5 WWE retirements that were real and 5 that were part of a storyline

#3 Storyline: Randy Orton's multiple WWE retirements

Randy Orton is one of the modern-day greats in WWE. The entire persona and charisma that he carries around with him make him a fan-favorite. While he has had some great moments being a face, his best work in WWE has come as a heel, something which seems to come naturally to him - and we love him for that.

Randy Orton has had not one, but two fake WWE retirement segments during his career, with the second one coming very recently. Talking about the first one, it came during his infamous feud with The Undertaker in 2005, where Randy was in the middle of his "legend killer" gimmick. Randy lost his WrestleMania 21 match against The Deadman, but picked a victory against him at No Mercy, thanks to the involvement of his dad, Bob Orton.

But after getting booked in a Hell in a Cell match with The Phenom, a scared Randy wisely decided to call it a day and announced his retirement from WWE. Being the heel that he was, he went on to mention how he had accomplished more than what many did during an entire lifetime. Turns out, all of this was a plan to get one over The Undertaker!

The second and a very recent retirement angle took place on the December 30, 2019, episode of Monday Night RAW. A few days before RAW, news broke out that the Apex Predator had suffered an injury at a recent WWE house show, with many fans capturing the video themselves and sharing it over the Internet. Randy then appeared on RAW on crutches and mentioned that he was unsure when and if he will return to the ring.

Randy Orton injured yesterday at a live event.Sending well wishes to Randy.🙏🏼#WWEHersheypic.twitter.com/Egk108ty7X

— WolFD🏴‍☠️ (@WolfDb12) December 30, 2019

The promo was so believable that fans almost fell for it before AJ Styles came out and started taunting him. What followed next was an RKO outta nowhere as Randy Orton revealed the entire thing to be a ploy!