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During WrestleMania 36, fans watching along on the WWE Network were treated to a preview for a new exclusive docuseries detailing the previous three years of the legendary career of The Undertaker.
Speculation ran rampant as to what would be covered and fans were eagerly awaiting to hear The Phenom discuss about a lot of things. The Undertaker opened up on a lot of things including his decreasing in-ring prowess, the infamous match with Goldberg in Saudi Arabia and provided an explanation as to why he returned following what many believed to be his retirement match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33.
At the culmination of this series, the man behind The Undertaker, Mark Callaway, revealed he has nothing left to prove and seemingly announced his retirement, thus ending his incredible career that had begun back in 1987.
It's often said that wrestling is a young person’s game. After all, there is only so much the human body can withstand and following years of hard bumping and constant touring, many WWE Superstars find themselves drained.
Some respond to this by modifying their ring style to avoid taking too much damage while others work a lighter schedule to increase their overall longevity. For some, however, their proverbial bump card maxes out, leaving them with no other option but to hang up their boots for good and call it a day.
Sadly, not every Superstar who walks away from the industry does so on their own terms. While some get huge fan fair and teary goodbyes, others are left with a quiet swansong or a tragic ending.
Some are cut down before their prime while others may hang around too long. The talent in WWE, no matter how big they become, are not exempt from this reality. With that in mind, here are 5 Superstars who got to retire on their own terms and 5 who did not.
#10 Did: Trish Stratus
At WWE Unforgiven 2006, fans witnessed the emotional retirement of Trish Stratus. It was somewhat surprising at the time as Stratus had only been wrestling for six years, suffered no serious injuries and seemingly could have held on for a lot longer. Nonetheless, Trish Stratus retired in an emotional affair defeating her longtime friend, Lita, to become WWE Women's Champion one last time.
The former six-time Women’s Champion opted to retire on her own terms to spend more time with her family and pursue other interests. The Ontario native would make sporadic appearances on and off, including taking up a spot as a trainer on the 2011 season of WWE Tough Enough.
Trish was rightfully inducted into the WWE Hall of fame in 2013 and came out of retirement. She would come out of retirement twice after this, once for a tag match at the historic 2018 Evolution PPV and to put Charlotte Flair over at SummerSlam 2019.
#9 Didn't: Christian
Sticking with legendary Ontario superstars, Christian was a staple of the WWE Attitude Era alongside Edge. Together the pair had incredible matches with the likes of The Hardy Boyz and took part in the iconic TLC trilogy alongside the aforementioned Matt & Jeff Hardy and the Dudley Boyz. Christian would leave WWE for TNA in 2005 citing creative differences but would return to much fanfare in 2009.
From there he would capture the ECW World Championship from Jack Swagger and would become a two-time World Heavyweight Champion on SmackDown during a well-received feud with Randy Orton in 2011.
Christian’s career in WWE always felt like he would be moments away from truly breaking out. However, his career came to an abrupt end following a concussion sustained on the March 24 episode of RAW following his victory in a No.1 contender's match for the US title. Captain Charisma had won the match as well.
This would prove to be his final match as after several months off TV it was reported that Christian had retired. Speaking on the E&C Podcast in September 2017 Christian clarified his retirement saying
“I had to retire, like, right around 40… cause of the concussion stuff.”
Christian has appeared semi-regularly for WWE since then, most recently getting attacked by Randy Orton as part of the latter’s feud with Edge.
#8 Did: Mark Henry
In 2013, Mark Henry gave one of the most emotional retirement speeches in WWE history. However, it was all a ruse. Instead, the former World Champion was simply luring John Cena in setting up a WWE Championship at Money In The Bank.
This segment can be seen to sum up the wonderful surprise that was Henry’s long tenure with WWE. From being a green rookie finding his feet in the mid 1990's, to his infamous run as “Sexual Chocolate” during the Attitude Era, Henry had a legendary run with the company.
Perhaps his famous run was the Hall of Pain persona in 2011 which saw the veteran win his first and only World Heavyweight Championship. Mark Henry would continue to wrestle for WWE before finally retiring in 2017 following WrestleMania 33.
He now works guiding futures stars as a backstage producer and has made cameo appearances such as at The Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018.
#7 Didn’t: Tyson Kidd
The WWE career of Hart Dungeon graduate, Tyson Kidd, was one with a lot of potential but came to an abrupt end. After several years spent in the lower midcard following an enjoyable run alongside DH Smith and real-life wife, Natalya, he was sent to NXT shortly after WrestleMania 30. Kidd was sent to help bolster the Black and Gold brand’s lack of star talent and also to develop a new gimmick for himself.
His time in NXT proved to be a success as he tapped into a level of charisma not seen before. Shortly after a losing effort in a fatal 4-way match for the NXT World Title, Kidd found himself back on the main roster teaming with Cesaro.
Despite a promising start and the support of fans who appreciated the pairing, the team achieved little success. Tyson Kidd’s WWE career would come to a permanent end during a June 1st, 2015 dark match on RAW. While competing against Samoa Joe, Kidd suffered a freak spinal cord injury. He would later go on to state that only 5% of people survive that type of an injury. Today, Tyson Kidd still works for WWE as a producer behind the scenes.
#6 Did: Batista
It is safe to assume the career of Dave Batista rose to heights few would have imagined upon his WWE main roster debut in 2002. He appeared as the muscle for Reverend D-Von Dudley over on the SmackDown Brand. The Washington native would overcome this early misstep when he became the fourth member of Evolution in January 2003.
Two years later, Batista would main event WrestleMania 21 for the first time defeating his mentor Triple H to capture the first of his six world titles. Batista would leave WWE in 2010 to pursue a career in MMA and Hollywood.
He would return to WWE at various points, most notably winning his second Royal Rumble in 2013 before going on to lose to Daniel Bryan in the main event of WrestleMania that same year.
Batista would officially retire in 2018, following a loss to Triple H at WrestleMania 35.
Batista continues to have a thriving acting career and is set to appear in the third installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
#5 Didn’t: Paige
Today, Women’s wrestling is very much a focal point of all the three brands in WWE. As a result, it can be hard to remember that less than a decade ago, the internet world was set ablaze by a revolutionary match between Emma and NXT Women’s Champion, Paige, at NXT Arrival in February 2014.
Fans eagerly awaited the call up of the “Anti-Diva” hoping she could help revitalize a Women’s division that needed an overhaul. The WWE Universe got their wish on the RAW after WrestleMania in 2014 when Paige made her surprise debut and beat AJ Lee to capture the WWE Divas Championship.
Paige would then become be a focal point of the Women’s Revolution before a suspension for a wellness policy violation cut her momentum short in 2016.
Paige was unable to get her career back on track as personal issues kept her away from the ring at various points.
Finally in 2017, following her much anticipated return from an injury, Paige's career was cut short while wrestling in a six-woman tag team match having suffered a severe neck injury. Paige still appears for WWE in various roles and was a panelist on WWE Backstage as well.
#4 Did: Shawn Michaels
Arguably one of the best to ever set foot in a WWE ring, Shawn Michaels would have been classified differently on this list as his career was seemingly cut short in 1997. He suffered a career-threatening back injury while wrestling The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble.
Following his unexpected retirement, HBK focused getting rid of his personal demons and briefly operated his own wrestling school where he had a hand in training future stars such as Daniel Bryan and Brian Kendrick.
Despite the odds, HBK returned to the WWE in 2002 and had some instant classic with Triple H.
Thus, began a career renaissance for the WWE legend that saw him wrestle classic matches with the likes of Chris Jericho, John Cena and Kurt Angle among many others.
His return would last until 2010 following a typically show stealing performance against arguably his greatest opponent, The Undertaker, at WrestleMania 26.
HBK would wrestle again for the WWE at the 2018 Crown Jewel event before retiring once more.
#3 Didn’t: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin’s WWE career became a ticking clock following a botched sit down piledriver at the hands of Owen Hart during a match at the 1997 SummerSlam. He suffered temporary paralysis and a broken neck.
Austin would return to action following this injury at Survivor Series that same year and would go on to be the Superstar who defined the most successful era in WWE history.
The Rattlesnake would go on to capture the WWE championship six times and would adopt a more brawling style with less focus on bumping and technical wrestling in order to protect his weakened neck.
Following WrestleMania 19 and his classic match with The Rock, Steve Austin would reveal via an interview on WWE.com that he was retiring due to injuries he suffered throughout his career.
It’s unclear how much longer the then 39-year-old Austin would have wrestled for had he not been forced to retire. But one thing we can assume is that his eventual retirement would have had more fanfare had it been on his terms alone. Austin still appears for the WWE mostly via his Broken Skull Sessions Podcast on the WWE Network and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
#2 Did: The Rock
The Rock’s rise to the top would have seemed like a laughable prospect to anyone who witnessed the infamous chants he received during his early WWE career. Fans just did not buy into the wide smiling Johnson but all that changed following a heel turn and alliance with The Nation of Domination in 1997.
Showing off his incredible promo skils, The Rock found himself winning the approval of fans in large numbers.
By 2000 fans would debate who was the more charismatic star: The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin?
The Rock would claim seven WWE championships & two WCW World Championships during his first run with the company before Hollywood came calling.
In 2002, it was revealed that Dwayne Johnson would be taking time off from the WWE in order to focus on his acting career following his SummerSlam Match with Brock Lesnar.
He would return in January to set up the previously mentioned match with Steve Austin and made sporadic appearances well into 2004 before his contract expired.
The Rock would make cameo appearances occasionally from 2007 and fought John Cena at back to back WrestleManias in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He even managed to take the WWE title away from CM Punk at the 2012 Royal Rumble. The Rock officially announced his retirement in August 2019 and continues to be the highest paid actor in Hollywood
#1 Didn’t: Bret Hart
Still regarded by many as “The Best there is, The Best there was and The Best there ever will be”, Bret Hart carried WWE as the champion during the mid-1990s. An incredibly smooth wrestler who took pride in ensuring everything he did was safely executed, The Hitman also earned himself the nickname “The Excellence of Execution”.
It is with this in mind that one can’t help but see the irony in how his career would come to an end. Following the much talked about Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997, the former five-time WWE world champion would make the jump to WCW for a lacklustre stint in the Turner-owned company.
Hart would achieve some success in WCW, though nothing that would rival his tenure in WWE. He battled Chris Benoit in a classic encounter in 1999 as a tribute to Bret’s recently deceased younger brother Owen and capturing the WCW world title twice that same year.
Bret’s classic career would come to an end following a stiff kick induced concussion courtesy of Goldberg. His final appearance for WCW would be on the September 6th episode of Thunder.
Bret would make appearances for WWE now and then after his retirement, even wrestling Vince McMahon in a match at WrestleMania 26. Most recently Bret Hart appeared in AEW unveiling their World Heavyweight title at Double or Nothing 2019.
