5 WWE Superstars who turned their career around after a major injury

WWE superstars are aware that they are part of a contact sport. This means that injuries are a by-product of their daily lives and each star has a certain routine that they regularly partake in to ensure that injuries are minimal.

Often there are times when injuries can not be prevented, this happens a few times a year in WWE and sometimes wrestlers will be sidelined for more than a year, be written out of any storylines and all but forgotten by the WWE Universe.

.@WWEDear A"I am tired of getting up every time I fall and trying to fight the fight I will never be able to win"From Injuries to obscurities... Tonight has defeated me in more ways than We knowIm not willing to give control away...But I know You are waiting-EM#SDLive

— Ember M.I.A. Palmer (@WWEEmberMoon) June 26, 2019

Many injuries mean that a superstar is unable to make their return, recently both Paige and Tyson Kidd have been forced out of action indefinitely following injuries, whilst Ember Moon has hinted that her recent Achilles tear could be the end of her career.

Surgery in the AM......makes you stronger. pic.twitter.com/7jB0YS4Ykf

— Triple H (@TripleH) November 6, 2018

Whilst some careers end through injury, others flourish and interestingly every WWE star on this list has been able to return bigger and better following a major injury.

---

#5. Triple H

The Game is one of the most recognizable names in WWE at present, but when he first came to WWE in the late 1990s he made a name for himself as a member of D-Generation X. Triple H then went on to be part of a storyline with Stephanie McMahon against the authority figures in the company at that time before suffering an injury at the worst possible time.

Triple H suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle mid-way through his main event match on RAW back in 2001. Despite the severity of the injury and the fact that the muscle had been pulled completely off the bone, The Game finished the match before undergoing surgery for what was seen as a career-threatening injury.

The injury brought an end to the McMahon-Helmsley storyline and kept Triple H out of action for eight months which meant that he missed the whole Invasion.

Triple H's WWE Return

When The King of Kings returned in January 2002 it was clear that he had been putting the hours in at the gym and the company rewarded him when he won the Royal Rumble a few weeks later.

Triple H went on to become WWF Champion in the WrestleMania main event, this was just his fifth World Championship reign, The Game has since gone on to become a 14-time World Champion, won The Royal Rumble for the second time in 2015.

Triple H is now the godfather of NXT where he continues to pass on his knowledge of the business to the next generation.

#4. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin is a name that still strikes fear into the hearts of the WWE Universe, but The Texas Rattlesnake may never have become the legendary figure in WWE history that he now is if he didn't overcome a career-threatening injury.

Steve Austin's 1996 King of the Ring victory was the beginning of his rise in the company after Austin 3:16 was born following the match. This rise hit a huge setback at SummerSlam when Austin legitimately broke his neck in a match against Owen Hart.

Austin was able to win the match with the help of Owen Hart, but the injury caused him to be sidelined for more than a month and meant that The Rattlesnake had to change his entire in-ring style. Austin went from being a technical wrestler to a brawler and after settling his issues with Hart at Survivor Series in 1997, Austin went after The Rock and in turn Vince McMahon.

It was the storyline with Vince McMahon throughout the late 1990s that defined Austin and his WWE career. In the end, the injury did cut Austin's career short, but the former World Champion had already become a living legend at that point.

#3. Lita

It's hard to remember Lita's WWE career before her singles run where she was able to pick up three of her four Women's Championships. Ahead of the WWE Hall of Famer's neck injury back in 2002 Lita was part of Team Xtreme alongside Matt and Jeff Hardy, this was where she established herself in the business and won her first Women's Championship.

Whilst filming a scene on Dark Angel, Lita believed that she had suffered a minor neck injury, but a CAT scan revealed that she had suffered three cracks in her vertebrae and would require surgery. The former Champion missed 17 months of action and when she returned to WWE Matt and Jeff Hardy had already split as a team.

Lita's return in 2003 led to a singles run where she established herself as one of the best female wrestlers of her time, winning three more Women's Championships. Lita even main evented an episode of Monday Night RAW alongside Trish Stratus in 2004, more than a decade before the current Women's Revolution.

#2. Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels is seen as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but if his WWE career had come to an end when he suffered a back injury in 1998, then Michaels' career would have been less memorable.

Shawn Michaels spent the early part of his WWE career as a member of D-Generation X before he became the first-ever Grand Slam Champion back in 1997 following his European Championship victory over The British Bulldog.

Following The Montreal Screwjob at the end of the year, Michaels stepped into a feud with The Undertaker and it was during a casket match at the '98 Royal Rumble that Michaels herniated two of the discs in his back and crushed one completely.

Michaels believed that his wrestling career was over and opened his own training school whilst still making regular appearances on WWE TV.

After 18 months on the sidelines, Michaels returned as a surprise member of the NWO before entering an incredible rivalry with former best friend Triple H. It was a rivalry that went on to define his career before DX Reunited back in 2005.

Michaels has since become one of the most recognizable stars in the business and is now a four-time World Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer.

#1. Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins had already made a name for himself as a former NXT Champion before he debuted at Survivor Series back in 2012 as a member of The Shield. Whilst part of The Shield, Rollins became a WWE Tag Team Champion and turned on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose less than two years after their debut in order to work with The Authority.

The Authority helped Rollins to the Money in the Bank contract and his first World Championship win, but merely months after Rollins dethroned Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, he was sidelined with a career-threatening knee injury. Rollins tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus as part of a match against Kane in Ireland. The injury forced Rollins to relinquish the WWE World Championship and sidelined him for more than six months.

Rollins returned to WWE TV at Extreme Rules back in 2016 and targetted the Championship he had never lost, before going on to feud with Triple H. Rollins has since become a two-time Universal Champion and is currently seen as The Monday Night Messiah, a character that has redefined his career.