Injuries are something without which the sport of professional wrestling would not be complete. The hard-hitting nature of the sport and the year-long schedule contribute big time to these injuries and bypassing them is not an easy task. The worst part of injuries is perhaps their timing. A superstar might be on his way to the top of the promotion and all of a sudden would be sidelined due to injury.
On the other way around, the promotion might be in one of its busiest schedules of the year and then they will lose their top talent to injury. A lot of such instances have happened over the course of WWE history and this list is going to take a look at them.
#7 Corey Graves
The story of Corey Graves is something that could give WWE fans the chill. Most of the fans these days would only know him as a charismatic member on the pre-show panel, but there was a time when Corey used to be a star in the NXT roster. Corey started his wrestling career back in 2000 and signed a contract with WWE in 2011 with some ample amount of hype.
He did have a good stay for the next three years winning championships in NXT and Florida Championship wrestling. However, the promising career of Graves came to an end due to multiple concussions. His final concussion came in 2014 and just months later, he announced that he is retiring from in-ring action.
#6 Hideo Itami
Hideo Itami came into WWE with a lot of hype. His success on the independent circuit and Japan as KENTA had made him a hot commodity and his signing with WWE was some kind of a dream scenario for most of the wrestling fans. WWE to their credit did support the whole fiasco and used Hulk Hogan to hype the signing.
Everything seemed to be going in the way that Hideo wanted and he was on his way to the top of the mountain in NXT. And then the injury bug bit. It was his shoulder that suffered the problem and it sidelined him for six months just when he was starting to take over.
#5 Shawn Michaels
The impact that Shawn Michaels had on the WWE product during Attitude Era cannot be overlooked. It was his storyline with Bret Hart that proved to be a major turning point in the course of WWE history, but Michaels would’ve played an even bigger role if it wasn’t for his back injury. In 1998, the Heart Break Kid suffered a serious back injury during his match against Undertaker.
He had herniated discs and this forced him to retire from in-ring competition. Although Michaels did appear in non-wrestling roles afterwards, he missed out entirely on the whole Invasion storyline and also missed out the timeline where WWE had a dominating win over the competition.
#4 Enzo Amore
Enzo is the recent addition to this list. Enzo Amore debuted to the main roster on the night after WrestleMania 32. With his red hot promo skills that were accentuated by his trash talking and in-ring energy drew fans to him like a moth to the flame. Within one month, he was already a fan favourite and was in serious contention for the the tag team title along with his partner Big Cass.
Then the injury bug took him at Payback. Right when everything was going his way, Enzo suffered a concussion in a #1 Contenders Tournament final and was unable to continue. As of now, we do not now how long will he be absent. One can only wonder how soon Enzo would have become a Tag Team Champion if he hadn’t suffered the concussion.
#3 Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt has always been an enigmatic character. With his mystique filled personality and a unique gimmick, Bray Wyatt had captured the hearts of millions of WWE fans. his mic skills were above par and he backed it up with his in-ring ability. Though WWE booked him carelessly, it took only one great moment to regain his momentum. Bray was one of such characters that never lost momentum.
But after WrestleMania 32, WWE seemed to book more strongly. He and his family took out the League of Nations amidst much fan appreciation. It looked like the star of Bray Wyatt has at last began to start its ascent. Then he injured himself in a Live Event when WWE toured Europe. He had been sidelined even since then.
#2 Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 31 proved to be one of the greatest nights in the career of Seth Rollins. He stamped his place as one of the top heels in the company when he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Roman Reigns and walked out of Mania as the champion. The months that followed turned Rollins into an MVP in the WWE roster.
He was a champion that put together classics week in and week out and it seemed like Rollins was going to break CM Punk’s record of being the longest reigning champion in the modern era. In November 2015, the fairytale of Rollins came to a standstill. During a match with Kane in a house show, Rollins tore his ACL, MCL and Meniscus in the knee which in turn took him out for six to nine months meaning that he would have to drop the title and miss WrestleMania 32.
#1 Daniel Bryan
A list about injuries would never be complete without the inclusion of Daniel Bryan. Bryan was responsible for scripting one of the best underdog stories in wrestling history back in WrestleMania 30 and everyone expected him to be the face of WWE after the event. Bryan had a great defense of his championship against Kane after wards but then things got bad for the flying goat.
He lost strength in his right arm at some point and he had to undergo a major neck injury. This took away the momentum he had from WrestleMania and although Bryan made a return to in-ring action afterwards, he was never the same Bryan that we used to know back in the days.
