5 WWE Superstars who missed WrestleMania through injury
The last thing a WWE Superstar wants is to pick up an injury and stay on the sidelines. They want to perform and make their presence felt across the board.
If there is one pay-per-view that cannot be missed at any cost, it is WrestleMania. The Show of Shows is the biggest event in professional wrestling and is a spectacle to behold.
Wrestlers in WWE work the entire year to be featured in a prominent spot at WrestleMania. It is the most anticipated night of the year, and nobody in the company wants to watch it from their television sets.
Unfortunately, there have been times when a superstar has gotten injured and missed performing on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Some of them were on a great run before their bodies caved to injury and forced them to sit out.
Here are five WWE Superstars who ended up missing WrestleMania due to injury.
#5 On the list of superstars who missed WrestleMania due to injury: Seth Rollins
Heading into Survivor Series 2015, Seth Rollins held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He was on a tear with the belt around his waist and had put on incredible matches with some of the biggest stars on the roster.
Unfortunately, Rollins picked up a serious knee injury and was sidelined for nine months. There was no way he could defend his title and ended up forfeiting it.
The Architect missed out on WrestleMania 32, the most-attended iteration of the event. Fans missed him dearly, and the welcome he received upon his return months later proved it.
#4 Fans miss the three most destructive letters in professional wrestling
Randy Orton was another high-profile name to miss WrestleMania 32. He sustained a shoulder injury that was serious enough to rule him out of the biggest show of 2016.
Orton joined Rollins on the sidelines as the duo missed the Showcase of the Immortals. The Viper would get his redemption next year, however, as he won the Royal Rumble and went on to fight for the WWE Championship.
#3 Triple H misses out in heartbreaking fashion
Triple H is one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. He has also suffered his share of injuries. The 52-year-old has torn both his quadriceps at different times during his illustrious career, and the second time wasn’t pretty.
While The Game made it to WrestleMania 18 the first time out, he wasn’t as lucky on the next occasion. After tearing his quad two months before WrestleMania 23, he was forced to have surgery. That cost him his appearance at WWE’s flagship show, something he was upset about at the time.
#2 Injury puts Stone Cold Steve Austin on the sideline
This one hurts a bit, given the neck injury we are about to address was the one that eventually forced Steve Austin to retire. It first showed up in severe fashion before WrestleMania 2000, sidelining him for the show.
What really was that Austin would have main-evented that year’s ‘Mania if he had stayed fit. It was a fatal four-way elimination match for the world title as well as a McMahon soap opera. He would have certainly been a part of it if he didn’t have to get surgery.
#1 Rey Mysterio’s arm succumbs to injury
Rey Mysterio’s injury prior to WrestleMania 24 was painful for all. Having won the world title in incredible fashion two years earlier, his absence was a bitter pill to swallow.
Mysterio suffered a biceps injury before the show. Although he tried to fight through the pain, he was forced to take time off to heal. Many predicted that he would never return to the spotlight again, but he proved them wrong when he returned and became champion a few years later.