10 WWE Superstar Careers Completely F****d By Injuries
10. Chris Nowinski
A contestant on the very first season of Tough Enough, Chris Nowinski had one thing going for him that put him above everybody else: his college degree. Yes, the fact that he graduated from Harvard University was enough to overlook the fact that he was greener than grass, and Nowinski was offered a WWE contract despite losing to Maven in the competition. To his credit, Nowinski got better, and was primed for a midcard heel role on Raw. That is, until the 2003 Royal Rumble. He took a double top-rope move from Edge and Rey Mysterio and suffered a severe concussion that he suffers symptoms from to this day. Nowinski tried to wrestle a couple more months in 2003 before being forced to retire from his injuries. There is a silver lining to this sad story, though. Because of his experiences with post-concussion symptoms, Nowinski co-founded the Sports Legacy Institute, which researches brain trauma in athletes. The institute was one of the loudest voices during the Chris Benoit tragedy that linked Benoits behavior to his brain function, as a result of numerous concussions Benoit had suffered throughout his career.
