Horrifying Injuries That Changed Wrestlers FOREVER
2. Nikki Bella
"We don't talk enough about Nikki Bella's wrestling career" feels like the start of an extremely insincere engagement account on social media testing the waters on another trending discussion, but...we probably genuinely don't talk about Nikki Bella's wrestling career.
Developing into more than her role had ever afforded her by 2015, Bella began making the most of extremely limited run-times (and preposterous segments with her sister Brie), and served as the perfect cross-generational gatekeeper between the departing Divas era and the heavy-handed "Women's Evolution" brought about by the promotion of three of NXT's Four Horsewomen.
She also paid the price physically, going under the knife for serious neck surgery during the sea change and being forced to change her finisher in order to not do further damage. Her 2016 return brought with it a terrific and underrated feud with Carmella, but the realisation of the physical risks clearly weighed heavy. She eased her way into retirement over the subsequent years, legacy at long last assured by an important reappraisal of her best years.