10 WWE Injuries That Came At The WORST Time
Careers, factions and storylines were all left shattered due to these disastrously timed injuries.
If you've been following WWE for any length of time, you'll likely be able to recall the company's "Don't Try This At Home" PSAs.
These short videos had wrestlers explaining the very real risks of wrestling, with the likes of former WWE champions Triple H, John Cena and Rey Mysterio explaining just how badly they'd been hurt when forced onto the injury list during their storied careers. After all, as JBL was wont to intone during his time as a commentator, "This ain't ballet!"
Professional wrestling may be performative, but the skill, athleticism and talent of its practitioners are very real - as are the dangers. Injury is the Sword of Damocles that hangs over the head of every wrestler on the WWE roster, and sometimes the blade descends at the worst possible moment in a wrestler's career.
To be clear, this writer isn't saying there's ever a good time for a wrestler to be injured (although if any contributor wants to try their hand at writing "10 Injuries That Actually HELPED a Wrestler's Career", have at it). But there's no doubt that some injuries arrive at the worst possible moment, derailing stories and stymying promising careers.
10. Kevin Owens Misses WrestleMania 41
When Kevin Owens looks back on his career, he can be proud of crafting three stellar WrestleMania stories: the disintegration of his relationship with Chris Jericho ahead of WrestleMania 33; his war against the Bloodline alongside Sami Zayn in 2023; and this year's blood feud against Randy Orton. Unfortunately, the last entry on the list was denied its proper conclusion on the Show of Shows.
Kevin Owens looked to be in the form of his life heading into 'Mania season. KO had excelled in his role as the scumbag heel by inciting savage wars against Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and - of course - Randy Orton. This meant fans were desperate to see Randy punt KO's head clean off his shoulders, but sadly those brutal bouts came at a cost - Kevin's neck simply couldn't withstand one more match.
Watching Owens admit he was physically unable to wrestle was desperately sad. Here was arguably the top heel in the business, looking utterly crestfallen as he lamented his inability to give fans the ending they had been clamouring for since he viciously attacked Randy months ago. Seeing the man behind the villain was heart-wrenching, and hopefully he'll be back to his best-worst self before too long.