10 Moments Legendary WWE Careers Almost Died
1. Shawn Michaels: Casket Case
Trust a performer leaning on religion in his time of need to pull off the biggest resurrection in WWE history.
By the time Shawn Michaels stormed out of a post-WrestleMania XIV press conference, it wasn't just the fragility of his back causing him intense pain and earmarking him for a substantial period outside the limelight he'd just handed over to Stone Cold Steve Austin. Emotionally he was fraught, acutely mindful of the money and fame he was likely about to miss out on after giving his life and sanity to the company and loading a locker room with mortal enemies in the process. Not only was he walking away, but he was walking alone.
His back had been in bits since bouncing off a ringside casket during his Royal Rumble main event against The Undertaker in January, and a long recovery fed a spiralling drug addiction away from the ring. Eventually seeking help from Christianity in 2001, Michaels paired his mental reawakening with a physical reinvention to forge a post-2002 career many prefer to the original vintage. Still 'The Main Event', still the 'icon that could still go', Michaels was finally the one to decide himself when exactly the show would stop.