12 Unluckiest WWE Injuries Ever

6. Finn Balor

Big Cass
WWE.com

Arguably the most hotly anticipated NXT call-up since the 2012 reinvention of the developmental brand, Finn Balor's immediate success during his July 2016 promotion to the main roster surpassed the wildest dreams of any 'Demon' supporter.

Winning a fatal four-way over Rusev, Kevin Owens and Cesaro, then scoring a pinfall victory over Roman Reigns to earn a shot at the brand new WWE Universal Title, Balor completed his improbable ascent by defeating Seth Rollins at August's 'Summerslam' Pay-Per-View to anoint himself the first champion of the post-Draft era of Monday Night Raw.

Despite gutting out the contest and snaring the title in a thrilling finish, Balor actually suffered a torn labrum less than five minutes into the match after falling awkwardly against the guardrail from a Rollins powerbomb.

Finn has since claimed he sensed the injury was indeed significant, but noted that he still felt able to complete the match, and did not anticipate the surgery that would be required shortly after.

Shelving him for up to six months, Balor had to immediately relinquish his newly-won title, and a post-WrestleMania 33 comeback failed to propel him to previous heights. Defeating Bray Wyatt a year on from the original devastation, he still finds himself on the long road back to Raw supremacy.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett