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WWE is currently going through a sea of change, with a raft of new Superstars being promoted to RAW and SmackDown from NXT. The release of several main roster Superstars earlier in 2020 has resulted in several Superstars getting a chance to show their worth on RAW and SmackDown.
There are some legends in WWE who have featured on and off in the WWE ring over the last year or so, who may perhaps be having their final few matches in the WWE ring. Amongst these Superstars, some should retire and hang up their boots for good, while others still have a few more matches in them.
Here, let's take a look at 5 Legends who should retire from WWE in 2020 and 4 who shouldn't:
Should: Kane
Kane has had fewer appearances in WWE over the last few years, owing to his role as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. The Big Red Machine is no longer a full-time Superstar, featuring briefly in big PPVs or segments when RAW or SmackDown comes to a venue near his home.
His last match in WWE came back in 2018 when he and The Undertaker teamed up to face Shawn Michaels and Triple H at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. He did feature on RAW last year, when he won the 24/7 title from R-Truth under his real name, while he also made an appearance on SmackDown earlier this year.
The WWE legend has achieved it all in WWE and doesn't have too many "dream" matches remaining in the company. At 53, he doesn't quite move as quickly as he did a few years ago, and with him only able to appear briefly due to his mayoral position, it doesn't quite make sense for him to retire.
In an interview last year, Kane revealed that he isn't retiring, but said that he would want to face The Undertaker one more time:
"I mean, when WWE came to Knoxville earlier this year, I won the 24/7 Championship and then lost it a short time later. But then I came out on this show as well, so. You know, and this — I’m never gonna leave WWE. Like anyone that’s been there for a long period of time, I don’t think you ever want to. And man, I’d love like one last match with Undertaker, the Brothers of Destruction against someone. That would be so awesome."
He should call time on his long and glorious career in WWE after a match with The Undertaker, which will most likely be followed by his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Should Not: Daniel Bryan
Kane's former tag team partner Daniel Bryan is a lot younger than The Big Red Machine and still looks very good in the ring. Bryan, who returned to in-ring competition two years ago after retiring back in 2016 due to injuries, has had a good run, winning the WWE Championship as a ruthless heel, and is now a babyface on WWE television.
Daniel Bryan recently spoke about how he will retire from full-time wrestling when his current contract with WWE expires. This is what Daniel Bryan said about retiring from WWE:
"WWE has been great, they are going to give me six weeks paternity leave. I get to be home that first six weeks, but then after that it’s not long until my contract is up. In my mind, I think I’m just done being a full time wrestler. I will always love wrestling, and I always wanna do wrestling, but when I say always do wrestling, that means once a month, or once every couple months.”
Daniel Bryan's statement may mean that he will wrestle in a part-time capacity. But, WWE will miss him on SmackDown or RAW on a weekly basis, as he is still a big draw, with his recent storyline with Drew Gulak being one example. He should perhaps give another year of full-time wrestling, put over a few younger Superstars and help them feature more on television - like he has done with Gulak.
Should: Hulk Hogan
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was reportedly set to feature at WrestleMania 36 in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal before WWE had to pull the plug on the match due to the ongoing pandemic and the social distancing norms that had to be observed.
Hogan has expressed his desire to have one last match in WWE as he feels that his final wrestling match should be in WWE rather than TNA, which was where he had his last match in 2012.
Hulk Hogan revealed last year that he has spoken to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about having his final match in WWE:
"Yeah, I've been talking to Vince McMahon. History is very important to me. I've had a very long career, and part of my career was with a very, very small company and a very gracious lady named Dixie Carter at TNA. I actually had my last match there. That's hard for me to live with. I want my last match to be in the WWE."
He even revealed that McMahon should be his final opponent in WWE.
The idea for Hogan to have one final match, at the age of 66, is not such a great idea. What makes this proposal even more difficult to understand is the surgeries that Hogan has had in the recent past. Goldberg, who is 13 years younger than Hogan, showed how age catches up to even the best Superstars when he faced The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia.
Should Not: Rey Mysterio
There has been talk of Rey Mysterio retiring, with Seth Rollins even recently organizing a retirement party for the WWE legend on RAW. But, that was just a part of the storyline that WWE has put together, which Tom Colohue had previously revealed:
Full-on swerve. Just a full-on swerve. Mysterio is not done yet! His contract has always been a brief one but there are always moments in it that have allowed him to retire ahead of time if he chooses to because Rey does consider this his last run.
Mysterio revealed last year to Sportskeeda's Gary Cassidy that he "can retire peacefully" once he shares the ring with his son Dominik.
"I hope that we can all get the chance to see him in 2020. I'm just as excited as the fans to see him step into the ring and have an official match. I definitely would love to potentially share the ring with him one day. I think, after that happens, I can retire peacefully."
The WWE legend, who is 45, still looks in great shape which he has shown in the ring and can still put on good matches. Fans would love to see Mysterio put on a few more dream matches in WWE before he calls time on his career...perhaps even a match with his son in the future.
Should: Big Show
Big Show returned once again to WWE earlier this year and has made brief appearances on RAW since. He even had a match at WrestleMania 36 against Drew McIntyre, minutes after McIntyre won the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar.
The WWE legend, after a hiatus, returned once again this past week, helping The Viking Profits in their feud with Akira Tozawa and his ninjas. Big Show has had a long and illustrious career in WWE, having achieved a lot. But it may be the right time to end his career on a glorious note.
He looks in great shape, leaner than a few years ago, but it remains to be seen what feuds he could be involved in the future. There aren't too many big men in WWE currently who need to be put over by a legend like Big Show.
He could perhaps have one more feud in WWE, which could be his last and final one in the company before he calls time on his career.
Should Not: John Cena
John Cena, too, has had a part-time role in WWE in recent years, as he has transitioned to being a full-time actor. Cena has had very few matches in recent years, with his last match (if you could call his Firefly Fun House match that) coming at WrestleMania 36 against Bray Wyatt.
A few days after that match, he put out this cryptic tweet, signaling his potential retirement.
In an interview last year, Cena said that he will never retire from the company... which could perhaps mean his appearances on WWE rather than actually wrestling in the ring:
“I will never walk away from the WWE. When do I walk away with a sense of mental and physical sanity? I’m right at that precipice. I feel great, I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s not that I couldn’t continue, but I think from this point on I run the risk of tipping that balance the wrong way.”
If it's the in-ring action we are talking about, Cena still has something to offer, at least one final retirement match, perhaps against an up-and-coming Superstar... maybe even someone like Seth Rollins or Drew McIntyre. That would be the perfect way to pass the baton in WWE.
Should: Triple H
Triple H has transitioned superbly from being a full-time wrestler to an authority figure to now being an important part of WWE's creative team. The Game has been involved closely in the development and transformation of the NXT brand, which has resulted in him wrestling very rarely on WWE television.
He has wrestled just twice on WWE television in the recent past - first against Batista at WrestleMania 35 and then Randy Orton at Super ShowDown. Triple H spoke about potentially retiring from in-ring action last year:
"I don't really think about it in the terms of 'Hey, I want to do the one big last match and then call it. I'm done.' I haven't really thought about it in that manner. To me, if something comes up on the horizon that is the right thing, and it's meaningful and it presents itself, I'll know. But if it doesn't, I'm okay with that, too."
He also said that he's enjoying his role behind the scenes in WWE and that is his focus currently. The Game has achieved everything there is in the company and maybe it is now time to call time on his career with one final match - perhaps against a Superstar from his "brand", NXT.
Should Not: Brock Lesnar
Last year, there were rumors doing the rounds that Brock Lesnar planned to retire after WrestleMania 36, which was reported after it was announced that he had retired from UFC.
The Beast, who is currently in his eighth year with WWE in his second run with the company, has featured briefly on WWE television, with his last match coming against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.
Lesnar has still got it and can put on good matches - and more importantly, tell great stories in the ring. The Beast still has a lot to offer in the WWE and should not retire anytime soon. While some fans were not pleased with him featuring sporadically on WWE television, what he brings to the table is legitimacy and gets even the casual audience interested.
One evidence of that is his role in the men's Royal Rumble match, where he threw several Superstars over the top rope, before being eliminated by McIntyre - who eventually beat him a few months down the line.
Lesnar still has a few dream matches remaining, particularly against Bobby Lashley, Edge, and Keith Lee.
Should: The Undertaker
The Undertaker is the longest-serving Superstar in the WWE currently, having made his debut way back in 1990. 'Taker has teased retirement a few times, most prominently at WrestleMania 33, where he left his hat and coat in the ring.
But he has gone on to have more matches since then, including one at this year's WrestleMania when he faced off against AJ Styles in the first-ever Boneyard match.
The Deadman has opened up and given plenty of interviews over the last few months to promote his The Last Ride documentary on the WWE Network. In one such recent interview, he revealed how he wants to retire from WWE:
"I’ve had this amazing career, I’ve been so blessed to have this career and far exceeded the expectations of when I got in this business. But I kind of want the John Elway ending, you know? The John Elway ending, when he went out and he won a couple of Super Bowls and then retired.
"When I’m looking at it, I want that match, that match when it’s just like, 'Oh yeah. Bam. I still got it. I got gas in the tank, I tore it down. Now walk away.'"
Although the match against Styles was great, overdoing that type of cinematic match could get a tad boring for fans. 2020 is the perfect time for Undertaker to say goodbye. He has shown that he has still got it with the match against Styles after that car-wreck of a match against Goldberg, while his Deadman character has also been exposed with the Last Ride documentary.
He could perhaps have one final match at WWE Survivor Series - the PPV where he made his official on-camera debut way back in 1990.
