10 Injuries That Altered WWE's Landscape

9. Triple H's Quad Tear (2001)

Seth Rollins knee injury
WWE.com

Triple H has been unfortunate enough to find himself on the receiving end of multiple career-shortening injuries during his WWE tenure. That being said, The Game has always found a way to return to full strength and often at just the right moment.

When deciding on the father of NXT's most significant setback, you probably wouldn't have to look much further than his first quad tear midway through 2001. Yet, those months away from the ring would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Whilst The Cerebral Assassin was off rehabilitating, the then WWF found themselves overrun by invading personalities from both WCW and ECW. This left the likes of Kurt Angle and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin battling with the lesser names of WWF's former rivals and this in turn bled into the convoluted 'Invasion' storyline - which hurt more stars than it helped.

Luckily, Triple H missed the entire clusterf*ck and resurfaced to a ground-shaking ovation in January 2002. He then rode this momentum all the way into the main event of WrestleMania X8, becoming the Undisputed WWF Champion on the night.

His initial absence looked at first to be a hindrance. But, in keeping his face away from the pointless chaos that took place in the interim, Triple H felt undoubtedly fresh upon his return.

You could even argue that if his initial comeback hadn't been met with such overwhelming positivity, the Evolution leader's eventual reign of terror on Monday Night Raw might not have become the agonising reality it did - so you can probably blame his flimsy quad for that Booker T finish at WrestleMania XIX, too.

Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...