7 Brutal Injuries That Happened At The Royal Rumble PPV

Royal Rumble is the first big event of the year, so the fans are always excited for the first big pay-per-view of the year. It also embarks on the road to WrestleMania each year as the Royal Rumble winners get the opportunity of headlining the Show of Shows.

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Competing in the Royal Rumble isn't an easy task. Wrestlers entering at an early stage could end up spending over an hour in the match. Also, wrestlers could miss spots while eliminating each other from the ring. These are some vicious injuries that have taken place at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

7 Vince McMahon Tore Quads (Royal Rumble 2005)

The Royal Rumble match in 2005 had a bizarre ending. The final two participants of the match were two new rising stars, Batista and John Cena. In a botched ending, both Cena and Batista landed outside the ring simultaneously, leaving the fans in a big confusion. The referees couldn't announce a winner, so Vince McMahon had to take the matter into his own hands.

A furious Vince headed to the ring. But before he could enter the ring, he unintentionally smacked his knees on the mat, thus tearing both of his quadriceps. Mr. McMahon wasn't even in the match, but he ended up suffering one of the worst injuries in Royal Rumble history.

6 John Cena's Knee Injury (Royal Rumble 2004)

John Cena was still in his rookie days back in 2004. He surprisingly made it to the final six of Royal Rumble 2004. With Big Show left in the ring, the other wrestlers ganged up to eliminate the big man, including John Cena. The likes of Cena, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle attempted to take Big Show out but failed.

Then Big Show ended up eliminating John Cena, but that's when a botch happened. Cena landed awkwardly outside the ring and suffered a knee injury. He later mentioned in an interview that he tore his MCL. However, he continued to wrestle on a lighter schedule, showing his passion and hard work at a young age.

5 Shawn Micheals' Broken Nose (Royal Rumble 2008)

Shawn Michales was one of the participants of Royal Rumble 2008, entering the match at the number 2 position. Things were going well for HBK until Hardcore Holly entered the match at number 5.

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Hardcore Holly started stomping Shawn Michaels, but one stomp hit the latter right on the nose. Consequently, Michaels broke his nose. However, Michaels still gave a splendid performance with a broken nose by staying in the match for over thirty minutes before being thrown out of the ring by Mr. Kennedy.

4 AJ Styles' Separated Shoulder (Royal Rumble 2020)

Edge made his big return after nine long years at Royal Rumble 2020. He was certainly a huge surprise, as a loud crowd welcomed him back to the ring. But as soon as he returned to the ring after such a long period, he ended up injuring AJ Styles.

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Edge's spear took out AJ Styles, but The Phenomenal One landed awkwardly on his shoulder, resulting in a separated shoulder. However, Styles made clear later that Edge delivered the spear perfectly, but he was the one at fault.

3 Bobby Lashley's Shoulder Injury (Royal Rumble 2022)

Bobby Lashley won the WWE Championship by beating Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble 2022. Even though he won the battle against The Beast Incarnate, he left the battlefield with a big wound.

Bobby Lashley reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in that match, which WWE didn't like to reveal as he held the big gold. Following Royal Rumble, Lashley didn't wrestle until Elimination Chamber, where he was taken out of the match after suffering a concussion early in the match. While it was a kayfabe injury, Lashley was dealing with the shoulder injury from his Royal Rumble match with Lesnar.

2 Christopher Nowinski's Post-Concussion Syndrom (Royal Rumble 2003)

Christopher Nowinski was a bright talent in the Ruthless Aggression Era. He was one of the participants of the Royal Rumble 2003, but his career-ending injury happened in that match.

Rey Mysterio and Edge performed double missile dropkicks on Nowinski, but Edge botched the move. He landed right on the head of Nowinski, which caused a major issue in the match. With that botched move, Nowinski was eventually diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, which forced him to retire from professional wrestling a few months later.

1 Shawn Michales' Herniated Discs (Royal Rumble 1998)

When Shawn Michaels was one of the biggest stars of the company, he suffered a back injury that almost ended his career. HBK clashed with The Undertaker at Royal Rumble 1998 in a Casket match. Undertaker threw Michales outside the ring with a back body drop, but the move didn't end well for the latter.

While landing outside the ring, Michaels hit his back on the casket, resulting in herniated disks. Even though Michaels won the bout, a few months after the injury he was forced to retire. But four years later, Michaels recovered from the career-threatening injury and restarted his in-ring career.