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#5. Did not retire from WWE on his own terms: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin's importance in WWE history can't be understated. He led WWE into the Attitude Era, and it was him, alongside The Rock, who was at the forefront of what many consider the three greatest years in the company's history.
When Stone Cold Steve Austin was on top, ratings skyrocketed, and he became WWE's biggest mainstream star since Hulk Hogan. It certainly helped that he went up against some of the most elite talent in WWE history, but there was no babyface more suitable for his time.
Unfortunately, the reality was that Stone Cold Steve Austin was always on borrowed time. Owen Hart's botched piledriver to Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1997 led to The Texas Rattlesnake suffering a broken neck and temporary paralysis.
While he wrestled a more conservative style during his rise to the top, the years of bumps were always going to catch up to him. In 2003, Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestled his final match at WrestleMania 19 - losing to his greatest adversary, The Rock, and putting an end to their long-standing rivalry.
While Steve Austin spent his time until November 2003 as an on-screen authority figure, it was clear that he didn't end his WWE career on his own terms. In a Reddit AMA, Austin stated that he may have wrestled for five to six more years if it were up to him.
#4. Retired from WWE on her own terms: Trish Stratus
While Charlotte Flair seems destined to go down the track of being dubbed as the greatest Women's Champion in WWE history, Trish Stratus belongs in that category as well.
Trish Stratus' prime was long before the women's revolution, and she was one of the few big names to inspire an entire generation of women's wrestlers in WWE. Trish Stratus got two big retirement matches - both of which happened to be on her own terms.
The first retirement from WWE was in 2006, where she defeated Lita at Unforgiven in her hometown of Toronto. It was known well in advance that Trish Stratus was retiring, and she couldn't have had a more perfect setting. She would beat Lita to win her seventh and final Women's Championship, ending a legendary seven-year career.
However, she would make sporadic comeback matches in WWE, two of which happened in 2011 at WrestleMania 27 and the other at Evolution 2018. A dream match that many wanted to see was Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus. That wish would come true at SummerSlam 2019, where Flair defeated Trish Stratus in Toronto, cementing herself as the present and future of WWE's women's division.
Trish Stratus got an apt farewell, and that seemed to be a fitting end, letting her once again end her WWE run on her own terms.
