10 WWE Stars Who Fought Through The Pain Barrier

4. Triple H W/ Steve Austin Vs. Chris Jericho And Chris Benoit - WWE RAW 2001

Triple H quad rehab 2001
WWE.com

Some of wrestling's most serious injuries seem to have been precipitated by something totally mundane.

This was the case for the first of Triple H's two quadriceps tears. Near the end of what some consider the greatest tag team match of all time - certainly the best in the history of RAW - he broke up Jericho's Walls of Jericho on Austin with a weak forearm to the back of the head. When he planted his foot down, his quadricep detached itself from the bone entirely.

It looked innocuous, but the impact, resulting from years of cumulative muscle building, felt to Trips that he'd been 'shot in the leg'. Hobbling out of the ring, unable to stand on his leg, he made the b*llsy decision to continue the match - and that included the planned Walls of Jericho spot on the announce table, which he told Fox Sports shortly afterwards felt like the longest thing he'd ever done in his life.

When asked why he made that decision, he stoically replied that 'the show goes on, right?'

Like the savvy businessman he (sometimes) is, Triple H rescued what might have been a disastrous scenario by engineering a face turn out of it.

In this post: 
Triple H
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!