Injuries are one of wrestling’s inevitable problems, even at the highest level, as injuries can be caused by the simplest of things.

Last year was one of WWE’s worst years to date in terms of time lost to injury, with plenty of superstars spending time on treatment table at one time and some of them are still currently fighting their way back to fitness.

Some injuries are career threatening, these can be some of the smallest problems that when looked at by a professional, turn out to be a much bigger threat.

But some injuries can be life threatening, Rey Mysterio was involved in a match for AAA in Mexico back in 2015 and following his trademark 619, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo seemed to slump down into the mat before medics were called in and it was announced that he had tragically passed away.

Accidents in wrestling have become common place; it’s a sport where you are aiming to make it look like you hurt your opponent so it isn’t that much of a shock that sometimes the competitors end up being injured for real.

Below is a list of superstars who were injured while performing last year.

19 19. Goldust

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Via cdn3.vox-cdn.com

Now considered a veteran by those within WWE, Goldust has been with the company for almost three decades and in that time he has suffered quite a few injuries.

The strange superstar joined WWE’s list of casualties early last year when he, along with many others to follow later in the year, suffered a shoulder injury.

Goldust publicly announced on Twitter that he would require shoulder surgery to fix the injury and stated that he would be out for 2-4 months after a routine check up showed that he would need to undergo a medical procedure to fix the problem.

18 18. Ryback 

via Instagram.com
via Instagram.com

The wrestler referred to as “The Big Guy” didn’t have a great 2015, as he failed to be a part of the main event picture once again and was instead seen bouncing around the mid-card, until he won the Intercontinental Championship.

This was supposed to be a new start for Ryback, but it seems the IC title was cursed, after Daniel Bryan handed it over the Ryback, the superstar posted pictures on Instagram of a staph infection that he was suffering in his leg that forced him to pull out of many WWE event including WWE’s Battleground pay per view.

17 17. Sami Zayn 

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via dailyddt.com

Sami Zayn’s injury was a complete accident, as it happened out of nowhere and managed to keep Zayn on the treatment table for more than six months.

The NXT star was making his main roster WWE debut against John Cena when he over enthusiastically threw his arms up in the air and seemingly dislocated his shoulder. Ever the fighter, Zayn still managed to complete the entire match against Cena before he then announced the injury on NXT and the fact that he would be out of action for the remainder of the year. Zayn returned to action at NXT Takeover: London in December.

16 16. Becky Lynch 

One of the “Four Horsewomen” of NXT, Becky Lynch has helped to redefine the term Diva in her time on WWE’s main roster, but she herself fell victim to WWE’s injury epidemic in mid 2015.

The Irish star revealed that she had suffered a hip flexor strain during what was one of the greatest women’s matches in NXT history when she faced Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT:Takeover Unstoppable.

Becky recovered in record time and was then able to join both Sasha and Charlotte to debut on the main roster merely weeks before WWE’s SummerSlam event.

15 15. Jey Uso

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Via i.ytimg.com

One half of the Slammy Award winning tag team of the year, Jey Uso was another of WWE’s superstars to suffer a shoulder injury in 2015.

The high flying superstar was injured at WWE’s WrestleMania 31 kick off show, even though it was reported that he could have been suffering an injury before this. It seemed he re-tweaked an earlier problem and this forced him to require surgery.

Jey then underwent shoulder surgery to fix the problem before making a return to WWE in late 2015 to continue to team up with his brother Jimmy, who had been a solo superstar during his absence.

14 14. Randy Orton

Via st2.wrestlingorder.com
Via st2.wrestlingorder.com

Orton’s injury was funnier than it was life threatening, but it was the way he managed to sustain the injury that gave the WWE Universe a much needed laugh. Orton wasn’t injured on WWE TV so the WWE Universe had to learn of his injury via WWE.com.

Orton is one of the toughest WWE superstars currently on the roster, so when it surfaced that he had suffered a dislocated shoulder; there was a thought that foul play could have been involved. Instead it was brought to light that the third generation superstar had managed to injure himself while taking out the trash at his home in St Louis, Missouri.

13 13. Rusev

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Via wwe.com

WWE were handed a huge blow last year when Rusev’s name was added to the list of superstars who were on the treatment table.

The Bulgarian Brute had been built up as a wrecking ball during his short time on WWE’s main roster and an unprecedented ankle injury, along with getting crushed by John Cena, threatened to destroy all of WWE’s hard work.

Rusev used to enter the ring bare foot and wrestle in his own unique way, but the ankle injury served as a warning for him to take better care of his feet and since WWE has forced him to wrestle with boots.

12 12. John Cena

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Via blogs-images.forbes.com

John Cena’s injury came as a shock to many wrestling fans because the former fifteen time World Champion had only just returned to WWE TV after filming a new documentary style series for FOX.

Cena announced on his Twitter account that he had to undergo shoulder surgery and he had to have it done as soon as possible. This usually means it has to be something bad given that Cena once waited months to undergo surgery and allowed his elbow to swell to the size of a tennis ball, just because he didn’t want to let the WWE Universe down.

11 11. Hideo Itami

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Via i.ytimg.com

Hideo Itami, or Kenta as he was known in his earlier career, was one of the most hyped up WWE signings in history after he made the switch to NXT last year, but he was another superstar to fall victim to a shoulder injury.

Itami was scheduled to be a part of a triple threat main event match on NXT back in May, but instead it was announced that the Japanese star would be out for 6-8 months with a shoulder injury, but it was undisclosed as to what the injury was. Itami is still yet to resurface in WWE following the rehab he has been through after his injury.

10 10. Lana

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Via i.ytimg.com

The Ravishing Russian has become one of the WWE Universe’s favourite stars in the past year she has been on WWE’s main roster, accompanying her real life fiancé Rusev to the ring, but Lana was also out injured for a significant amount of time last year.

It was announced that Lana had suffered a fractured wrist back in September and would be forced to undergo surgery to fix it.

It was reported that the Diva suffered the injury while training for her in-ring debut, but this is still yet to be confirmed and her debut is yet to take place.

9 9. The Undertaker 

via bleacherreport.com
via bleacherreport.com

The Deadman has proved many times that he is very much alive and just as capable as sustaining injuries as the living and last year following his match with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker once again proved this.

Following his match with Brock at WrestleMania XXX, The Undertaker famously made it through the curtain before collapsing in the backstage area. It seems he did the same thing following his match with the Beast Incarnate at this year’s SummerSlam event. The Undertaker did manage to return for Hell in a Cell where he faced Brock again, so it doesn't seem that serious.

8 8. Nikki Bella 

The longest reigning Divas Champion of all time was handed a huge blow last year when it surfaced that she was suffering from a severe neck injury.

Nikki managed to fight through the pain for most of her title reign but it seemed to have reached the point where she couldn’t fight through it anymore. She was forced to drop her Championship to Charlotte and has taken time away from WWE to rehab ever since, while her sister still regularly appears without her. The last time Nikki Bella was seen was at the Slammy’s when she won Diva of the year back in December. Her neck surgery was a success and wish her a full and quick recovery!

7 7. Cesaro

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Via wrestlingnewspost.com

Cesaro has been called one of WWE’s best pure athletes and he is one of the strongest superstars on the current roster, but he proved that he isn’t too strong to be injured last year when he, along with many other WWE Superstars, also suffered a shoulder injury.

Cesaro revealed that he had torn his left rotator cuff and that would keep him out of actionfor the foreseeable future. This was a huge blow for Cesaro after WWE had just given him a push following the injury of his tag team partner Tyson Kidd. Maybe they will both make their WWE returns at the same time?

6 6. Tyson Kidd 

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via shitloadsofwrestling.tumblr.com

Tyson Kidd suffered one of the worst injuries of 2015 to the extent where his wife Natalya was in tears from watching the video footage of his match.

Kidd was taking part in a dark match before WWE Raw went on the air and he took Samoa Joe’s Muscle Buster, a move that has been performed safely hundreds of times. This time was different, as something went wrong with the landing and Tyson Kidd suffered a bad neck injury that forced him to have emergency surgery. He has been out of action for almost a year and is currently trying to rehab himself for a return in the near future.

5 5. Erick Rowan

Via wrestlingnews.co
Via wrestlingnews.co

Erick Rowan is one of the four members of WWE’s famous Wyatt Family, but back in 2015 he too was taken out of action with a badly torn bicep.

The ginger bearded star is one of the three original Wyatt Family members along with Bray Watt and Luke Harper, but he was working a match against Cesaro last year when it was reported that he had sustained a minor arm injury. This was misreported, as he had in fact suffered a torn bicep and was out of action for four months. Rowan did return to WWE after this injury and The Wyatt Family has since continued to rise.

4 4. Sting

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Via cdn0.vox-cdn.com

The WCW Legend hasn’t had a great time of it since making the switch over to WWE, as not only has he lost the only two singles matches he has had in WWE, but the last match he had could keep him out of the ring for good.

Sting faced WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at the annual Night of Champions event and it seems Rollins turnbuckle powerbomb hit Sting a lot harder than expected and has caused him to have a severe neck problem. While no one actually blames Rollins for this, it has kept Sting out of action and could mean he may not wrestle at WrestleMania in Texas.

3 3. Bayley 

The current NXT Women’s Champion was handed a huge blow in mid 2015 when she was sidelined with a broken hand.

This injury kept Bayley out of action for a number of months and the star herself tweeted pictures of her with her hand in a cast to prove that the injury was not a part of a storyline.

Bayley has since returned to NXT and won the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, where Sasha tried to use her injured hand to her advantage but Bayley fought through it and won her first ever championship in NXT.

2 2. Daniel Bryan

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Via lasertimepodcast.com

Where do you start with Daniel Bryan? He shocked the world when he realized his dream and lifted the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX before injury forced him to vacate that championship. WWE gambled on him again this year with the Intercontinental Championship but once again injury forced him to vacate the belt.

It was the same neck and shoulder injury that has been plaguing Daniel’s career for the past two years and it could signal the end of his career if the WWE doctors fail to clear him to compete again.

1 1. Seth Rollins

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Via media.philly.com

The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is easily the number one on this list, as Rollins was on the best run of his career by having become the first ever dual United States and World Champion.

Rollins was riding high until he went up against Kane. The former Champion performed a sunset flip off the top rope as he had done many times, but this time he landed it wrong on his knee and his leg buckled. He managed to finish the match but it was announced the next day that he was out of action for 6-9 months and he vacated the World Championship.