5. Brian Pillman's Car Accident
Brian Pillman was commanding a large share of wrestling headlines in late-1995 and early-1996 with his "Loose Cannon" persona that was blurring the line between entertainment and reality in ways not seen by wrestling fans. This included him being fired for exposing Kevin Sullivan as the booker in WCW and gaining further attention following a controversial appearance at ECW Cyberslam that appeared to be setting up a feud with Shane Douglas. Pillman was the most talked about wrestler not on the WWE roster in the first half of 1996. Not to mention, "Flyin'" Brian was arguably one of the best in-ring performers in wrestling. In April of that year, Pillman would fall asleep behind the wheel and hit a tree stump, flipping his vehicle over. As a result of the accident, Pillman was in a coma for a week and had his shattered ankle fused, effectively grounding Pillman and changing his style for the remainder of his career. Though Pillman would sign with WWE in June 1996, the signing has the added significance of being the first guaranteed WWE contract. He wouldn't wrestle for almost a year after the signing, recovering from the accident, during which time he was used mostly as a guest commentator. While it is largely overshadowed by his passing in October 1997, and rightfully so, the car accident occurred when Pillman was at the height of his fame and made shorter a career that ended far too soon.