10 WWE Superstars Who Recovered From Disgrace
8. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels' post-2002 WWE career wasn't just a gift to the audience at large - it was the ultimate reward for an iconic performer who'd been prematurely parked. Sailing off rails he barely remained on following his emotionally exhausting run as WWE Champion in 1996, Michaels karmically reaped all he'd sown throughout much of the decade when an errant bounce off The Undertaker's casket during their Royal Rumble 1998 title match triggered a back injury thought to put him out of the game for good.
His final full year with the company up to that point had been his most controversial, with his drug dependencies manifesting for the world to see via multiple slurred promos and a toxic attitude towards his peers.
Frozen out of permanent residence during the Attitude Era, his appearances during the company's most profitable ever period were scant and broadly insignificant. A drug-induced backstage blow-up with best friend and impending company heir Triple H shortly before WrestleMania X-Seven seemed to mark the end of his fractious relationship with the organisation.
His son turning two years old (and thus being able to identify just how strung out he regularly was) teased Shawn towards a spiritual awakening, and by 2002 he was around a year clean and astoundingly able to make an in-ring return at SummerSlam. He'd work at the very highest level until his eventual WrestleMania XXVI retirement in March 2010.