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| source// wwe.com |
WrestleMania is the showcase of the immortals, but the reality is that WWE superstars are very much mortal. That’s been demonstrated time and time again over the years, with several big name WWE superstars having to sit out the biggest show of the year.
It is a nightmare situation for Vince McMahon. He’ll plan out the best ‘Mania card imaginable, sometimes a year in advance, only to lose one of his biggest stars to injury in the months beforehand. It can cause the entire show to be rewritten, and in many cases match quality ends up dipping as a result.
More importantly, box office performance can be impacted by injury. Main event stars are often what make or break an event when it comes to pay-per-view buys. If one of the big headline stars is missing, it can be a reason for some fans not to bother.
For the wrestlers, it isn’t just their bodies that get hurt, their bank accounts get a whack as well. Everyone on the roster wants to work WrestleMania, not just for the prestige, but for the lucrative pay day it brings.
Fate has been cruel over the years, and the following are the biggest injuries to rock WrestleMania.
7. WrestleMania 13
Injured Star: Shawn Michaels
What Could Have Happened: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
Unlucky thirteen certainly proved true for WrestleMania, with the 1997 event a commercial disaster. It pulled only 237,000 pay per view buys.
Part of the problem was down to the abrupt injury suffered by WWF Champion Shawn Michaels. He vacated the title a month before the event, citing a knee injury and the fact he had “lost his smile”. He had been scheduled to drop the title to Bret Hart at ‘Mania, leading to accusations that he simply did not want to do the job for his real life nemesis.
McMahon ended up booking Hart to win the vacant belt on February 16 at In Your House Final Four, but then had him drop it to Sycho Sid the next night at Raw. That then set up The Undertaker defeating Sid for the belt at ‘Mania, while Hart worked with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Despite being a classic match up, it didn’t mean as much for business as a Hart-Michaels ‘Mania rematch would have.
6. WrestleMania 2000
Injured Stars: The Undertaker and Steve Austin
What Could Have Happened: The Undertaker vs. Steve Austin
WrestleMania 2000 was one of those shows which couldn’t fail given it came at the peak of the Attitude Era, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t rocked by some major injuries.
Both The Undertaker and Steve Austin had to sit out the show due to injury. Austin had to take a year off to have his broken neck fixed, and ‘Taker was dealing with a multitude of injuries including a groin and pectoral problem.
When it comes to losing big stars, it doesn’t get much bigger than names like Austin and Taker. Mania 2000 was definitely weaker without them, and there’s a chance they would have been facing each other at the event if fit. That would have been a tremendous match, and even bigger business for Mania 2000.
5. WrestleMania XIX
Injured Stars: Edge and Kurt Angle
What Could Have Happened: Edge & Chris Benoit vs. Los Guerreros vs. Team Angle
Heading into WrestleMania XIX, Edge was one of the WWE’s big babyface prospects. He’d had a solid 2002, including a tag title run with Hulk Hogan, and numerous excellent matches with the vaunted Smackdown Six.
But a month before ‘Mania, he was diagnosed with a serious neck injury and abruptly wrote out of storylines in a still-unexplained backstage attack at No Way Out. He was just there, spread out on the floor, and wasn’t seen again for a year.
Had he been fit, there’s a chance he would have went on to ‘Mania and won the tag team titles with Chris Benoit, before getting a big babyface singles push against champion Brock Lesnar in the summer. He had been due to tag with Benoit and Lesnar at No Way Out against Team Angle, but Rhyno ended up getting the slot alongside Benoit at ‘Mania.
The other big injury going into ‘Mania was WWE Champion Kurt Angle, with his banged up neck a major issue for him and the company. He was scheduled to drop the belt to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XIX in a highly anticipated match between the two decorated amateur wrestlers. Talk of his injury overshadowed much of the final ‘Mania build, with one rumour floating around at the time suggesting that WWE would change the belt to The Undertaker and have him put Brock over.
As it happened, Kurt made it to ‘Mania, only to tear his hamstring early into the action. Lesnar then suffered his own injury, when he sustained a concussion after his infamous botched Shooting Star Press. Amazingly, despite all the injury woes, it was a very good match.
4. WrestleMania 23
Injured Stars: Triple H and Rey Mysterio
What Could Have Happened: Triple H vs. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
Triple H had firmly established himself as one of WrestleMania’s most important performers by the time 2007 rolled around, having featured in the title match for the previous five ‘Mania shows.
But that success would come screeching to a halt, and there’d be no match at all for him at WrestleMania 23 after he suffered a torn right quadriceps at January’s New Year’s Revolution. The subsequent surgery put him out until the summer.
If he had been fit, suggestions are he would have gone on to win the Royal Rumble. The title match would have then been a WrestleMania rematch against John Cena, or a triple threat also involving Shawn Michaels.
Also missing at WrestleMania was Rey Mysterio. He was sidelined in late 2006 with a knee injury, wiping out whatever WWE had planned for him at the show of shows. Given that he’d won the World Title at the previous ‘Mania, surely he would have had a decent spot in 2007.
3. WrestleMania XXV
Injured Star: Batista
What Could Have Happened: Batista vs. John Cena
Vince McMahon’s planning for WrestleMania XXV was rocked by two of his biggest stars going out injured. It looked like the plan was for John Cena and Batista to do battle at SummerSlam 2008, with the big rematch coming at WrestleMania XXV.
WWE got as far as the SummerSlam bout, with Batista winning, but during the match both stars suffered injuries. Cena damaged his neck, and Batista hurt his hamstring.
Cena ended up taking time out to get the herniated disc repaired, and miraculously ended up returning by Survivor Series. But Batista soldiered on, only to eventually give in and leave for surgery in December for the hamstring tear. It killed any chance of the Cena versus Batista #II bout taking place at WrestleMania XXV, and WWE ended up doing it a year later at WrestleMania XXVI instead.
2. WrestleMania XXX
Injured Star: The Rock
What Could Have Happened: The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar
Vince McMahon already had his WrestleMania XXX main event in mind before WrestleMania 29: The Rock would go one on one with Brock Lesnar.
It was a match over a decade in the making, the long-awaited sequel to SummerSlam 2002. The plan was for a major Rock-Brock angle on the post-Mania 29 Raw, with the idea to do a year’s build for the showdown between the Hollywood star and the former UFC Champion.
But first, Rock had to battle John Cena in the main event of the 2013 show. During that match he suffered torn abdominal and adductor tendons. His agents and insurance people weren’t happy, basically putting Rock’s wrestling days on ice. Rather than shooting the Raw angle with Brock, the big-earning actor abruptly took off the day after WrestleMania 29 and WWE’s big anniversary plans were on the scrap heap.
1. WrestleMania 32
Injured Stars: John Cena, Seth Rollins, Sting, Cesaro, Neville, Randy Orton
What Could Have Happened: John Cena vs. The Undertaker, Seth Rollins vs. Triple H
This year’s WrestleMania is undoubtedly one of the most injury-afflicted in company history. The huge loss of John Cena to a shoulder injury is devastating. He was due to co-main event against The Undertaker, in what would have been one of the biggest ‘Mania matches of all time. Instead, fans are having to make do with Shane McMahon against ‘the Deadman’.
It is now a case of “what if?” Would ‘Taker have retired in Dallas, with a fitting finale against Cena? Would the franchise star have gone heel? Fans will now have to wait until at least WrestleMania 33 to find out.
The other big injury has been Seth Rollins. Having spent most of 2015 as WWE Champion, he was undoubtedly destined for a major main event at Mania 32. As the best wrestler in the world, he’s a huge loss, and is still some way off returning from his knee injury.
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