Jason Jordan & 9 Other Wrestlers Who Could've Been Major Stars If It Wasn't For Injuries
Professional wrestling is not a real combat sport, it is a form of entertainment that replicates the excitement of a real fight in a controlled way, and as such, the men and women standing across from each other want to make it look as real as possible, while also keeping their opponent safe. Many times over the years wrestlers have had real-life issues with each other but remained professional in the ring, laying in shots in safe places but never being reckless with another wrestler's health. But, in the iconic words of Jim Ross, "this isn't ballet" and accidents can and do happen.
RELATED: Joey Mercury's Face & 9 Other Wrestlers Mostly Remembered For Their Injuries
If you speak to any wrestler you will discover working hurt is commonplace, with wrestlers often carrying injuries into matches. Undertaker wrestled Mankind in their WWE Hell In The Cell match with a broken ankle, yet still dropped from the cell and continued. Unfortunately, not all injuries are minor, and any superstar injured for a length of time runs the risk of losing their spot on the card, or worse still, their career. Here are 10 wrestlers whose careers were ruined by injuries.
10 Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan was being groomed for greatness by WWE, making a name teaming with Chad Gable to form American Alpha in NXT before the team moved to the main roster, becoming SmackDown Tag Team Champions. They split after Jordan was revealed to be Kurt Angle's (kayfabe) son, and Jordan's singles push started in earnest, interacting with top stars like Seth Rollins, The Miz, and Roman Reigns.
RELATED: 10 Times Wrestlers Returned From Injury... And Immediately Got Re-Injured
Jordan had to retire due to injury mid-way through the Angle story, but Kurt has confirmed that the entire story was a build for Jordan to retire him at WrestleMania. Jordan now works as a producer for WWE, a role he held since stepping away from the ring.
9 Finn Balor
Finn Balor has been a multi-time champion in every promotion he has been in, including WWE's 1st ever Universal Champion after defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. But a shoulder injury suffered in the match forced him to relinquish the title just 24 hours after his victory.
Since his return, despite being as good as ever in the ring, Balor hasn't received anything resembling a main event push, even being moved down to NXT for a brief run. Since Vince McMahon's retirement, his fans are hoping that will change with Triple H in charge and Balor getting the spotlight in Judgment Day.
8 Droz
Darren Drozdov played for 3 years in the NFL for the NY Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Denver Broncos before turning to wrestling. Droz famously puked in a bucket for Vince McMahon during his WWE interview, shown on the Beyond The Mat documentary.
After an initial run with Legion Of Doom as the unofficial 3rd member Puke, Droz had just started on a singles run and a botched powerbomb in an unaired match with D'Lo Brown led to Droz breaking his neck, leaving him paraplegic. Droz has stated many times that Brown bears no fault, and it was just an unfortunate accident. In recent years Droz has regained some upper-body mobility, but will never walk again.
7 Kerry Von Erich
The story of the Von Erichs is arguably the most tragic tale in wrestling, with only one of six brothers still alive. Kerry became NWA Champion after the death of his brother, David, and was signed by WWE in 1990 as the Texas Tornado.
In 1986, Kerry had been involved in a motorcycle accident and had his right foot amputated, but kept it secret. Texas Tornado got a good initial push but the self-medicating from the accident ultimately led to a mental breakdown which led to his release and death by suicide.
6 Jesse Sorensen
Jesse Sorensen made a name for himself, working the independent circuit in Texas before appearing for TNA in their X Division Tournament, losing a triple threat against Jack Evans and Tony Nese. When Eric Bischoff laid out the new X Division format Sorensen made it to the final of the number one contender gauntlet, ensuring him a prominent place in the X Division rankings.
In a match with Zema Ion (NXT's Joaquin Wilde) Jesse broke his neck when Zema landed a dive on the top of Sorensen's head. Despite TNA Owner Dixie Carter offering him a job for life, Jesse was quietly released without ever wrestling for the company again.
5 Tyson Kidd
The last graduate of the infamous Hart family dungeon, Kidd debuted with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and his now wife, Natalya, representing the Hart Dynasty. After the group split, Kidd would float around before a great run in NXT rebuilt his momentum.
On his return to the main roster he formed a tag team with Cesaro but a bad landing from a Samoa Joe Musclebuster resulted in an injury to his neck that ended his career, and in 95% of cases, the injury he sustained resulted in death. Tyson works as a Producer for WWE and is often praised by the women for putting their matches together.
4 Magnum T.A.
Magnum T.A. had an 8-year career from beginning to end, debuting in Florida Championship Wrestling in 1978 as The American Heartthrob, before Andre The Giant suggested he use the name 'Magnum' due to his undeniable look of actor Tom Selleck.
From Florida, Magnum signed with Jim Crockett Promotions, the highlight of his run being the Best-of-7 series with Ivan Kolloff or the brutal I Quit match with Tully Blanchard. Magnum was being groomed for a run with the NWA World Title when a motor accident ended his career and almost his life.
3 Paige
Paige, a second-generation UK wrestler from the Knight family was the 1st real success from the NXT women's division, and arguably the catalyst for what was to come with the turnaround in how women wrestlers were showcased in WWE. At only 21 years of age, her Raw debut, on the Raw after 'Mania Paige not only won the Divas title off AJ Lee but became the youngest woman to hold the title.
RELATED: 10 Wrestlers Who Continued To Perform Despite Injury
A litany of neck issues have blighted Paige's career, but her recent return to wrestling with AEW has fans conflicted. While always happy to see Paige, now working under her real name, Saraya, no one wants to see her re-injure herself.
2 Dynamite Kid
Dynamite Kid, along with Davey Boy Smith, made up the iconic British Bulldogs tag team of the 1980s, and is one of the most beloved teams in WWE history. Whereas Davey Boy Smith would go on to become a household name, sadly for Kid a back injury brought his career to a premature end.
For all the success Davey Boy had as a singles wrestler, many believe had Dynamite remained healthy, he could have been up there with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels as the faces of the New Generation era. His hybrid European Japanese style influenced so many of today's wrestlers showing just how innovative Dynamite Kid was.
1 Corey Graves
Second only to Michael Cole in the announcers' team hierarchy, Corey Graves has gone on to forge a successful career in WWE, but it was as a wrestler Graves wanted to make his mark in the business. After impressing on the independent circuit, Graves signed with NXT, winning tag team gold alongside Adrian Neville (AEW's Trios Champion, The Bastard Pac) before embarking on a singles run.
Despite being pushed strong and having great matches, his feud with Sami Zayn being the highlight, a series of concussions led to doctors calling time on Graves' in-ring career just as it looked as if he was about to break out as a real superstar.
