A Role On Dark Angel Led To A Massive Injury That Nearly Paralyzed Lita

Casual WWE viewers that stumble upon today's product would never expect that women used to be presented much differently from how they are now. At one point, they were labeled as the "Divas" and were typically typecast as valets, the focus of a romantic storyline, or sexualized to increase viewership. However, one talent transcended expectations and proved her value as a valet, sex symbol, and an undeniable in-ring talent was WWE Hall of Famer Lita. 

From the late '90s through the early 2000s, Lita appeared in WCW, ECW, and finally WWE, where she continued to flourish. But an unexpected injury that occurred in 2002 almost derailed the momentum she had built throughout her career, and surprisingly enough, it didn't occur in a wrestling ring.

Lita's popularity in the early 2000s led to her booking a role as a villain in the series finale of "Dark Angel," which starred Jessica Alba as a super-soldier fleeing from the government in a post-apocalyptic world (per IMDb). Lita portrayed the character Thula, the leader of a clan of warriors named the Phalanx. During filming, Lita's work with stunt doubles took a turn for the worse while performing her signature hurricanrana move. According to Sportskeeda, she was unable to execute a full rotation when swinging around and ended up landing awkwardly on her neck. X-rays revealed that she had cracked three vertebrae from the impact, forcing her to take an indefinite break from the ring.

During her absence from the ring, Lita assumed the role of a commentator for WWE's "Sunday Night Heat" program. She received surgery to fuse her C5 and C6 vertebrae together by Dr. Lloyd Yungblood, as noted in her autobiography, "Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D.–The Reality of Amy Dumas." Lita got the green light to return to action after being sidelined for 17 months, appearing at Unforgiven 2003 to team with Trish Stratus in a winning effort against Molly Holly and Gail Kim.

Lita continued her position as one of the top women of the division for years to come, even becoming one of the first-ever women to main event "Raw" on December 6, 2004, when she battled Stratus. Along with making history, the match is remembered for a suicide dive Lita executed, where she landed on her neck and her body folded over itself. Shockingly, Lita didn't seriously injure herself during the botch but would go on to tear her ACL at the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view later that month.

Lita officially retired from full-time competition in 2006, going on to become a member of the Hall of Fame and returning in the future to assist in training future talents. On an appearance on Colt Cabana's podcast, "The Art of Wrestling," Lita established that her reason for hanging up the boots had less to do with any controversial storylines or events backstage and more to do with feeling like she had accomplished all she could in the company.