8 Wrestlers who suffered major health scares recently

Pro wrestling has gotten a lot of attention over the years due to the "scripted" or predetermined nature of the competition. Simply put, it's a form of entertainment - but one that people have no idea about the level of consequences there can be.

Due to the physical nature of pro wrestling, injuries have always been a risk and will continue to be as long as the industry exists. However, freak accidents and other things such as concussions can play a huge part in sidelining superstars for quite a while.

We don't always get to see it, but the behind-the-scenes part of the injuries can be even more painful - emotionally, at least. Given that they're in the ring doing what they love to do the most, it can be heartbreaking when certain health scares occur.

Normally, it requires superstars to take extended periods off and in some cases, they have, while in the others, they haven't. Given that a lot happens in one year, this article will be looking at the past year and some of the health scares that WWE superstars and even non-WWE superstars experienced.

---

#8. Carmella

The former Women's Champion suffered a health scare recently

This is the most recent addition on this list. Although Carmella gave no specifics whatsoever, she revealed on an Instagram post that she had been away from social media and on the sidelines due to suffering a health scare.

She mentioned the importance of taking care of our own bodies and seemed to hint that a freak accident had to do with it. It's likely that something that happened during a live event, but that's something we may only find out later. Until then, you can read Carmella's Instagram post in full below:

#7. Ric Flair

Wooo!

Ric Flair suffered a big health scare this past May. It's not really surprising to hear this because over the past few years, there have been multiple instances where Flair has gone to the hospital and one where fans were left to fear the worst.

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Flair revealed that they had found a blood clot in his lung.

They found a blood clot in my leg, which I've had for years. But a little piece had gone into my lung and they got rid of that. So I spent three days there cleaning it and I had fluid on my heart from all of the anesthesia from the three other surgeries

Thankfully, the storm passed really quickly this time and once the entire medical procedure and formalities finished, he was good to go. He said:

Then they fixed me and it was like night and day. The next day I knew I was as good as I had ever been. Prior to February, I was running at Level 7 on a Treadmill – that's how good I felt.

He also stated that he does plan to continue his "Ric Flair lifestyle", albeit with moderation:

"I'm not doing my thing like I used to drinking-wise, I'm gonna have a couple of beers, why not? I've come to realize that alcohol is not what caused the problem. It caused problems with my heart but it didn't cause the intestine problems."

#6. Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch was distraught prior to Survivor Series

Looking back at it now, it's very possible that this health scare resulted in Becky Lynch getting the main event spot at WrestleMania 35. Up until that point, it seemed as though the direction would be Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.

However, Becky Lynch gained unexpected momentum and with that, the SmackDown Women's Championship as well. In the build towards Survivor Series, there was one night where the women of SmackDown took over and Becky Lynch led the charge fearlessly.

During the entire scuffle, Nia Jax legitimately punched her head way harder than she should have and by the time the show ended, Becky Lynch's face was a covered in a crimson mask of blood.

It made for a great shot, without a doubt, but it also resulted in her having a concussion. After a medical evaluation, she was forced to pull out of her Survivor Series match against RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey.

It was a major disappointment as that was easily the most anticipated match on the card, but it was a necessary step by WWE. Concussions are no joke and the one that Becky Lynch received was very rough. She was lucky to get cleared as quickly as she did.

#5. Tommaso Ciampa

Heartbreak

Tommaso Ciampa was in the midst of what may have been the greatest NXT Championship reign of all time. It was first rumoured in February that Ciampa had been dealing with a major neck injury.

The worst was confirmed when WWE confirmed Ciampa's injury status. Around March, he underwent anterior cervical fusion surgery, one that's done to remove any pressure from the spinal cord. They also replaced the ruptured disc with a donor bone and also some bone from his hip.

In a Tweet following the surgery, Ciampa revealed that the doctor told him he was on "borrowed time" - quite a scary prospect, especially given that he was coming off the greatest run of his career.

Triple H revealed on a conference call after NXT Takeover: XXV that Ciampa had been cleared for non-physical activity, but is still far from recovery. He did admit, however, that Ciampa is ahead of schedule in terms of recovery.

Cleared for non-contact means you can’t do anything in this business. He’s ahead of schedule and doing extremely well. Ahead of schedule on all of it and moving along. But with the type of injury he had and the type of surgery he had, especially in this from a physicality standpoint, you’re not doing anything until you’re 100 per cent.

#4. Adam Rose

Adam Rose suffered quite the scare

You probably weren't expecting to see the South African former WWE superstar Adam Rose on this list, especially since he isn't even an active wrestler anymore. Regardless, he posted an update on Facebook before it got online, revealing that he had suffered a mild heart attack.

“Some news before it gets online. Had a mild heart attack scare on Saturday. Just letting everyone know I’m fine and at home already. Nothing to worry about. To all those that love me, I love you back. See you soon.”

While we do understand Adam Rose's point of view when it comes to downplaying his health scare, heart attacks on any level are not to be taken lightly. Whether it was mild or heavy, the fact of the matter is that it was still a major scare of sorts.

Thankfully, Rose appears to be fine and it's been four months or so since the incident. We hope for his sake that it was only a one-off issue and it hasn't reccured since nor should it reccur in the future.

#3. Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley

Dean Ambrose was a workhorse

Up until the end of 2017, Dean Ambrose had never taken sick leaves nor had he suffered any major injury. He was the iron man of WWE and was the most reliant person on the roster, but with every superstar, their body gives in eventually.

For Ambrose, it was a torn triceps tendon that required fixing and he revealed to The Monitor that an infection nearly cost him his life. And this wasn't just when he had his first surgery. He struggled during his second one in 2018 as well.

It was just one nightmare after another. It was a pretty challenging period of time to go through. I ended up having two different surgeries. I had this MRSA, Staph infection. I nearly died. I was in the hospital for a week plugged up to this antibiotic drip thing, and I was on all these antibiotics for months that make you puke and crap your pants.

He continued, saying:

My arm wasn't healing correctly, and my triceps. It's kind of an indeterminate period where I initially hurt it. ... By the time I finally went and got the first surgery, my triceps was already starting to atrophy and look weird. I wasn't able to flex my triceps for a really long time. And then the first surgery didn't really, something went wrong in the process. Probably due to that infection. It's kind of hard to say when that really even got in my body. ... But for a minute there, it was getting scary. By the time I got that second surgery, it was March, I think. My arm was so shrunken and skeletal that it was weird. I hadn't been able to move it or flex it in so long that I was starting to get scared I wasn't ever going to get it back.

Since then, the only injury he suffered has been an elbow infection that he got while working with NJPW.

#2. Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss had a scary few months

From the summer of 2018 until the midpoint of 2019, Alexa Bliss had been in a very weird place. For the first time in her WWE career, she was consistently on the sidelines after reports of suffering multiple concussions.

The first came at Hell in a Cell against Ronda Rousey, but didn't blame her for it happening. In the WWE 365 documentary, Bliss said:

Hell in a Cell happened, and I took a headlock takeover and when I did my head went straight into the mat. This stuff happens, it was no one's fault.

Bliss revealed that when she got her second concussion, she was made to go to different specialists, only realizing then that different kinds of concussions are treated differently. She feared that her career could be over.

There's so many different types of concussions and I didn't know that at the time. Each one had to be treated differently and the fact that I didn't know what was going on with my brain and didn't know until I saw the concussion specialist, it made me very scared.

She suffered another concussion before Money in the Bank 2019 which forced her to pull out of the ladder match. Not much information was disclosed about that injury.

#1. Roman Reigns

The biggest scare of them all

Given the somewhat drab nature of this article, we would like to end it with one that we know has a happier ending. The biggest health scare in wrestling over the past year was undoubtedly Roman Reigns.

He was the Universal Champion and one fine day in late October, he shocked the entire wrestling world by revealing that his leukemia had returned (fans had no idea that he dealt with it in the past).

At that moment, the entire wrestling world united in support of Roman Reigns and after vacating the Universal title, he rightfully went down low and made few public appearances.

The general expectation when he did announce his leukemia was that he wouldn't return earlier than 2020. People who had experience with leukemia and relatives who dealt with it revealed the painstaking procedure that patients have to undergo.

However, Roman Reigns shocked the world once again and it only took a few months before he returned and announced that he was in remission. It felt as though the entire wrestling world celebrated together and the announcement undoubtedly remains one of the greatest RAW moments in years.

He is back in full swing and has admitted that he only plans to wrestle full time for the next 2-5 years, depending on his health. Until then, we'll get to see The Big Dog in his full glory.