WWE tells people not to try this at home for a very distinct reason because professional wrestling is incredibly dangerous, even for those who are professionally trained, as injuries are commonplace, as talents are often forced to miss long periods of time due to injury.
Whilst most wrestlers suffer some form of injury at some point during their careers, they are normally always able to make a recovery and get back in the ring, however, sometimes those injuries can be much more serious.
Many times wrestlers suffer career-threatening injuries, and whilst this can often result in people retiring from the sport, sometimes talent are able to make a return against all odds, and within this article, we will look at 10 wrestlers who returned from serious, career-threatening injuries.
10 Lita
Head and neck injuries are the most severe type of problem that a wrestler can suffer, with the likes of Paige and Edge being forced to hang up their boots due to neck problems, and Lita almost suffered the same fate.
Whilst practicing a Hurricanrana, Lita suffered cracks in multiple vertebrae, which, for a wrestler is an incredibly risky injury, especially considering the highflying nature of Lita's in-ring work.
The WWE Hall Of Famer was forced to miss around a year and a half of action due to injury, but she was able to return and continue her legendary career.
9 Hardcore Holly
Speaking of serious neck injuries, another wrestler that suffered from that was Hardcore Holly, who broke his neck at the hands of Brock Lesnar during their match in 2002 following a powerbomb.
The injury could very easily have brought an end to Holly's career, but the experienced talent was able to fight back and make a return, with the injury actually being used in a storyline.
Holly returned to WWE looking for revenge and ended up having the biggest match of his career as he challenged Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the 2004 Royal Rumble, proving that sometimes injuries can be a blessing in disguise.
8 Bret Hart
Most people believed that Bret Hart's legendary career was over after a match with Goldberg left him with post-concussion syndrome, and the fact that he suffered a stroke in 2002 seemed to really put the nail in the coffin.
However, whilst the Hitman was never the same again, he was able to work several matches for WWE starting in 2010 when he made his return to the company, including a WrestleMania bout against Vince McMahon himself.
Even though Hart was very limited in what he could do in the ring and he did have to be seriously protected, for many fans it was just good to see him wrestle one more time, as many never thought he would.
7 Luchasaurus
Luchasaurus is currently taking the world by storm in AEW alongside Jungle Boy as one of the hottest tag teams in professional wrestling right now, however, at one point an injury was going to keep him out of the ring permanently.
Many do not know that Luchasaurus was part of WWE's developmental system for a while, until a severe spinal injury kept him out of action for a while, eventually leading to his release from the company.
Luchasaurus ended up appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and decided to try to get back into wrestling, and the rest is history, as he seems set to have a fantastic career with AEW.
6 Mick Foley
Unlike the other examples on this list, Mick Foley didn't just suffer one career-threatening injury, he suffered multiple, with plenty of close calls taking years off of his career due to the hardcore nature of his in-ring work.
Firstly, Foley lost an ear due to wrestling after he was caught in the ring ropes, which would be enough to put most people off from wrestling again, yet that isn't even the worst of his injuries.
From being thrown off Hell in a Cell to taking bumps on thumbtacks, barbed wire, and concrete, Foley has had tons of injuries but managed to battle back from them all.
5 Kurt Angle
Everyone knows about the fact Kurt Angle won an Olympic Gold medal with a "broken freakin' neck," which is the first example of how the WWE Hall Of Famer managed to return from a career-threatening injury.
The fact that Angle was almost unable to never have a professional wrestling career is crazy enough, but he did actually break his neck for a second time during his WWE career, and still somehow managed to return.
Angle also suffered a broken tailbone and also had a very serious addiction problem which almost took his life, yet he was able to overcome all of the problems to continue wrestling.
4 Ric Flair
The Nature Boy, Ric Flair is one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, but four decades ago, the world was almost deprived of Flair when he was involved in a serious plane crash on October 1975.
The crash left the pilot killed and Johnny Valentine paralyzed, whilst Flair came out of the crash with a broken back and a serious neck injury which left many to believe that he would be finished in the ring.
However, despite the fact Flair was involved in such a huge incident, he was able to return to the ring and wrestle for another 30 years.
3 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan's injury was a heartbreaking one, with the WWE Superstar finally reaching the top of the mountain at WrestleMania 30, only to suffer an injury that saw him miss almost a year of action.
Bryan finally made his triumphant return, only to be injured again, having to retire from wrestling due to brain injuries that he had suffered throughout his lengthy wrestling career.
However, the fairytale story wasn't over for Bryan and he has since returned to have one of his best runs in the company, becoming WWE Champion yet again and returning to do what he loves.
2 Stone Cold Steve Austin
A lot of people do not realize that we almost never got to see Stone Cold Steve Austin at his absolute peak, as his career nearly came to an end after the 1997 SummerSlam when Owen Hart accidentally dropped Austin on his head.
Hart hit him with a Sitdown Tombstone and Austin suffered a broken neck as well as temporary paralysis, hence why the pinfall is one of the weakest in history as Austin couldn't even move.
Thankfully, he was able to make his return and Austin went on to become arguably the biggest WWE Superstar of all time, even though it would be neck issues that eventually forced him away from the company.
1 Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels really does have a career of two halves, and both of them are incredible, with his 1998 back injury which he suffered at the Royal Rumble keeping him out of the ring for over four years.
Had his career ended in 1998, HBK would likely still have been considered one of the all-time greats due to how many incredible matches and moments he had before having to go away.
However, when he returned, Michaels somehow managed to get even better, putting on classic matches with the likes of The Undertaker and Triple H, which only added to his legacy.