Ember Moon & 9 Other Wrestlers Cursed To Be Injury Prone
The single most frustrating misconception of wrestling is that no one gets hurt for real. WWE regularly puts videos on their DVDs of wrestlers discussing numerous injuries they’ve suffered with “don’t try this at home.” No matter how well trained someone is, there’s always a chance for a freak accident to ruin a career. It’s no shock hardcore guys like Mick Foley have numerous injuries while other veterans have more than their share.
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Yet some workers seem flat-out cursed to get hurt time and again. Remarkably, some can overcome it and continue to be huge stars but others never fully recover. These injuries have ended title reigns and big pushes and in some cases, full-on early retirement. Even some who bounced back still suffer the effects and these 10 workers just seem fated to keep suffering nasty injuries, some at the worst time.
10 Tegan Nox
For someone only pushing 27, Tegan Nox has had some awful injury luck, which actually goes all the way back to when she was 13 years old when a knee injury ended her dreams of soccer stardom. She had to bow out of the first Mae Young Classic after tearing her ACL and the second had her scoring numerous injuries against Rhea Ripley.
Her injury history was referenced in a feud with Dakota Kai, but in a bitter irony, Nox tore her ACL for real in late 2020. She’s back wrestling now, but it’s awful how a rising star has endured more pain than workers twice her age.
9 The Undertaker
A key reason The Undertaker is so well respected is how he kept bouncing back even after some fantastic injuries. He had his nose broken by Mabel and took to wearing a mask to add to his character. During the famous Hell in the Cell match with Mankind, he had a broken foot and didn’t remember the Wrestlemania XXX match with Brock Lesnar because of a concussion.
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He famously was burned by pyro but still went through an Elimination Chamber match and suffered both eye and head injuries against Rey Mysterio while finishing the match. Maybe the man really is supernatural to keep going after all that.
8 Samoa Joe
When Samoa Joe was briefly cut in early 2021, the speculation was that WWE was concerned over his health. That’s a legitimate worry given Joe’s history of getting hurt. He managed to avoid it in ROH but tore his knee in 2006.
A knee injury in 2007 and a shoulder one in 2014 hurt his drive. In WWE, Joe hurt his knee, foot, thumb, and even his head while shooting a commercial of all things. His latest injury forced him to relinquish the NXT Title as Joe’s injury bug has harmed his WWE fame.
7 Randy Orton
It’s frankly amazing Randy Orton remains such a massive star given how much of his career has been on the shelf. He addressed on a DVD documentary that being born with hyperextended shoulders left him vulnerable to injuries.
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His first injury actually helped him as he crafted the “news updates” that made him a star. Since then, Orton has suffered bicep tears, concussions, needed several shoulder surgeries, and more. It’s a sign of the faith WWE has in him that Orton keeps coming back as strong as ever and still giving his all in the ring despite his rough health.
6 Batista
Given he entered wrestling in his 30s, maybe it’s no shock Batista’s body suffered more than other workers. The first big one was a biceps tear in 2003 that threatened his spot in the newly formed Evolution.
More injuries piled up, requiring him to give up the World Title in 2005 for surgeries. A few more minor injuries followed before putting him out of action in 2008 with a torn hamstring. A couple more followed before Batista finally moved from wrestling to acting. Whatever else, at least his Hollywood career avoids more hospital time.
5 Rey Mysterio
Refusing to stop working even in his 40s, Rey Mysterio can still pull out some terrific matches. That’s more impressive given the long line of injuries he’s suffered in his career. He had a few minor ones in Mexico and WCW but managed to handle them well.
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It was in WWE that injuries started piling up, the first major one being a right biceps tear in 2008 that required three surgeries. He had another in 2011 then the irony in 2013 of a fake injury for time off only to suffer a legit knee break when he came back. More have followed, including a torn left bicep in 2018.
4 Edge
His remarkable comeback in 2020 doesn’t take away from Edge’s sad history of nasty injuries hitting at the wrong moments. It all started back in 2002 with a fall off a ladder, although the full effects wouldn’t be felt for months and put him on the shelf until early 2004.
His reign as IC Champion was ended by a groin pull and three years later, Edge had to vacate the World Heavyweight championship after tearing a pectoral muscle. All that neck damage piled up to lead to his retirement in 2011. Then, after he did come back in 2020, he tore a tricep against Orton, putting him right back on the shelf again. One has to wonder how Edge’s career could have been even better without all those bad breaks.
3 Ken Kennedy
The saga of Ken Kennedy is almost sad. This was a man bursting with potential as soon as he hit WWE in 2005. Skilled in the ring, a great presence, and sensational on the mic, Kennedy looked set for the main event in no time flat. The first blow was a lateral tear in December of 2005, putting him on the shelf for six months. Then came a nasty shot requiring 20 stitches.
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Then, in May of 2007, just after getting the Money in the Bank briefcase, Kennedy had a torn triceps and then a shoulder separation in 2008. He suffered a few more injuries in TNA, which kept Kennedy/Anderson from ever getting the long run at the top he seemed ready for.
2 Wade Barrett
It’s great to hear Wade Barrett on commentary on NXT, but it’s a reminder he could still be wrestling if not for awful injury luck. Almost every time he was set for a big push, Barrett would get serious "Bad News."
It goes back to his days in FCW and also halted him from winning MITB in 2012. It ended his run as “King” Barrett and Intercontinental Champion and eventually pushed him to retirement. Barrett had all it took to be a main event star but all those injuries piled up to end his in-ring career.
1 Ember Moon
Proving being injury prone isn’t just for the guys, Ember Moon has had nasty luck in the ring getting hurt. It happened a couple of times in the indies as Athena, although she bounced back from that. She was to compete at the first NXT TakeOver: Chicago but suffered a legit shoulder break during a scuffle with Asuka.
She would rebound to win the NXT Women’s Title and jump to the main roster. She suffered an arm injury at the 2019 Rumble and then a horrible torn Achilles in late 2019 that threatened her career. Currently, Moon seems to be out with injury yet again, which eclipses her great ring work.
