Injuries in WWE and other professional wrestling companies are quite common. Superstars competing inside the squared circle deal with countless minor and major injuries throughout their careers. In certain cases, wrestlers are able to work through the injuries but not everyone is lucky in this regard. Every year, countless performers spend considerable time away from the action to heal their bodies.
Ahead of AEW Full Gear 2020 which featured the dream match between FTR (fka The Revival) and The Young Bucks, it was revealed that Matt Jackson was heading into the match with an ACL injury. After fans expressed concern over Matt Jackson not being able to work Full Gear, the EVP of AEW assured everyone that he would be at the event.
Interestingly, Matt Jackson isn't the only Superstar in the history of professional wrestling to participate in a big match whilst injured. In fact, countless WWE Superstars have done the same over the years.
So, without any further ado, here are five WWE Superstars who were injured going into big matches.
#5 Cain Velasquez (vs. Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel 2019)
On 2019's season premiere of Monday Night RAW, Brock Lesnar brutally attacked Rey Mysterio and his son, Dominik Mysterio. This prompted The Master of 619 to rope in an equalizer who turned out to be the retired MMA fighter, Cain Velasquez.
At UFC 121 (2010), Velasquez dethroned Lesnar as the UFC Heavyweight Champion after the latter had been at the top of the said division for over two years. With Brock Lesnar being booked as an unstoppable beast in WWE since 2012, fans were excited to see him square off against the guy who scored a TKO win over him in the first round.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez II was set for WWE Crown Jewel 2019. What could have been a unique MMA-style match turned out to be a one-sided fight that Lesnar won easily.
As per Dave Meltzer, Velasquez was not at his 100% due to heading into the bout with an injured knee. He said:
"Velasquez’s knee was worse than expected. The idea was always for a short match, with the Paul Heyman style Goldberg match lay out of big moves, but with Velasquez’s knee in such bad shape, they changed it to a match where nothing much happened. The belief is that he needs surgery."
Velasquez was released from his WWE contract post-WrestleMania 36.
#4 Sami Zayn (vs. Kevin Owens at WWE NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable)
With the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Samoe Joe, and (for a few months) Neville, NXT's main-event scene in 2015 was stacked. At TakeOver: Unstoppable, Zayn was set to challenge Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship after the latter had made his WWE main roster debut against John Cena two days prior.
However, the highly anticipated rematch between the best friends-turned-rivals didn't turn out to be an instant classic and ended with Owens retaining his title via referee stoppage.
The reason why things were kept short and basic was that Zayn suffered a shoulder injury a few weeks before the aforementioned match took place. The Underdog from the Underground suffered the said injury before his US title match against John Cena on the May 4th episode of WWE RAW.
After his match with Kevin Owens, Zayn underwent surgery and remained on the sidelines for nearly seven months. After returning in December 2015, he would compete on the Black and Gold brand for a few months before moving to WWE RAW for good.
#3 Triple H (The Elimination Chamber match at WWE SummerSlam 2003)
Triple H reigned as the World Heavyweight Champion for nine months in 2003. After defeating the top WCW alumni (Scott Steiner, Booker T, and Kevin Nash), The Game was challenged by Goldberg. The two were set to collide at WWE SummerSlam 2003.
However, a few weeks prior to the bout, Triple H suffered a groin injury. While The Cerebral Assasin wouldn't take any considerable time off, his condition prompted WWE to change the Triple H vs. Goldberg match to an Elimination Chamber bout that also included Randy Orton, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho.
Triple H was smartly protected in the match and he won shortly after getting dragged out of his pod by hitting Goldberg with his signature sledgehammer.
The Game didn't have to take any major bumps in the match as it was basically a display of Goldberg's strength. The four-time World Champion managed to eliminate Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho and even broke through the glass of the pod with Triple H inside.
#2 Stone Cold Steve Austin (vs. The Rock at WWE WrestleMania XIX)
Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestled his final wrestling match at WWE WrestleMania XIX in 2003. After The Texas Rattlesnake had walked out of the company less than a year prior, fans were excited to see him return and close his legendary wrestling career on a convincing note.
His final match was against The Rock, whom Austin had defeated at WrestleMania XV and X-Seven. Due to their rivalry during the Attitude Era, it made the most sense for Austin to wrestle his final match against The Rock and complete the iconic WWE WrestleMania trilogy.
According to Jim Ross, this legendary encounter would have closed WrestleMania XIX if Austin hadn't spent the night before in the hospital. The three-time Royal Rumble winner was taken to the hospital due to dehydration. Moreover, the neck injury he sustained in 1997 had started to seriously bother him by the end of 2001.
While Austin would do everything in his power to make sure that his WrestleMania XIX match turned out to be an instant classic, he would hang up his wrestling boots after The Show of Shows.
#1 Shawn Michaels (vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WWE WrestleMania XIV)
Shawn Michaels is one of the few Superstars who had the responsibility of carrying WWE (then WWF) through a dark phase following the departure of numerous top Superstars including Hulk Hogan. Michaels, along with Bret Hart and The Undertaker, did a fairly good job of holding the fort while Stone Cold, Triple H, and The Rock moved up the card.
In 1998, Austin was completely ready to lead the company and it was Shawn Michaels' responsibility to put him over in a convincing fashion in order for the Attitude Era to fully kick in, resulting in a boom period for WWE.
At Royal Rumble 1998, Michaels suffered a devastating back injury that would force him to retire from in-ring action (until 2002). However, The Heartbreak Kid would work through his injury and put on a stellar bout with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV before temporarily stepping away from the action.
Given Shawn Michaels' over-the-top personality, he could have been a staple of WWE during the Attitude Era. Even though he didn't wrestle a match in WWE between WrestleMania XIV and SummerSlam 2002, he made several appearances in non-wrestling capacities.