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Whenever a professional wrestler signs with WWE, their dream has to be to leave behind a legacy that others would strive to live up to. While certain Superstars achieve their goals in a short amount of time, others have to wait for years to reach the top of the mountain.
It goes without saying that the best performance from a WWE Superstar could be expected while they are in their prime. When they are young, athletic, and energetic enough to carry the sports entertainment giant on their shoulders, that's when the company can rely on them.
However, WWE Superstars are never safe from getting injured while performing or training. While some of these injuries could keep a performer out of action for some months or a year, others are much more severe and could force the Superstar to call it quits or at least start winding down their wrestling career.
Here are 5 WWE Superstars whose careers were cut short due to injuries.
#5 Daniel Bryan
It didn't take Daniel Bryan long to get the fans on his side once he arrived in WWE in late 2009. Throughout his WWE career, The American Dragon has portrayed different personas from a clear-cut babyface to a delusional villain vowing to save the planet.
Daniel Bryan is also a Grand Slam Champion and has put on stellar matches with some of the best in the business. In short, Bryan's WWE career is nothing short of a success story.
However, before he made his miraculous return in 2018, the five-time World Champion had to retire in 2016 due to serious injuries. Not only did this take two years off Daniel Bryan's career while he was at the top of his game, but these injuries also forced him to alter his moveset significantly.
Bryan had to relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight and the Intercontinental Championships in 2014 and 2015 respectively and spend the better part of these years out of action due to injuries.
Moreover, the 2011 Money in the Bank winner doesn't intend on wrestling regularly for long. Back in March, he said that his contract would expire sooner rather than later, after which he would like to perform in a part-time capacity.
Although one can compare Daniel Bryan's career trajectory to that of Edge, the latter was able to fully utilize his prime years in WWE. The only thing that The Ultimate Opportunist was robbed of was a perfect ending to his iconic wrestling career, which he would get to write now!
#4 Corey Graves
As one of the voices of SmackDown, Corey Graves has proven his worth as a commentator. He also has his own weekly podcast where top WWE Superstars and Legends appear and discuss interesting backstage stories. Overall, Graves is a valuable asset to the company.
But before he became a full-time commentator, Corey Graves was actually a prominent wrestler on NXT. Between 2012 and 2014, Graves feuded with the likes of The Wyatt Family, Sami Zayn, and The Shield. He even won the Tag Team titles with Neville (PAC) during his time on the Black and Gold brand.
However, after dropping the tag team gold, Graves and Neville entered into a heated feud with each other, during the course of which, the former suffered a serious concussion.
While Corey Graves was able to return to WWE NXT in 2014, he suffered another concussion shortly after, sidelining him from the action once again.
Due to the severity and frequency of the injuries, Corey Graves had to wrap up his in-ring career in WWE at the age of 30.
#3 Jason Jordan
When it was revealed that Jason Jordan was Kurt Angle's son back in 2017, WWE received criticism for it. For starters, Jordan's tag team with Chad Gable was among the best ones on the whole roster at that time. Secondly, the WWE Universe didn't think that Jason Jordan was ready to be a prominent singles player at that time.
However, with time, the 3-time Tag Team Champion proved why he was capable of being a bankable WWE Superstar. His slow heel turn towards the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018 made for an interesting storyline. All signs were pointing to him facing Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 34.
However, after Royal Rumble 2018, Jordan went under the knife to recover from a neck injury. While it was initially speculated that he would be out of action for over a year - similar to Edge's 2003 recovery timeline, things haven't gone quite to play for Jordan. It has been over two years now and there are no signs of Jordan returning to the ring
The fact that Jason Jordan had to move on from wrestling just when he was hitting his prime, and that he was robbed of an incredible opportunity to retire Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 35, was a pity.
#2 Paige
The Women's Revolution in WWE may have started with the main roster arrivals of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch but it was given the initial big push by the likes of AJ Lee and Paige. Paige, the inaugural NXT Women's Champion, made a huge impact on her first night on WWE RAW as she defeated AJ Lee to become the youngest Divas Champion at 21.
Paige's star started to fade in 2015, and injuries, controversies, and wellness policy violations heavily impacted her wrestling career after the summer of 2016. However, she was able to turn things around and made her triumphant return to WWE in November 2017.
By that time, Paige had realized that there was strength in numbers and brought along Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, and the trio referred to themselves as "Absolution". It looked like Paige was comfortable in her role as the villainous leader of a destructive trio.
But unfortunately, just a month later, she suffered a career-ending injury during a live event as she found herself at the receiving end of a stiff kick delivered by Sasha Banks. Not only would this injury prevent Paige from participating in the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match but it would also force her into retiring from in-ring action.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin played a vital role in the success of WWE during the late 90s. He was one of the cornerstones of the Attitude Era. Before the said era came into existence, Steve Austin suffered a career-threatening injury.
At SummerSlam 1997, Austin was at the receiving end of Owen Hart's failed attempt at executing a piledriver. The result of this disaster was that the three-time Royal Rumble winner broke his neck.
Even though Stone Cold Steve Austin was cleared to wrestle around three months after the SummerSlam incident, the injury would take years off his career. Between 1997 and 2003, Austin's neck injury, coupled with other injuries, would constantly bother him.
Even though he completely changed his style to that of a brawler in order to minimize further damage to his body in the squared circle, his injuries eventually caught up with him.
Stone Cold Steve Austin would stop performing for WWE on a full-time basis in the summer of 2002, and wrestle his retirement match at WrestleMania XIX, less than six years after breaking his neck.
While Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't wrestle for WWE for even a decade, he ensured to make every on-screen moment and match of his matter, and is considered one of the best in WWE history.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
