History Main / GameBreakingInjury

** The Undertaker is very good at selling this trope, often to the point of setting up his finisher only to stop because his knee or foot collapses in pain.
* A variation of this is when a wrestler (almost always a face) is injured days (or even weeks) before the match begins and is clearly not 100%. The heel will then target that particular body part in the hopes of permanently damaging that foe to the point that they can't continue. This happened A LOT with [[DwayneJohnson the Rock]] for some reason. In 1999, he fought several matches with a supposedly broken arm after TripleH attacked him. In late 2000, during his feud with Rikishi, the Rock had been hit by Rikishi with a sledgehammer in the chest. In 2002, during his feud with Hogan, the Rock's ribs were injured and taped up.
* Some matches have a high tendency to cause this, especially the scaffold match. Just competing in one of these matches contributed to Mick Foley's semi retirement at age 34.

* Utterly hilarious variation from ''{{Clannad}}''. Yukine's gang prepares for a showdown with a rival group, and Nagisa suggest having a snack- [[LethalChef her mother's]] bread with [[{{Kanon}} a certain infamous jam]]. The gang is instantly KO'ed, leaving Tomoya to fight solo.

** Also, in the movie "Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan," Broly was '''stabed through the gut with a dagger.''' Many years later, guess where Goku punches him.

* ''ThePrinceofTennis'' has a few of these moments, which are literally Gamebreaking Injuries

** Don't forget Brett Favre, whose noted "Ironman Streak" of Most Consecutive Starts involved several broken throwing-hand bones and ankles.

* In ''Game/TheGodfather: The Game'' you can shoot someone in the knee to drop him to a kneel. A second shot there is almost always a kill.

** The Knights were really lucky to get away with so few casualties considering A). The Knights consist mostly of undertrined nobels (who's parents wanted them to serve in the military without actually, you know, getting HURT!) and B). Guts is also known as [[OneManArmy "The Hundred Man Slayer"]]... This is not an exageration.

* In ''{{Holyland}}'', a villain gunning to take down [[TheHero Yuu]] and [[BigBrotherMentor Masaki]] sends two hard-hitting gangsters to ambush Masaki on his way to their final showdown. Although Masaki trashes the pair, his leg gets injured and TheDragon to the villain is able to barely beat him as a result, requiring Yuu to play BigDamnHeroes.

* Used as a ChekhovsGun ''twice'' in ''PointBreak'' when Keanu Reeves's [[InformedAbility Informed Disability]] (a literal GameBreakingInjury from his character's football career)prevents him from capturing Patrick Swayze's BigBad. Also facilitates a [[FoeYay Crowning Moment of Foe Yay]] so powerful it had be to [[LampshadeHanging explicitly referenced]] in ''HotFuzz''.

* This is OlderThanDirt. In KingArthur legends, this is how Sir Gawain of Orkney dies. He had an old head wound that was nearly fatally reopened in a fight with Sir Lancelot. Lancelot refused to fight him while he was wounded and sent him to his tent to recover. Ironically, he was nearly healed when news that Mordred had taken over Camelot came. He insisted on going to war with his king, but had his head wound reopened AGAIN in a small skirmish with a bunch of untrained peasants on his way to a ship. He died minutes after the fight was over.

* In ''DeusEx'', damage to body parts cripples you a certain way, eg if your legs are shot out, you are reduced to crawling.

** Zoro recently suffered a major Game Breaking Injury from [[{{ptitleeyyr8ln8spjv}} Bartholomew Kuma]], and in each of the two or three major encounters since the injuries have slowed him down considerably.

* Westley has a game-breaking condition in ThePrincessBride, but manages to ToThePain his way into victory regardless.

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* Inverted in ''{{Serenity}}''. Hero Mal Reynolds [[spoiler: was able to withstand a pressure point strike made by The Operative as he lacked the necessary patch of nerves in the vital area to be paralyzed by the attack.]]

* A variation of this is when a wrestler (almost always a face) is injured days (or even weeks) before the match begins and is clearly not 100%. The heel will then target that particular body part in the hopes of permanently damaging that foe to the point that they can't continue. This happened A LOT with [[DwayneJohnson the Rock]] for some reason. In 1999, he fought several matches with a supposedly broken arm after TripleH attacked him. In late 2000, during his feud with Rikishi, the Rock had been hit by Rikishi with a sledgehammer in the chest. In 2002, during his feud with Hogan, the Rock's ribs were injured causing his to have them taped.

Game Breaking Injuries can be used either as a plot device or as a means of character development. If The Hero is also a {{Determinator}} they will simply push through the pain and use their limb as normal. If the TheRival is involved in this trope and is of greater skill than The Hero, in order for them to lose to The Big Bad, they might suffer a Game Breaking Injury in order to weaken them. Sometimes it's a RetiredBadass who has an old war injury. If that character is also an ObiWan, then you can bet for sure that this injury will be the cause of his undoing. Often a way to make it so YouCanBarelyStand.

Not to be confused with an AchillesHeel, characters suffering from a GameBreakingInjury do not normally possess such a weakness for it is acquired through accident or by their opponent's own doing. Sometimes the enemy in question can recognize the difference in physical ability The Hero has and will first cripple them first before they start using their normal battle strategies. Gamebreaking Injuries do not signify the impending victory or defeat of a character, however their presence does significantly alter the fight's outcome.

* ''Gundam00'' has the [[EyeScream eye injury]] sustained by Lockon Stratos in an earlier battle become a significant factor in [[spoiler: his death at the hands of Ali Al Saachez, who takes advantage of the blind spot it creates to deal a crushing blow to his mech.]]