keep their career strong but wounded due to the use of high-level treatment.. Of course, some of the injuries came with heartbreak, as shall be seen later in the list. Here are ten wrestlers who are/have been highly injury prone:
#1 Kevin Nash
Starting the list off is arguably the man who has been made fun of the most on the internet for his injuries, mostly his torn quad, which occurred on an episode of Raw in 2002 (as seen in the video above). Nash was participating in a tag team match and tore his quad while advancing towards the opposition corner of the ring. The sheer simplicity of the injury has caused plenty of jokes over the years.
However, on a serious note, Nash has had to have several knee surgeries over his career, suffered from a staph infection in 2009 while on tour in Japan, and has reportedly also had a heart problem which caused him to pass out during a fanfest. Nash has suffered quite a few injuries over his storied career, and deservedly received a spot in the WWE Hall Of Fame this year.
#2 Sin Cara
The original man behind the mask was one who was known more for his botches and injuries than for his actual wrestling.
Luis Urive’s first injury in WWE patellar tendon rapture which he suffered in November 2011, which took him out for six months. After returning, he suffered another knee injury (which he had a history with) in December 2012, and was again sidelined, only to return and get injured again in February, to come back two months later and then dislocate his ring finger against Alberto Del Rio and be taken out for the rest of his WWE career (with the exception of one house show match in January 2014).
Thank goodness the new Sin Cara (Jorge Arias) is not as injury prone!
#3 Triple H
All of Triple H’s injuries have been torn muscles, but they have been severe for the most part.
In May 2001, when defending the World Tag Team Championships alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, The Game suffered a career-threatening quad tear in his left leg, in which the muscle was completely separated from the bone. It happened when Jericho had Austin in the Walls Of Jericho, and when Triplle H was about to head in to break the hold, the injury took its hit. Miraculously, The King Of Kings even went on to wrestle the rest of the match, even allowing Jericho to use the Walls on him.
At New Year’s Revolution 2007, in a match against Rated-RKO (as a part of DX), The Cerebral Assassin suffered the same injury as he had before, this time, of all the odds, on his other leg. It’s a wonder why all the torn-quad jokes haven’t targetted Trips as much as they have Kevin Nash!
In 2010, when feuding with Sheamus, Triple H suffered a torn bicep muscle and missed out on ten months of action, right up to WrestleMania XXVII, where he lost to The Undertaker.
Since then, Triple H has not had any injuries, but the sheer magnitude of the three mentioned above easily make him injury-prone.
#4 Batista
Batista was always destined for a career on top, and he would have had his way had it not been for his amazing number of injuries.
As soon as he began his days in Evolution, Batista tore his right triceps muscle and missed most of 2003. Of course, when he came back, he was dominant as ever.
When he won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in 2005, Batita would go on to defend against numerous opponents, before, in November that year, he had to a couple of weeks due to an injury in his back, where WWE reported a muscle tore due to a Double Chokeslam from Kane and The Big Show, and then in January, surrender the title when he tore his right triceps in a match against Mark Henry.
His next injury is one that is overshadowed by another in the same match, because at SummerSlam 2008, Batista injured John Cena’s neck, and also injured his own hamstring, which wasn’t attended to until December, when he was written off TV due to a punk kick causing a kayfabe head injury.
In 2009, after The Aminal won his first WWE Championship, he had to vacate the title due to an injury to his left bicep, making it his second vacated title.
His final injury led to his departure, when in an I Quit match against John Cena at Over The Limit 2010, he was thrown through the entrance stage from the top of a car, and suffered from a compression fracture of his L1 spine.
It’s quite clear that Batista has had his fair share of injuries.
#5 Mick Foley
Mick Foley’s list of injuries is so large that there is an entire webpage dedicated to it.
Of course, his most famous one would have to be his torn ear, which he suffered in a match against Vader in 1993, in a Texas Deathmatch at Halloween Havoc. A scheduled spot involved a hangman, in which a wrestler’s head in tangled between two ropes, which is usually safe but painful, but was slightly more painful since WCW’s ropes weren’t actually ropes, rather elevator cable covered in rubber.
What Foley didn’t know is that earlier in the night, 2 Cold Scorpio had complained that the ropes were too loose, and officials had tightnened it to the maximum. Due to this, Foley was in a prediciment in which the rope was restricting blood from reaching his brain, which, in the worst case, would have led to death. Struggle as he did, Foley had no choice but to force his way out, resulting in his right ear ripping off in the process.
Over his career, he has had six concussions, four teeth fallen out, two burns in different places, six broken ribs, over three-hundred stitches, and many more. Saying this man isn’t injury prone would be foolish. In all fairness though, his wrestling style probably caused most of them.
All of his injuries can be seen at this webpage: http://sahirhussain.tripod.com/id7.html
#6 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Imagine how bad an injury is when it’s the only one causing a man to be on this list.
At SummerSlam 1997, Steve Austin faced Owen Hart. Midway through the match, Hart executed a Texas Piledriver, and Austin’s head was too low when the move took place. This caused the neck to snap, and cause short-term paralysys.
This neck injury shortened Austin’s WWE career greatly. The company had to be careful with him, and eventually it was one of the factors in his retirement from the ring. Of course, he is still involved with the company, with the podcasts and occasional appearances, but who knows, if this injury hadn’t happened, he could still be wrestling today.
WWE banned the Texas Piledriver (although it is sometimes used, to which wrestlers have to pay fines), and Stone Cold isn’t the only man on this list to have had a bad neck.
#7 Rey Mysterio
Much like Sin Cara, Mysterio is one who is known for his injuries, especilly towards the end of his career.
His first big one in WWE came during his best days. In 2006, Mysterio won the Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania that year. After losing the title, he was still in high proile feuds, one of them against JBL and Chavo Guerrero, and in a match at No Mercy, against Chavo, he injured his knee, which required surgery. Although he wouldn’t be out for long, it was still a bad injury.
It seems as if Mysterio isn’t allowed to be on top, as in 2008, just before No Way Out, Mysterio suffered a biceps injury, and while he participated in the match, he was likely booked to lose due to his injury. The match was against Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. This injury took Rey out for six months and required three surgeries.
Towards the end of his WWE career, he was more injured that active, with more problems with his knee being highlighted. Of course, he still wrestles at AAA, so it’s certain that he is strong enough to fight through those injuries.
#8 Randy Orton
Not the most injury-prone on this list, but Randy Orton is still injury-prone.
During Orton’s feud with The Undertaker in 2005, Orton suffered an arm and shoulder injury, which was aggravated during his match with The Deadman at WrestleMania 21. He was sidelined for two months, to return and restart his feud with The Undertaker, which went on until the end of the year.
In 2007, when he was red hot in the feuds for his WWE Championship, Randy Orton broke his collarbone in a match he lost against Triple H at One Night Stand, when he was thrown over the tope rope. This was later aggraveted by a motorbiking injury that happened just before he was set to return. Of course, some consider this injury a good one, as Orton would return with his debuting Viper gimmick.
In late 2011, during his feud with Wade Barrett, Orton was tossed down a flight of stairs in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and was taken out for four weeks due to a herniated disk. In February 2012, Orton suffered a concussion when Daniel Bryan hit him with his World Heavyweight Championship, and was taken out of the World Heavyweight Championship match at Elimination Chamber. It was also reported that late last year, Orton suffered a minor injury to his septum, but was quickly recovered to feud with Seth Rollins.
#9 Daniel Bryan
The most recent entry on this list, Daniel Bryan broke millions of hearts two years in a row when he had to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships, respectively.
At WrestleMania XXX, Daniel Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and despite everyone in the world saying Yes! endlessly, soon enough, after Kane tombstoned him on the ringside floor, steel steps and announcing table, he suffered a neck injury and began losing all feeling in his right arm, until eventually he did, and had to be stripped of his championship for neck surgery. Bryan would be out for months, returning only in January.
At WrestleMania 31, Daniel Bryan won the Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match, to not even have on defense on pay-per-view. Owing to his injuries, Bryan was forced to announce his retirement from wrestling and transitioned into being the General Manager of SmackDown LIVE.
He is all set to make his return to SmackDown LIVE next week after being off TV due to the birth of his daughter Birdie.
One can only hope that Bryan’s neck doesn’t repeat what happened to the last person on this list.
#10 Edge
This list would be pointless without The Ultimate Opportunist.
Edge suffered his first big injury after No Way Out in 2003, and had to undergo surgery which cost him a year of his career. Soon afte returning, he became Intercontinental Champion and was injured again with a groin injury and was stripped of his championship.
Upon his return, Edge became a two-time Money In The Bank holder, World Heavyweight Champion, and was set to be on of the top dogs on SmackDown, until another injury, this time pectoral, took that away from him.
Edge then had his long run with numerous championships, until during his stint as World Tag Team Champion with Chris Jericho, he suffered a career-threatening Achilles injury. Who will ever forget his return at the 2010 Royal Rumble? Of course, he won that match, but came up short at WrestleMania XXVI against Chris Jericho, his former tag team partner.
After this, Edge was involved with The Nexus and captured the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011, to defend against Alberto Del Rio successfully in his last match, at WrestleMania XXVII. He announced that he woul be forced to retire, as his neck was causing problems, and if he continued in the ring, it could have fatal consequences.
Nobody had expected Edge’s retirement, especially when he was on top, with the World Heavyweight Championship. Deservedly though, he retired holding the gold, and was inducted as the primary inductee in the 2012 WWE Hall Of Fame.
