10 Wrestlers Who Sacrificed The Most To Become WWE Champion

6. Edge

After competing in several bone-shattering ladder and TLC matches, Edge suffered a severe neck injury, requiring major surgery that caused him to miss most of 2003. Within a few years, after a controversial real life love triangle involving Lita and Matt Hardy, he broke through the glass ceiling and became a bona fide main event player. From 2006 until his retirement in 2011, he went on to win 11 combined WWE World Titles, which puts him near the top of the all-time lists. It's pretty amazing considering his career almost ended when he was only 30 years old. Shortly after WrestleMania XXVII in 2011, doctors told him that his neck was in such bad shape that he couldn't take bumps anymore and was told to retire immediately, even though he was the World Heavyweight Champion. He was done at age 37 and, although Edge had planned to retire in 2012, it had to come as a shock to him. Any time a guy has to retire before he wants to it's pretty sad, but at least with Edge it's fair to say he's done well after leaving the business. His acting career landed him a role on the TV shows Haven and The Flash, so he's staying busy even if he can't wrestle again.