As all wrestling fans are surely aware, a recent knee injury has put WWE Superstar Seth Rollins’ status for WrestleMania 33 in serious jeopardy. That injury was reportedly an MCL tear and would knock him out eight weeks, which means he could return just betore the company’s biggest show, set for April 2.
If not, Rollins would be far from the first superstar to miss WrestleMania due to injury, which isn’t surprising given the hard-hitting nature of professional wrestling. Here are five other times stars missed the top event for medical reasons.
Seth Rollins and Randy Orton (WrestleMania 32)
This one is cheating a little bit, but the connections here are interesting. At WrestleMania 31, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton put on a memorable match, as Orton countered a Curb Stomp to hit Rollins with a jaw-dropping RKO and gain the victory.
Of course, later that night, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to take the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but that reign ended when Rollins suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of action for several months that included WrestleMania 32. Orton also missed WrestleMania 32 after suffering a shoulder injury, but he’s headed for the main event this year after winning the Royal Rumble.
Rey Mysterio (WrestleMania 24)
At WrestleMania 22, Rey Mysterio shocked the world by taking down Randy Orton and Kurt Angle for his first world championship, but just two years later he missed the show with an arm ailment. He tried to fight through a biceps injury, but had to take some time off that kept him out of WrestleMania 24.
Mysterio’s career didn’t fall off, though, as he would win the prestigious championship again a few years down the road, and he remains popular while wrestling in other promotions to this day.
Triple H (WrestleMania 23)
Triple H got plenty of experience recovering from quadriceps injuries, having torn them in both legs at different portions of his career. The first time around, the timing of the injury didn’t affect his WrestleMania, but he wasn’t so lucky the second time.
After tearing his quad at New Year’s Revolution, Triple H had to have surgery and missed WrestleMania 23, which featured the Battle of the Billionaires between Vince McMahon and current U.S. President Donald Trump before he began his political career.
Steve Austin (WrestleMania 2000)
This injury would turn out to perhaps cost “Stone Cold” Steve Austin more than just a WrestleMania appearance, since the neck injury that kept him out of WrestleMania 2000 eventually ended his career. Originally sustained in a match against Owen Hart in 1997, the neck injury required surgery and a nine-month rehabilitation around the time of the 2000 event.
WrestleMania 2000 was an intriguing event for Austin to miss. The main event was a Fatal Four-way elimination battle for the WWF Championship that also featured a McMahon family storyline, which Stone Cold would’ve almost certainly been involved in had he been healthy.
Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 13)
Shawn Michaels has been a part of some huge matches at WrestleMania, included WWF Championship bouts at WrestleMania 12 and WrestleMania 14. In between, though, he missed WrestleMania 13 in 1997 due to a knee injury that required surgery.
Michaels had plenty of controversy surrounding him at that time, as a backstage feud with Bret Hart spilled over into the on-screen storylines. But regardless of timing, his injury and surgery were apparently very real.
