10 Injuries That Changed WWE History
6. Billy Gunn
As well as eliminating several huge paydays for the multi-time tag team champion, Billy Gunn's February 2000 shoulder injury forced an entire reinvention of the genre that completely froze him out upon his return.
The timing of his knock appeared to be one of those legendary moments of wrestling happenstance. Just a month removed from clinging onto the titles in a woeful match against fellow old hands The Acolytes at the Royal Rumble, the New Age Outlaws would see their penultimate reign terminated by upstart pairing The Dudley Boyz during an electric No Way Out pay-per-view.
Having assembled an astonishing tables match with the Hardy Boyz whilst Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Faarooq and Bradshaw were dogging it in the title match, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von were primed for the spot, and Gunn's injury ensured no rematch would be forthcoming for the former champions.
Instead, The Dudleys blazed a trail alongside Matt and Jeff, as well as Edge and Christian, with WrestleMania 16's triangle ladder match etching all six names in company history as well as instantly redefining what tag team wrestling in the Attitude Era could really be.
Repeated stellar showings between the three teams ensured diminished DX combos and their ilk were kept far away from the titles in a division completely transformed.