10 Injuries That Changed WWE History
8. Matt Hardy
When Matt Hardy injured his knee midway through a tepid 2004 rivalry with Kane, nobody could have predicted the ramifications it would have had on his own life as well as WWE's future main events.
Hardy spent nearly a year rehabilitating, forcing an unwelcome separation with real-life girlfriend Lita as she continued to travel on WWE's relentless road schedule. It was during this time she began an affair with Edge, having developed a relationship with him during his time driving with her in Matt's place.
Hardy's reveal of their wrongdoings online initially saw him fired in April 2005, but overwhelming fan support over the injustices he'd suffered saw him make a return to television that summer. Making chicken salad out of chickensh*t, the two feuded on television to pay off the real animosity crowds had been fully aware of since Hardy's internet revelations.
In the strange way wrestling works, a challenging six month spell for Edge ultimately became the catalyst for his ascension to WWE's upper echelon. He'd struggled to gel as both a face and a heel since returning from a lengthy neck injury in the 2004 Draft. His real-life misgivings gave fans a real reason to despise him, and he basked in their disdain.
Ridding Matt from Raw in late-05, he'd win the WWE Title at January 2006's New Year's Revolution pay-per-view, kicking off a rivalry with John Cena that would be repeatedly revisited throughout the year.