3 WWE Superstars who ended another wrestler's career and 2 who saved a wrestler from getting fired
It's a renowned fact that WWE and professional wrestling as a whole is a scripted sport and everything is planned out by the powers that be. Just like every other sport, however, there are bound to be setbacks that can derail plans or even worse, end a performer's career.
Wrestlers put their lives in their opponent's hands every time they step into the ring as any wrong move or miscalculation can be fatal. While some Superstars recover from career-threatening injuries and continue to wrestle, others were forced to hang up their boots at the height of their careers.
Although serious injuries often result in the end of a wrestler's career, other stars almost found their way out of the company due to other reasons but they were saved from getting fired. Working in a large corporation such as WWE can be fulfilling, but failing to please management can lead to an immediate release from the company.
Many of WWE's top stars were in a situation that almost got them released from their contract, but they ended up becoming the stars that they are today after their release was reconsidered thanks to a good word put in by another star.
Let's take a look at the three WWE Superstars that ended another wrestler's career and two who saved a star from getting fired.
#3 Ended a WWE Superstar's career: Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks has had quite a successful year in WWE so far. The WWE Universe was introduced to 2 Beltz Banks for the first time and after years of waiting, we finally got a proper feud between The Boss and Bayley on the main roster.
While 2020 has been a career-defining year for Banks, 2017, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. A botch executed by Banks led to an incident that would haunt her for two years. At a WWE house show in late 2017, the team of Absolution, which comprised of a returning Paige with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, took on Mickie James, Sasha Banks, and Bayley.
During the match, Banks delivered a kick to Paige's back using both her legs, causing the latter to collapse on the canvas and forcing the referee to stop the bout. The injury Paige sustained forced her to retire from in-ring competition.
Sasha Banks received a ton of backlash from fans for injuring Paige. After WWE WrestleMania 35, The Boss disappeared from WWE TV for a few months. She made her return on RAW the night after WWE SummerSlam 2019 and immediately started a feud with then RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch.
Two years after the Paige incident, Sasha Banks opened up about it on WWE Chronicle and she revealed how it affected her personally.
"I just felt like... don't make me cry! So many bad things just kept happening and I didn't know how to deal with them, and I really think what really started it all, like feeling sad, was the whole Paige situation... that really s**ked (cries), and having fans like, destroy me, destroy my work... I pride myself on my work so much, and I would never intentionally try to hurt somebody. That s**ked and that made me question myself as a wrestler."
Paige is still in retirement but when it comes to pro wrestling, never say never. We saw Edge return to the ring after nine years, so perhaps one day in the future we could also see Paige back in a wrestling ring.