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Being a professional wrestler comes with a high degree of occupational hazards. It’s a physically-demanding career where one small mistake can lead to serious injury or worse.
This is why, despite all the criticism some people may have towards certain aspects of pro wrestling, there is an underlying respect for the men and women that literally put their bodies on the line to entertain people.
While most wrestlers can and do work hurt – that is, they have chronic pain, but muster through it to keep wrestling – sidelining injuries are something else. When a wrestler does get hurt and then comes back, it’s a testament to both their natural toughness and passion for the wrestling business.
In most companies, especially in today’s WWE, trying to overcome the pain or ignore a serious injury like a concussion is forbidden. Because the company has taken a health-first approach, you’re more likely to see an even slightly-injured WWE wrestler surrounded by doctors before you see them try to ‘tough it out’.
That is why the ten men on this list stand out so much: despite being hurt, their passion and commitment to pro wrestling is what kept them going. The fans recognized this not only by giving these wrestlers standing ovations when they were hurt.
They have sung the praises of these wrestlers time and again for good reason, as these ten wrestlers’ careers actually benefitted from getting injured.
#10 Jushin Liger keeps wrestling after developing a brain tumour
Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger is considered by many to be the single-greatest cruiserweight wrestler of all time. He revolutionized the high-flying style in such a way that even to this day, he is considered by so many people to be a timeless legend.
But not only is Liger known all over the world for his wrestling skill and popularity; he is also known for his incredible endurance and toughness. Liger is still wrestling on a semi-regular basis at this point despite being well into his fifties, but he kept wrestling after undergoing brain surgery in 1996 to remove a brain tumour.
That takes an incredible amount of commitment and natural toughness to keep wrestling after experiencing what’s normally a life-changing operation. From most indications, the only actual long-term consequence Liger suffered from the surgery is that one of his ears doesn’t work as well following the procedure.
But that’s a small price to pay for surviving brain surgery and still being able to wrestle for another twenty years.
#9 Brock Lesnar nearly kills himself at WrestleMania XIX
Brock Lesnar gets a lot of criticism these days for wrestling in a repetitive and ‘limited’ style. But there are reasons for this: it makes the moves he does use seem more dangerous, it allows him to avoid risking hurting his body (which has already been damaged extensively by, among other things, diverticulitis), and because he nearly broke his neck with a botched Shooting Star Press.
At WrestleMania XIX Lesnar misjudged the distance between the top turnbuckle and where Kurt Angle was in the ring. This caused him to land hard on the mat and into Kurt Angle’s side. This left him with (only) a concussion, yet Lesnar still finished the match as if nothing happened.
This was a shining example of Lesnar’s natural toughness and was one of the many reasons why so many people liked watching him wrestle.
#8 The Great Sasuke cracks his skull…and keeps wrestling
The Great Sasuke was one of the best cruiserweight wrestlers of the 1990s, working alongside a star-studded cast of equally-outstanding cruiserweights like Jushin Liger, Hayabusa, Ultimo Dragon, and Chris ‘Lionheart’ Jericho.
He was a legendary wrestler who performed dazzling aerial acrobatics on a nightly basis. However, arguably his biggest claim to fame was that he showed incredible tolerance for pain during his peak as a wrestler.
Specifically, he cracked his skull on at least two separate occasions while performing his aerial stunts, yet kept wrestling as if nothing had happened. Keep in mind that a cracked skull can have serious, life-altering (or life-ending) consequences, yet Sasuke kept wrestling all the same.
Clearly, he had an intense passion for wrestling if he was willing to risk severe, long-term harm by continuing to wrestle with such a devastating injury.
#7 Shawn Michaels retires and then returns 4 years later
Shawn Michaels suffered a debilitating back injury in 1998 following a botched landing on a casket. That injury ended up sidelining him four years, leading many people to think that his career was over and that he’d never return.
Then, in 2002, Shawn returned to a WWE ring after such an extensive time away from the ring and proceeded to have an outstanding run, and looked as if he hadn’t missed a single day. But what makes this injury interesting is that it changed Michaels as a person.
The Shawn Michaels that left WWE in 1998 was widely reported to have been a terrible person backstage, prone to hissy fits and prima donna behaviour. The Shawn Michaels that returned in 2002 was born again, humbled, and clean of his previous substance abuse problems.
Had this injury never happened, who knows how Shawn’s career (and the Attitude Era, for that matter) would’ve gone, especially given Shawn’s state of mind at the time.
#6 Cesaro’s teeth get smashed into his gums
Cesaro has long been praised by WWE fans for a lot of reasons. His combination of strength and agility are considered by many to be second to none. He has an incredible sense of charisma and connection with the audience. And he showed incredible toughness when he got his front teeth smashed into his gums.
At No Mercy 2017, Cesaro botched a move and ended up getting tossed face-first into the steel ring post (not the padded turnbuckle, mind you, the actual steel post). Seconds later, he was bleeding profusely from the mouth (and must’ve also been in a terrible amount of pain).
But he continued the match – which went at least another ten minutes – as if nothing had happened. If that isn’t an example of commitment and toughness, I don’t know what is.
#5 ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin’s neck injury helps improve his image
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is, to many people, the perfect definition of a wrestling badass. Not only did he look the part, and not only did his proms make him come across as a tough S.O.B. that you wouldn’t want to mess with, but his actual toughness was proven when he suffered a neck injury following a botched Tombstone Piledriver from Owen Hart.
By his own account, Austin was left temporarily paralyzed by the move, yet still continued the match, albeit with an improvised finish. For him to have the wherewithal to not only finish the match but also to act quick enough to come up with a believable ending that didn’t ruin the match per se is also a testament to his quick wit and natural instincts as a pro wrestler.
Although Austin’s career was shortened by that neck injury, he still managed to wrestle for at least four full years afterwards. As soon as people learned that his neck injury was real, they flocked to see him even more than before because they were amazed at how tough he was to have done so despite suffering a serious neck injury.
#4 Triple H tears his quad…twice
Triple H is many things to many people, but one thing that can definitely be said about him is that he’s committed to WWE. He has shown this many times throughout his career, but two notable examples include both occasions on which he tore hid quads.
The first time, in a famous match on RAW in 2001, HHH tore his quadriceps muscle completely off the bone and was soon seen writing in pain because he literally could not put any weight on that leg.
But he didn’t call the match off; instead, he went with the match as it was supposed to, which included him spending a long time in the Walls of Jericho (with a torn quad). Say what you will about ‘worked’ wrestling moves; having your leg stretched while a muscle is completely torn off the bone must be excruciating.
Then, of course, he suffered the same injury years later (albeit to the other leg) and still came back and performed as if the injury never happened. Now THAT takes passion and commitment.
#3 Hiroshi Tanahashi gets stabbed
During the early 2000s, Hiroshi Tanahashi was one of several men that NJPW hoped would carry the promotion into the 21st century, especially after Antonio Inoki’s obsession with MMA caused the company significant problems.
In 2002, Tanahashi was teaming with another up-and-coming star Kenzo Suzuki, but that came to an end later that year following a real-life injury that Tanahashi suffered. He was stabbed twice by a woman he was dating at the time, and that woman later confessed that she wanted to kill Tanahashi and then would’ve committed suicide. The craziest part is that Tanahashi, who had a knife lodged in his body, took his scooter and drove himself to the hospital.
This incident was widely reported in Japan, as crimes like these are rare. That resulted in a widespread desire to see Tanahashi recover and return to the ring. And when he did, he wrestled in front of a sold-out crowd in Tokyo, which did wonders as NJPW was really struggling as a promotion at the time
#2 The Undertaker gets burned for real
The Undertaker has long been known for his toughness and commitment to WWE, no matter how much pain he might be in. Stories have been told of him working with taped ribs, wrestling in long matches after getting his stomach pumped, and even climbing up a cell with a broken ankle.
But the key in all of these things is that ‘Taker kept these injuries concealed. He couldn’t do the same when he got set on fire for real, though.
At the 2010 Elimination Chamber PPV, the pyrotechnician responsible for the flame columns that were part of his entrance mistimed the flames, resulting in the Undertaker getting engulfed in flames not once, not twice, but three times in quick succession.
So what does the Undertaker do? He simply jolts forward and no-sells fire. He climbs into his pod as planned, stays in there for a long time as planned (though not without dousing himself in water to ease the pain), wrestles the match as planned, and even ends up in the Walls of Jericho with his burnt torso being pressed against the ring canvas as planned. All as if suffering second degree burns never happened at all.
So if there was ever any wonder why there is such widespread respect and reverence for the Undertaker, this is a very good reason.
#1 Mick Foley
Mick Foley is known as the ‘Hardcore Legend’ for the pain he has put himself through over the decades and for seemingly being indestructible. He proved this many times with his wide array of ultraviolent matches and incredible bumps. But none of those top his famous Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998.
The first (and planned) fall from the top of the cell and through the announce table was brutal enough. But the second one, the unplanned fall through the cell and into the ring, was not. Foley suffered multiple injuries during both the first and second falls.
These include a dislocated shoulder, a severe concussion, a dislocated jaw, and a tooth hanging from his nose after being dislodged due to him being hit in the face with a chair as he fell.
After this match, both Foley and Undertaker received standing ovations, and Foley himself became a legendary man as a result. Although the immediate aftermath of this match was somewhat sluggish, Foley eventually became WWE Champion and was immortalized as one of the bravest and toughest men to ever set foot in a WWE ring.
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