10 Injuries That Altered WWE's Landscape

Now to the longest injury lay-off on this list and one that had a seismic impact on the WWF landscape.

Shawn Michaels was in a bad place - both mentally and physically - towards the end of the century and his casket match vs. The Undertaker at the 1998 Royal Rumble showcased the first indications of an impending departure. Michaels took a brutal back body drop onto the casket, which caused him to herniate two discs and demolish one completely.

HBK plodded on until WrestleMania XIV and dropped the WWF Championship to a little known star - you may have heard of - in the form of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

Michaels would sporadically return in a commentary, referee and WWF Commissioner role for the company, but fans were deprived of his exceptional in-ring talents for the four years following his enforced retirement.

In that time, The Rattlesnake became the biggest star in the history of pro wrestling and Triple H, The Rock, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho all grew to the level of superstar main event players. You have to imagine that if HBK had been around to dominate the top of the card - as he'd done throughout the '90s - some of those now household names perhaps wouldn't have risen to prominence in the way that they did.

Michaels would return in 2002 and reclaim his spot as one of the top stars in WWE, but his absence definitely left some space for the next generation to set the world alight.