5 Wrestlers who finished a match while injured

Many people like to brand wrestling "fake", but fans of the sport will know that wrestling is anything but. Wrestlers go through years of training before stepping foot in a ring and have to perfect their moves so that they do not hurt themselves or someone else.

Even though WWE has moved away from the violence of the Attitude Era, the wrestlers risk their health every time they step into the ring.

There have been many times where a wrestler has gotten seriously injured during a match but their dedication to the fans and passion for the product have helped them win finish the match despite the pain.

These wrestlers have earned the respect of the fans who only discovered the extent of their injuries after the match. Fans acknowledge the fact that the wrestler fought through serious pain to finish the match for their entertainment. Here are 5 wrestlers who finished a match while injured.

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#5. Kurt Angle - Summerslam 2000

Angle after the pedigree

Kurt Angle is one of the toughest people to ever walk the planet. Angle won an Olympic Gold Medal with a broken neck in 1996 and then went on to become one of the best professional wrestlers ever.

At Summerslam 2000 Angle faced The Rock and Triple H in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. During the match Angle received a botched Pedigree on the announcers table and suffered a concussion.

The table broke under the weight of the two men and Angle landed hard on his head. Angle has said that he remembers nothing from the night and blacked out during the match. He credits Triple H and Stephanie McMahon with helping him finish the match. Despite the injury the three men created a very memorable match.

#4. Hardcore Holly - Smackdown 2002

Holly gets dropped on his neck

Hardcore Holly was a notoriously stiff wrestler during the late 90s and early 2000s. He would push around the young talent backstage and "shoot" on them during matches.

Before a match on Smackdown in 2002 Holly got into a backstage altercation with a young talent named Brock Lesnar. Brock allegedly decided to teach Holly a lesson.

During the match, Brock picked Holly up for a powerbomb and apprently "sandbagged" him, breaking his neck. Holly managed to finish the match with a broken neck and was able to take an F-5 for the finish.

This match proved that despite Holly's backstage reputation he was one of the toughest wrestlers on the roster.

#3. Finn Balor - Summerslam 2016

Finn Balor popping his shoulder back in

Finn Balor made a huge impact when he debuted on the main roster in 2016. He beat Roman Reigns clean on his first night on RAW and earned a chance to challenge Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at Summerslam.

"Demon" Balor arrived in Brooklyn and produced a fantastic match with Rollins. Early on during the match Balor dislocated his shoulder after Rollins power-bombed him into the barricade at ringside.

Balor was able to pop his shoulder back in and finish the match to become the first Universal Champion. Sadly he had to relinquish the championship on RAW the very next night.

#2. Mick Foley - King of the Ring 1998

King of the Ring 1998

At King of the Ring 1998 Mick Foley and The Undertaker produced one of the most famous wrestling matches ever. Mick Foley was thrown from the top of the cell, through the announce table and dislocated his shoulder. He somehow recovered from the fall and climbed the cell again.

Later during the match Foley took a chokeslam on top of the cell. The cell panel broke and he crashed onto the ring mat below. Referees and agents rushed to the ring to check if he was okay. Foley suffered bruised ribs, internal bleeding and a severe concussion.

Despite the injuries, he insisted that he must finish the match. Mick Foley earned the respect of every wrestling fan that night.

#1. Triple H - RAW 2001

Triple H in the Walls of Jericho with a torn quad

During the early 2000s Triple H was in the prime of his career. He was the top guy in WWE and had been out-performing the likes of The Rock and Steve Austin.

He and Austin were the tag team champions in 2001 as the "Two Man Power Trip". They were booked to lose the titles to Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit on RAW. Midway through the match Triple H tried to breakup a pin-fall and injured himself while entering the ring.

He tore his quadriceps off the bone. Despite the pain, HHH continued the match and even took the Walls of Jericho on the announcers table. The match is one of the best to ever take place on an episode of RAW and proved how dedicated Triple H is to entertaining the fans.