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A few former WWE Superstars may never compete again inside the squared circle.
Several former superstars have come out of retirement over the past few years. Edge, for example, returned to the ring in 2020, nine years after he initially retired due to injury. He is currently active on Monday Night RAW. Edge's best friend, Christian Cage, also came out of retirement last year and is now an AEW star.
Meanwhile, other former WWE Superstars may never walk in Edge and Christian's footsteps. While some have injuries that might prevent them from competing again inside the ring, others currently prefer to pursue careers elsewhere.
Here are five former WWE Superstars who may never wrestle again.
#5. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan is one of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history. The 68-year-old spent several years in Vince McMahon's company, during which he won six world championships.
Since the late 1970s, The Hulkster has also competed in several other promotions, including WCW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Impact Wrestling (FKA Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). Nevertheless, he has not wrestled for nearly a decade.
Hogan's final match came in January 2012 when he teamed up with James Storm and Sting to defeat Bobby Roode, Bully Ray, and Kurt Angle at TNA Maximum IMPACT Tour.
Although the former WWE Champion has teased a return to the squared circle several times in the past few years, he will probably never wrestle again. In an interview with The Steve Austin Show, Hogan disclosed that he would never compete again inside the ring due to injury.
"I can't wrestle again, but I'm really cool other than this darn arthritis kicking in and I'm gonna be 66 years old in week. I still work out with weights, use light weight, but my parents before they passed away, when they were my age their hands were crippled up like a sideshow freak. Their hands were crippled and swollen and everything like that so with the vitamins and taking care of myself with organic food, I'm not there, but the main thing is the arthritis, I had no idea what that word really meant til you feel what it means and boy, the arthritis is definitely something that changes the game, but I'm doing good man," he said in 2019.
Although he can no longer wrestle, The Hulkster has made several non-wrestling appearances in Vince McMahon's company over the past few years. Last April, he co-hosted WrestleMania 37 alongside Titus O'Neil.
#4. WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin joined WWE in 1995 after competing for a few years in WCW. He spent nearly eight years as a regular competitor in Vince McMahon's company, during which he won six WWE Championships, two Intercontinental Titles, and four Tag Team Championships.
In 2003, The Texas Rattlesnake retired from in-ring action due to several neck and knee injuries. In his final wrestling match, Austin lost to The Rock at WrestleMania 19.
Although many fans have expressed their desire to see Austin compete inside the squared circle again, the WWE Hall of Famer has confirmed he is not interested in returning to action.
"I’m still the biggest fan of the business that I was when I was seven years old changing the channels and stumbled across it; and then got the chance to learn it and have a pretty good run. So, I don’t want to do nothing else in the ring. I’m done. I’ve retired. Everybody knows that. I don’t need to go out there and drop anybody on a stack of dimes and give them stunners," he told Fox Sports last year.
Since his retirement, Austin has pursued a career in acting. The 57-year-old will star in a new film, The Walk-On's, in 2022. He also has his own podcast, Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions, on Peacock and WWE Network.
#3. Former RAW Women's Champion Nia Jax
Nia Jax signed with WWE in 2014. The 37-year-old spent seven years in Vince McMahon's company, during which she won the RAW Women's Championship and Women's Tag Team Titles. Nevertheless, WWE decided to release her from her contract last November.
After her departure, The Irresistible Force hinted at retiring from professional wrestling. Answering a fan's question on Twitter, Jax said that it is unlikely that she will ever compete again inside the squared circle.
In a recent interview with The Sessions with Renee Paquette, Jax spoke about the possibility of her returning to wrestling.
"I never want to say never, because I do love the feeling I get in the ring. I do enjoy it. Like, I loved wrestling. I didn't like the sh*t, the politics, and all the other BS. But also like, you know, I'm not getting any younger and ever talk to you about it. Like I'm trying to find my man so I can start popping out babies," she said.
Jax's final match came in September 2021 against her former tag team partner Shayna Baszler on RAW. However, The Irresistible Force lost the bout.
During a recent Q&A session on Instagram, the former RAW Women's Champion spoke about her post-wrestling plans. She revealed that she is starting her own business. Jax also disclosed that she would work on her farm.
#2. WWE legend Batista
Batista spent nearly a decade as a regular competitor in WWE before leaving in 2010. The Animal then returned to Vince McMahon's company in 2013 before leaving again a year later.
In April 2019, the former World Heavyweight Champion made his last comeback to face Triple H at WrestleMania 35. Following his defeat in his bout against The Game, Batista announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
In an interview with Chris van Vliet, The Animal stated that he would never compete again.
"This is a real wrestling retirement. I am done. My in-ring career is over. I would love to go back on the show because I love the company, I believe in the product, so I will go back on the show, and if they ask me to go in the Hall of Fame, I will. But I will not have another wrestling match. I will go broke before I have another wrestling match, and I will not go and wrestle for another promotion. It's not going to happen," he said.
Batista is now a Hollywood star. The 53-year-old has starred in several famous movies and TV series over the past few years, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Army of the Dead, and See.
#1. WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has competed in thousands of matches throughout his wrestling career. Nevertheless, he may never compete again.
In 2017, The Nature Boy spent more than a month in the hospital due to kidney and heart issues. Doctors even placed him in a medically induced coma and gave him just a 20% chance of survival.
On his Wooooo Nation Uncensored podcast, Flair recently disclosed that he would probably never wrestle again despite being medically cleared.
"Could I do it? Absolutely. I’m in better shape now than I was when Sting and I wrestled the last match on Nitro. WWE won’t let me do anything, even though I’m released. I understand, they have so much liability and I told them I would sign anything, but nobody wants me to die on their watch," he said.
The 16-time world champion had not competed since September 2011 when he went head-to-head against Sting on an episode of IMPACT Wrestling. However, Flair lost the bout.
Last August, WWE released The Nature Boy from his contract. He has since made a few appearances in other promotions, including Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and NWA.
