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Before I begin, I'd like to list a few honourable mentions -- Rusev breaking his foot in 2015, Cesaro tearing his rotator cuff in 2015, Batista tearing his triceps in 2006, and Bray Wyatt injuring his back and then his calf in 2016. There are several other instances of wrestlers getting injured at inopportune moments, so please leave your own examples in the comments below. Anyway, I digress:
As I've said in previous Top 10 lists, pro-wrestling does, in fact, hurt. It hurts much worse on WWE's insanely taxing schedule, which sees wrestlers putting on multiple matches a week all year round. And when they're not wrestling, they're travelling. They pretty much have no time to rehabilitate or nurse nagging injuries. Some wrestlers have been more lucky than others, but these ten wrestlers could not have gotten hurt at a worse time.
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Without further ado, here are the 10 most poorly timed injuries to have happened in the WWE since 2010.
#10. Sami Zayn dislocates his shoulder (2015)
Sami Zayn was tearing it up on NXT for over two years, putting on great matches with pretty much anyone he faced and heroically winning the NXT Championship from (Adrian) Neville in 2014. WWE fans and indie smarks alike were aching to see what the former-El Generico would bring to the main roster.
Then finally, on the May 4th, 2015 episode of Monday Night RAW, our prayers were answered, as hometown-boy Sami Zayn answered John Cena's U.S. Title Open Challenge.
He got injured before the match even started.
During his entrance, specifically his fervent air-punching, Zayn threw his shoulder out. Apparently, he felt the pop right away but ignored it so he could appease the Montreal crowd. It wasn't until Zayn took a back suplex from Cena that he knew something was wrong.
Even though his he knew that his arm was quite literally hanging from outside its socket, Zayn ended up finishing the match, looking wonderful in defeat. Unfortunately for Zayn, the injury would sideline him for seven months and forced him to drop his NXT Championship to Kevin Owens.
The positive side of the injury, however, was that he was able to come back to NXT upon returning to wrestle an incredible match with a debuting Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in 2016. If he hadn't been injured, he likely would have stayed on the main roster, so we likely would not have gotten that match. I guess every cloud has a silver lining.
#9. Big Cass tears his ACL (2017)
Big Cass had just freshly turned heel on former partner and human-rockhopper penguin Enzo Amore in June of 2017, and he seemed destined for some sort of push. He would regularly dominate Amore in their matches, he was starting to get audible heat from the crowd, and he even scored a victory over The Big Show at 2017's SummerSlam PPV.
And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
The night after SummerSlam, Cass was booked in a Street Fight against Enzo, which was clearly meant to end the feud and send Cass to greener pastures. When Cass went for his signature big boot, Enzo pulled the rope down, sending Cass tumbling to the outside of the ring. On his way down, Cass' knee slammed hard onto the floor.
Though he tried to continue the match as planned, he was clearly having trouble bearing any sort of weight on his leg. Cass collapsed to the mat, and the match was called off. It was later revealed that Cass had torn his ACL and that he would be on the shelf for a minimum of nine months.
Big Cass may be limited as a performer, but nobody should have to suffer this kind of injury, especially when they were just starting to pick up steam.
#8 - Hideo Itami injures his shoulder, returns, then injures his neck (2015-2016)
Hideo Itami was one of NXT's first major indie signings. The man had been putting on absolute barn-burners for over a decade in Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Noah as "KENTA". Needless to say, fans were ecstatic.
Toiling in a pointless feud with The Ascension for his first few months with the brand in 2014, Itami finally seemed as if he was being built up as a top guy for NXT in early 2015. A couple of months into his push, in May of 2015, Itami suffered a legitimate shoulder injury that was supposed to put him on the shelf for six months. Fast forward to January of 2016, eight months later, and Itami still wasn't back. Apparently, he was having some major complications with his shoulder, leaving him with no timetable for a return. Finally, he returned in June of that year at an NXT live event, then made his televised return in August.
Two months later, he went down again.
At an NXT Live event in October 2016, Itami injured his neck following a botched powerslam from the far-less-experienced Riddick Moss. Again, there was no timetable for his return and no word on the severity of the injury. He finally came back in April of this year and has been healthy ever since, but has mostly been used to put other wrestlers (such as Aleister Black) over.
We'll see soon enough whether he undergoes a career renaissance on the main roster, but as of right now, Hideo Itami's pair of injuries have rendered him directionless in NXT. A former heavyweight champion in his own right -- a title he held in Pro Wrestling Noah, deserves so much more and we can only hope the stars come together for the Japanese legend.
#7 - Tommaso Ciampa ruptures his ACL (2017)
Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano seemed to be a perfect tag team. Both were outstanding technical wrestlers in their own right, with Gargano employing a more mat-based approach and Ciampa being more of a stiff brawler. It seemed only a matter of time before the two natural babyfaces, who called themselves #DIY, would capture the NXT Tag Team Championships.
And they did.
In what was quite possibly the best tag team match in WWE history, #DIY felled The Revival to capture the gold at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in August of 2016. The duo held the titles for about five months, continuing to put on excellent matches throughout their reign, before dropping the belts to The Authors of Pain at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio in January of this year. Immediately after losing their one-on-one rematch at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in May, Ciampa turned on Gargano, cementing his heel turn and setting up a feud between the two.
Unfortunately for everyone, it was revealed soon after that Ciampa had ruptured his ACL, benching him for about ten months. Him and Gargano could have created magic together in NXT, but sadly, it was not to be.
#6 - Dash Wilder breaks his jaw, returns, then Scott Dawson ruptures his bicep (2017)
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder go hard, all day, all night, and evidently, it gets both of them injured at two separate and wholly inconvenient times.
Without a doubt, The Revival is one of the best tag teams going today. The two appear to have mastered the subtle art of tag team wrestling psychology, emulating the tandem technical mastery of various old school tag teams, such as The Brain Busters. As of this writing, they are the only tag team to have captured the NXT Tag Team Championships on more than one occasion.
So, when they showed up on the RAW after WrestleMania 33 on April 3rd, fans were rightfully pumped. Would we see The Revival face The Hardy Boyz in a proverbial "passing of the torch"? Would we see them face off at The Club in a dream match? Would they decimate Enzo and Cass?
Well...we were supposed to, anyway.
Eleven days after their debut, Wilder fractured his jaw at an NXT Live event. He and Dawson started a brief non-wrestling role that saw them falsely accused of attacking Enzo Amore backstage, then they finally returned on July 10th to attack The Hardy Boyz. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Dawson had ruptured his bicep, which would require at least five months to recover from.
Let's hope the "Top Guys" return to the top of the tag team division once they're healthy again.
#5 - Dolph Ziggler gets a concussion (2013)
For the last decade or so, Dolph Ziggler has been one of the more talented wrestlers on the roster. When he won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in 2012, fans were elated to know that someone as deserving as Ziggler would eventually earn the company's top prize.
And eventually, he did - the night after WrestleMania 29, Ziggler successfully cashed in his briefcase on Alberto Del Rio, making him the new World Heavyweight Champion in one of the most genuine "feel good" pro-wrestling moments in recent memory.
If you blinked, you missed his title reign.
A little over a month into his reign, Ziggler suffered a concussion during a match with Jack Swagger on SmackDown. He didn't have to relinquish the title, but he did have to miss his scheduled Triple Threat match between himself, Swagger, and Del Rio at that year's Extreme Rules PPV. He came back a month later, only to drop the title to Del Rio at Payback. Though he came close on a couple of occasions, he would never taste championship gold again.
Now, it seems as if WWE is making a concerted effort to ensure that no one ever sees Dolph Ziggler as a main-eventer ever again.
#4 - Seth Rollins tears his ACL, his MCL, and medial meniscus (2015)
For a while there, Seth Rollins was the best heel in WWE and, arguably, the best heel in pro-wrestling. As WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Rollins played the role of the cowardly heel to perfection, leaning on The Authority to get him out of his jams and retaining his title by shenanigans in pretty much each of his title defences. It was evident that WWE wanted to make Rollins' eventual title loss a "moment," possibly even a "WrestleMania moment".
And then, much like many others on this list, he got seriously hurt at a house show.
In November of 2015, at a WWE Live event in Dublin, Rollins attempted a Sunset Flip Powerbomb on Kane. He came down from the ropes awkwardly, jerking his knee around something fierce. It was later revealed that Rollins had torn just about all of the ligaments and cartilage in his knee, specifically his ACL, his MCL, and his medial meniscus. Projected to be out for six to nine months, Rollins was forced to vacate the championship after an admirable 220 days at the top.
He returned six months later and regained the title at 2016's Money in the Bank PPV, but lost it just moments later after Dean Ambrose cashed in the MITB briefcase that he had just won earlier in the night. Not only has he not held the title since then, but he has been somewhat mishandled since his return from injury. I hope to see him back in the main event scene soon, as he's objectively one of the most talented wrestlers on the WWE roster.
#3 - Finn Bálor tears his labrum (2016)
An internationally-acclaimed superstar and one of NXT's biggest signings/success stories, Finn Bálor was an obvious choice for a main-event talent on the WWE roster.
He made an immediate impact upon his Monday Night RAW debut in July of 2016, winning a Fatal-4-Way with Rusev, Cesaro, and Kevin Owens, then defeating Roman Reigns (clean!) in that night's main event. And with those victories, the match was set - it would be "The Demon King" Finn Bálor versus Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the newly-minted WWE Universal Championship.
Throughout the second half of the match, it was clear that something was wrong.
After taking a Release Powerbomb onto the barricade from Rollins, Bálor was in visible distress. It seemed as if he was making a conscious effort to keep his arm (the one he used to try to break his fall against the barricade earlier) from moving. Nevertheless, Bálor soldiered on and won the match, becoming the first ever WWE Universal Champion.
The next night, he was forced to vacate his title, as an MRI revealed that he had torn his labrum and would require surgery. The injury would keep him on the shelf for six months, and since his return to the main roster in April of this year, he has yet to receive his one-on-one rematch for the title that he never lost.
#2 - Edge's cervical spinal stenosis catches up with him (2011)
Would you look at that - another World Champion getting injured during their reign! If you're noticing a trend here, good.
Anyway, brief history lesson - Edge suffered a serious neck injury back in 2003, which apparently plagued him for the remaining eight years of his career. After racking up a series of unrelated injuries over the years, he returned at the 2010 Royal Rumble and won it. He would remain in the main event for several months before finally winning back the World Heavyweight Championship in December of that year. He would hold onto the title through WrestleMania XXVII, where he successfully retained the title against that year's Rumble winner, Alberto Del Rio.
This would be Edge's last match.
A week later, on April 11th, 2011, Edge revealed to the crowd that he had been wrestling through a considerable amount of pain over the last few months. Despite passing strength tests and making it through WrestleMania, WWE insisted that the Rated-R Superstar get a few more tests. He acquiesced, and tragically, the tests revealed that he would have to relinquish his title and retire from professional wrestling for good.
The diagnosis was cervical spinal stenosis, a bone disease that narrows the spinal canal in the neck. Assuredly the product of chronic degeneration stemming from his 2003 neck injury, Edge was very lucky he caught this when he did because he could have ended up paralyzed or even dead if he continued to wrestle.
Yet another case of a legendary career brought to a premature end.
#1 - Daniel Bryan compresses a nerve in his neck, returns, then gets his tenth diagnosed concussion (2014-2015)
One could feasibly argue that Daniel Bryan is the greatest babyface in WWE history. A naturally-likeable plucky underdog, Bryan was easily the most technically gifted wrestler on the WWE roster in the early 2010's. When he finally won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX, the crowd reaction was deafening. It was such a remarkably cathartic moment in wrestling history that it gave birth to the now-banal "you deserve it" chants. Long story short, it was awesome.
And then he got two bits of bad news.
Shortly after WrestleMania, Bryan's father passed away. Then, he started losing feeling in his right arm, to a point where he couldn't even unlock his car door. He discovered that he had a compressed nerve root in his neck, which would require a minimally-invasive surgical procedure to correct. Because "minimally-invasive" implied "not too severe," Bryan held onto his Championship, as WWE assumed that he would be back soon.
Months later, he was still in pain. As a result, he was stripped of the Championship in time for that year's Money in the Bank PPV, and doctors could not provide a timetable for his return. There was even some buzz that the injury would force Bryan to retire altogether. Luckily, on December 29th, he revealed that he would be wrestling in the 2015 Royal Rumble and would not have to retire.
Yet.
Despite the fact that he was still the most over babyface in the company upon his return, WWE refused to give Daniel Bryan his contractually-obligated rematch for the title he never lost. Instead, the rub was given to Roman Reigns, much to the crowd's disdain. Still, Bryan would end up winning the Intercontinental Championship in a thrilling multi-man ladder match at WrestleMania 31.
Just weeks later, he was gone again.
His scheduled title defence against Bad News Barrett at 2015's Extreme Rules PPV was cancelled, as Bryan was deemed "medically unable to compete". A month later, Bryan announced that an MRI revealed that he would have to go on the Disabled List for an undetermined amount of time...again. So, he would have to relinquish his championship...again. Once more, fans waited with baited breath, wondering if Bryan would eventually return or whether he would be forced to retire.
Sadly, it was the latter.
In February of 2016, Daniel Bryan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Though he felt like he could wrestle, a new test revealed that Bryan's reflexes had slowed down and that he had a small lesion on his brain, which explained his post-concussive seizures. He did not want to retire (and he still doesn't), but the revelation forced his hand. Absolutely heart-wrenching.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
