8. Triple H Tears His Left Quad May 2001
In late-May 2001, Triple H as half of The Two-Man Power Trip with Stone Cold Steve Austin was also co-holder of the Tag Team Championship. The WWE was firmly entrenched in the McMahon-Helmsley Era, and Triple H was one of the biggest stars on the roster. In a tag team title defence with Austin against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit on the May 21 edition of Raw, Helmsley tore his left quadricep while breaking up a Walls of Jericho attempt on Austin. Helmsley would somehow finish the match, even falling prey to the Walls of Jericho himself in losing the tag championships to Jericho and Benoit. Luckily for WWE, he had dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Kane the night before at Backlash. This career-threatening injury put an immediate and resolution-free end to the McMahon-Helmsley Era, putting Triple H on the shelf for eight months. The Game returned in January 2002 en route to winning the Royal Rumble and the WWE Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania 18. The injury couldn't have come at a worse time as WWE was gearing up for the Invasion after its recent purchases of WCW and ECW. This meant that WWE would be short of one of its biggest names for the entire program and while it's largely regarded as a flop for several reasons, Triple H was sure to be a big part of the story and his injury brought a change to those plans.