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Professional wrestling is clearly an extremely hard business to tear yourself away from. There are so many Superstars that try to retire but no matter what they do, they always seem to come crawling back in one way or another.
It may not be to wrestle either. The likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and X-Pac make sporadic appearances for WWE as well as hosting their own podcasts, while Mick Foley has been a commissioner, a General Manager, and has his own show on the WWE Network.
When some wrestlers leave WWE and the pro wrestling business though, they mean it. Some start families while others venture off into completely different careers.
It's not completely unheard of for Superstars to leave the business for good, and here are five examples of wrestlers who you'll likely never see get involved in pro wrestling ever again.
#5 Bret Hart
Bret Hart was gone from WWE for an awfully long time. Yes, he wrestled for WCW during that absence, but his heart was never really in it. The Montreal Screwjob in 1997 really killed Bret's love of the business and started him on a slippery slope.
It took a long time for "The Hitman" to forgive WWE and Vince McMahon for what they did to him on that fateful night. Eventually, he did though and on an edition of Raw 2009 he returned and was the guest host of the show.
Bret's return signalled the end of a long path. One man that WWE thought they would never rebuild that bridge with.
Since then, however, Hart has been very critical of some of what WWE has been doing, in particular, Seth Rollins whom the former WWE Champion believes to be a dangerous worker. His views will likely halt another return to the business for him, and at this point, it's unlikely that he really cares.
#4 Shawn Michaels
One man that fans are dying to see have one more match is "The Heartbreak Kid", Shawn Michaels. Let's not forget that he did it once before when he returned to battle his good friend Triple H in 2002, and that one match wound up becoming another eight-year run.
The WWE Universe has been teased with a return as well. In the build to this year's Royal Rumble, AJ Styles tweeted a photo that suggested he and Shawn would be squaring off at the pay-per-view, but it never happened of course.
Michaels later revealed that WWE had actually approached him about returning to wrestle Styles, but that he had no interest in coming back. His second retirement was such a perfect way to bow out in his eyes that one more match would risk spoiling that.
#3 Goldberg
Last year, we witnessed a pro wrestling return that we never thought we would see. The WCW icon, Goldberg, came back to WWE, and it was as if he hadn't missed a step. Goldberg continued what he had always done best in his heydey despite being away from the ring for over twelve years.
In the few months that he was back with WWE, Goldberg was extremely upfront about why exactly he had come back after all that time. During his first run with WCW and later WWE, he wasn't married and didn't have a son. Now he does, and he wanted to show him exactly what he was famous for.
Goldberg also revealed how much work it had taken to get back in shape for his return. If it had not been for his wife and child we would have likely never seen a Goldberg return. Now that they have had the opportunity to see him wrestle that will probably be it for Goldberg and WWE.
#2 Trish Stratus
WWE is in the midst of a women's revolution. The female Superstars in the company are being given opportunities that women before them were never afforded. In fact, they're not simply being given them, they are earning them.
Let's not forget that there are a number of women who paved the way for the revolution taking place, and one of those women is Trish Stratus. A seven time Women's Champion, Trish may have been hired for her looks, but she went on to become one of the greatest female performers in the company's history.
With women's wrestling being given more spotlight than ever before in WWE, certain Superstars have been brought back into the fold. Mickie James is wrestling again, Lita is constantly on panels and working as an announcer, but still no sign of Trish.
There were rumours that she would be brought back, but Stratus seems content with the life she has now outside of pro wrestling.
#1 CM Punk
It would seem that no matter how fragmented a relationship former Superstars have with WWE, they always come back in the end. It happened with Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, and Ultimate Warrior returned just in time to be inducted into the Hall of Fame before he passed away.
When it comes to CM Punk, however, the "Straight Edge Superstar" may very well be the exception to that rule. Since storming out of WWE, Punk has ventured into UFC and also dabbled in writing for Marvel and seems perfectly happy without wrestling in his life.
It isn't just WWE he has a problem with either. A British wrestling company reportedly offered the Second City Saint $1 million to come and perform for them, but he had no interest. It would seem that WWE have killed Punk's love of pro wrestling and he may very well never return to the business.
