12 Wrestlers Who DESTROYED Their Bodies For The Business

There's no glory in this.

The true human sacrifice behind some of pro wrestling's biggest and best moments is felt long after the lights go down, the fireworks stop, and thousands of giddy fans file out of arenas or stadiums. Behind the scenes, some workers are in agony once the adrenaline wears off. Then, because this is wrestling and it takes pride in stubbornness and a relentless schedule, it's often been onto the next town for weary, frankly injured men and women who mask the pain. 

Sometimes, that has dire consequences. Many do live to tell the tale, but they do so as the walking wounded. A few can barely walk at all. They turn up for fan signings or other appearances with a limp, or look visibly done in when WWE or AEW books them for a special cameo. It's all about the money and the miles for wrestlers; then they need that money to pay for the damage done by those miles.

Incredibly, a few of the names here are still pulling on their boots and hitting the ring for matches on weekly television. They're nowhere near the athletic wonders they were in their respective primes, and they'll be in pain mid-match, but they're still doing it nonetheless. That speaks to the toughness (and maybe some of the stubbornness touched upon earlier). However, it's also sad to see people struggling physically because of the abuse they've put their bodies through for our entertainment.

These wrestlers practically destroyed their bodies to put on a show. They did it for pride. They did it for fans. They did it for wrestling.

Sadly, the physical toll was mighty.

Today, Chris Jericho's name pulls a sarcastic smile from many. He's an unwanted part of AEW's weekly product, and a lot of fans believe it's time for Jericho to either call it a day or return to WWE for a quick Hall Of Fame turnaround as 'Y2J'. Something darker lurks beneath the surface of visibly embarrassing matches on episodes of Dynamite or Collision though.

The guy formerly known as one of wrestling's most dynamic workers is physically fading rapidly.

Jericho himself would scoff at that then post a pic of his abs in the mirror. Cool, nobody's denying he works hard, but he's also a 54 year old wrestler who has been working a rugged style since 1990. That's a whopping 35 years of mileage on his body. Sure, Chris has taken some breaks here or there to focus on other projects, but still - he's wrestled thousands of matches, and a lot of them have been arduous on his joints, bones and muscles.

One need only glance at 30 seconds of any Jericho match in 2025 to tell you that he's slowing down to a crawl at points. Fire up social media and you'll find numerous fans making light of this, but it speaks to Jericho wrecking his body to keep going. Surely he's on the final few innings of an epic career. Embarrassing himself and his biggest fans with poor performances won't do anybody any good.

Only Jericho can tell himself to stop, but we're here now. He isn't even the same guy he was when AEW launched in 2019. A great mind for the business psychologically? Sure, but physically? It's a struggle to watch.