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WWE has been home to some of the greatest Superstars of all time. The likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, The Ultimate Warrior, and several others came to WWE and have entertained the fans.
The Unique selling point of WWE is that the Creative team adds a larger than life perspective to its characters, which immortalizes their work. Since the age factor plays a crucial role in a WWE Superstar's career span, every individual who steps inside the squared circle has to retire after a certain point. While a few legendary Superstars have defied that limit, the bottom line remains that every athlete has to call it a day on his career.
Some WWE Superstars received a grand farewell from the company, but not everyone got the send-off that he/she wanted. In this article, we will look at the three WWE Superstars who wished to have a Championship reign before retiring and two who wanted a title shot.
#5 Kurt Angle wanted a title reign in WWE
WWE Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle, announced his retirement from wrestling after losing to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. The 1996 Olympics gold medal winner had returned to WWE in 2017 as the new General Manager of Monday Night RAW.
He made sporadic appearances in the ring before hanging up his boots. While the former World Heavyweight Champion fought in some marquee matches at WrestleMania 34, TLC and Survivor Series, Kurt Angle was not happy with his last run in WWE.
During his appearance on Instinct Culture by Denise Salcedo, Kurt Angle expressed his desire to have a title reign in WWE and said:
I wanted to have another title run and retire. And Vince McMahon wanted me inducted into the Hall of Fame and I told him, ‘Well, I am not done wrestling’ and he said, ‘That’s okay’ And I said, ‘Well, you know eventually I would like to wrestle,’ and he said ‘We’ll get there.'
Unfortunately, the WWE Creative team did not book Kurt Angle in a storyline involving a championship. He only had personal feuds on WWE TV.
Angle was recently seen on WWE NXT, where he served as the special guest referee for the match between Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher. A few weeks ago, the Hall of Famer even appeared on SmackDown to announce Riddle's arrival to the Blue brand.
#4 Ric Flair wanted a reign as the WWE 24/7 Champion
The 16-time WWE World Champion Ric Flair is 71 years old right now. He is still pure gold on the mic as The Nature Boy works as the manager of Randy Orton on WWE RAW. Flair achieved a lot of success inside the ring, working for various wrestling promotions.
He returned to WWE in 2012 and has been a part of several high-profile feuds. Flair played a pivotal role in the rise of his daughter, Charlotte Flair, in WWE.
As mentioned ahead, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer had an illustrious career as a pro wrestler, but he still wants to add one more championship to his name before he is done with this business.
In a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, the 1992 Royal Rumble winner revealed that he wanted a shot at the WWE 24/7 Championship. He said:
"I keep wanting them to let me wrestle R-Truth for the 24/7 Title [Laughs]. I'm getting to the level where I'm comfortable. I'm like, 'Can I just get into character one time?' Talking generically is killing me."
The WWE 24/7 title is with Akira Tozawa at the moment and it will be intriguing to see if WWE allows the retired Ric Flair to battle for the championship.
#3 The Bella Twins wanted a reign as the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships
Former WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella announced her retirement from WWE just months after the company introduced the Women's Tag Team Championships. The Bella Twins had played a significant role in the rise of the Women's division, but their injury issues prompted Nikki and Brie to retire early.
The two female Superstars last wrestled together at the WWE Super ShowDown event in Australia, where they teamed up with the then RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey to defeat The Riott Squad. Nikki turned on Rousey after that match, which led to a title clash between the two female Superstars at WWE Evolution.
Bella failed to win the match against The Baddest Woman on the Planet despite having her sister in her corner.
Later, the twin sisters expressed their desire to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships during a Total Divas episode.
"I feel like, our whole career, you and I always wanted the tag titles," Brie said.
"I would love to be, at least once in my life, a tag team champion with you," Nikki replied.
Brie then reminded her sister that they were publicly retired, but Nikki believed that the world wanted it.
The Bella Twins have been away from WWE for a while now. The soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famers recently gave birth to baby boys.
#2 Alex Riley wanted a shot at the WWE NXT Championship
Former FCW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Riley was a part of WWE from 2007 to 2016. The 39-year-old spent three years in FCW, before becoming a part of NXT and then aligning himself with The Miz.
Riley got to wrestle some big names like John Cena and Daniel Bryan because of his association with the A-Lister. He became a singles competitor after WWE separated him from The Miz during the 2011 Supplemental Draft.
Riley could not achieve much success on SmackDown, and ultimately, he took over the role of a color commentator. The Virginia-based star became well known as 'The Analyst' Alex Riley on the WWE Network.
He wished to return to in-ring competition and started a #FreeRiley campaign on Twitter. Then, he joined the WWE NXT roster when Kevin Owens was the NXT Champion.
Riley claimed that the WWE Network audience would double if the company gave him a shot at the NXT title. Unfortunately, he never received that opportunity and after WWE released him in 2016, Riley quit the world of pro wrestling.
Alex starred in a Netflix series titled GLOW in 2017, while he has even been a part of a couple of films.
#1 William Regal wanted a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
The 2008 WWE King of the Ring winner William Regal is currently working as the general manager of NXT and 205 Live. Regal is an in-ring veteran who will go down as one of the best WWE Superstars from the United Kingdom.
The 52-year-old wrestled his final matches in 2013, before switching to the role of a General Manager. William wished to become the first-ever English World Champion of the company. Hence, before retiring, he wanted a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship on a SmackDown episode in Liverpool.
Here's what Regal had written on Twitter in November 2011:
"Trying to think if Teddy Long owes me a favour.I need to get a World Championship match on SmackDown on Liverpool. Maybe the last chance I have of becoming the first English World Champion in front of WWE's loyalist fans. Some people are saying I'm passed it.Maybe so but @WWE,look at it as charity.Give an old rogue a chance."
He even retweeted the positive response that he received from the WWE Universe. Regal continued:
"I normally never retweet about wrestling,WWE or me(I don't need to because I'm so over anyway)so sorry to everyone who it's driving mental. I just want @WWE to take notice.Give back to your loyalest fans(and purely selfish reasons as I want to be the first British World champ)."
However, he never received that title shot. The two-time Intercontinental Champion wrestled his last match against Cesaro on a WWE NXT taping.
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