Candice Michelle Details 'Massive' Injuries She Sustained In WWE

Like with any athlete, one severe injury could prove to be career-ending or derail their efforts to return to peak form. In the case of Candice Michelle, the former Women's Champion returned to WWE television in February 2008 hopeful to put her career back on track after cracking her clavicle in a match less than six months prior. Sadly for Michelle, she would aggravate the injury in her comeback match, this time shattering her clavicle in four places. For the rest of that year, Michelle would make numerous attempts to return before being ultimately released by WWE in June 2009. 

Reflecting on that tumultuous final year in WWE, Michelle recently told "Busted Open Radio" that she couldn't process everything she experienced in real time. "The truth is, wasn't until recently I realized what really happened," Michelle said. "I experienced a massive trauma — I was knocked out on TV, I had a massive concussion, broke my collar bone, shattered the collar bone, had a huge surgery, tore two ligaments in my ankle ... and as wrestlers, you guys know we don't want to stop. I kept trying to come back too early, just dealing with the physical element."

Michelle admittedly ignored the mental toll all those injuries took on her psyche. "I never even knew there's a way to deal with it. Now, in my life, that's what I do — I'm helping people deal with emotional traumas that get stuck in our bodies," she added, urging her younger peers to utilize the tools at their disposal and not ignore mental fatigue while rehabbing from injuries.

In 2017, Michelle returned to the ring for a retirement match against WWE Hall of Famer Victoria at the Tommy Dreamer-organized House of Hardcore 36 event.