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The industry of sports entertainment thrives on blurring the line between kayfabe and reality. Throughout the history of WWE, we've seen numerous angles and segments that made the fans scratch their heads as to whether they were for real or just to progress a storyline.
One great example of the same is WWE retirements. The connection between WWE Superstars and their fans is so deep that one can't help but feel the emotion when they come out to the ring to bid farewell to everyone and hang up their boots. But at the same time, there have been numerous instances where WWE Superstars tricked everyone into believing that they are done from in-ring competition, only to later reveal it all to be a deception.
So, let's take a look at five WWE retirements that were real and 5 that were a part of a storyline. Be sure to let us know your reactions to all of them in the comments section below.
#5 Storyline: Rey Mysterio's WWE retirement ceremony
The most recent entry into the list is Rey Mysterio's WWE retirement ceremony on Monday Night RAW. The Master of the 619 was viciously attacked by Seth Rollins on the RAW after Money in the Bank 2020. The Monday Night Messiah went on to shove Mysterio's eye on the corner of the steel steps.
After Mysterio's absence from WWE programming for the next couple of weeks, Seth Rollins declared his gruesome act as a "sacrifice" that he had to make for the greater good of Monday Night RAW. This led to WWE announcing a retirement ceremony for Rey Mysterio with Seth Rollins as the special host.
It turned out that the entire thing was a ploy from Seth Rollins who came out to announce Mysterio's retirement for him. Later in the night, Rey Mysterio appeared on-screen and mentioned that he wasn't chosen by any higher power for sacrifice but that Rollins made a clear decision to try and blind him! Later, his son Dominick hinted at his intentions of coming after Rollins for what he did to his father.
#5 Real: Paige's forced WWE retirement
Pro wrestling can prove to be a dangerous sport, as we have seen over the years. WWE Superstar, Paige learned that the hard way, as the super-talented wrestler was forced to retire at a very young age from WWE.
Paige was the first NXT Women's Champion, who went on to win the Divas Championship from AJ Lee on her first night on the main roster in 2014 at the age of just 21. She went on to become the top star of the women's division of the company until her hiatus in 2016 due to injuries.
After numerous ups and downs in her personal life, she returned to WWE in November 2017 forming Absolution with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. She was looking set to once again reach the top of the roster but unfortunately suffered another injury at a house show in December of that year. This kept her from competing in the ring, but she continued to appear as the manager of Rose and Deville for the next several months.
On the RAW after WrestleMania 34, Paige announced her official retirement from in-ring competition due to her injuries, a segment that left many fans with tears in their eyes as the WWE Universe broke into "Thank You Paige" chants. She later became the General Manager of SmackDown and currently appears on WWE Backstage as a contributor and analyst.
#4 Storyline: Mark Henry deceives the entire WWE Universe
Considered as one of the most unexpected moments in recent WWE history, Mark Henry's fake retirement segment had us all convinced that the World's Strongest Man was saying goodbye to the WWE Universe.
The segment happened in June 2013, before the Money in the Bank PPV. Mark Henry teased his retirement on social media earlier and came down to the ring that day in the now-infamous salmon suit, with an expression of gratitude on his face.
He went on to give an amazing speech on his career with WWE, thanking fans, and even broke down into tears. John Cena, who came out to the ring to congratulate him also played his role amazingly well and the two convinced everyone watching around the world that this was it for Mark Henry. The World's Strongest Man ended his speech by addressing hir daughter and saying "baby I'm coming home". The arena echoed with fans chanting his name and thanking him and the segment looked to end with him embracing the love and support of the WWE Universe.
But then came the huge shocker as Henry went on to hug John Cena but instead put him down with a World's Strongest Slam, revealing the entire retirement angle to be a storyline. He went on to challenge Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank but was unsuccessful in winning it. Go ahead, watch the video, and see for yourself how Mark Henry trolled everyone that night!
#4 Real: Daniel Bryan's emotional WWE farewell
Daniel Bryan is a gifted athlete whose wrestling skills are second to none. Being a 5-time World Champion in WWE, Bryan has had his shares of ups and downs with the company. The leader of the Yes Movement is most famously known for his WrestleMania XXX main event victory where he defeated Randy Orton and Batista to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Unfortunately, his successes were taken away from him abruptly due to injuries and concussions. He had to relinquish his title on multiple occasions and after a long absence from WWE, Daniel Bryan announced his retirement from the business on February 8, 2016, due to medical reasons.
In what was one of the most emotional WWE moments in recent memory, the entire WWE roster, including Vince McMahon, came out to congratulate him on a fantastic career. The show went off the air with Daniel Bryan and his wife Brie Bella leading the entire arena to the thunderous YES chants!
However, after two years of evaluations and reviews on his condition, Daniel Bryan was cleared to compete again and made his in-ring return at WrestleMania 34.
#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.
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!
#3 Real: Ric Flair's WWE retirement
Not many can claim to have made the same amount of impact that Ric Flair has in the business of pro wrestling. Being considered as one of the greatest to ever embrace this profession, Ric Flair is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer and holds the record of 16 World Championships in the company, tied with John Cena.
In late 2007, Ric Flair announced on RAW that he will never retire, leading to Vince McMahon retaliating and announcing that the Nature Boy will be forced to retire after the next match that he lost. He went on to take on the likes of Triple H, Umaga, and even Vince McMahon himself and defeated them to keep his career intact.
It was at WrestleMania 24 where Ric Flair lost, in what was considered by many to be the match of the year, to Shawn Michaels. Interestingly, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008 a day before his match with the Heart Break Kid.
On the following episode of RAW on March 31, 2008, Ric Flair had his farewell ceremony that saw several Superstars, legends, and the fans give the Nature Boy a standing ovation and celebrate his career. In a rare moment, even The Undertaker came out, broke character, and showed his respect to Ric Flair.
Ric Flair went on to wrestle for other promotions like Ring of Honor and TNA/Impact Wrestling after that, but the above moment continues to be his "retirement" from the WWE ring. In recent years, we have seen the Nature Boy make numerous appearances for WWE for various storyline purposes but it's safe to assume that we won't see him back in the ring again!
#2 Storyline: Batista's fake WWE retirement
Batista is no stranger to "waving goodbye" to the WWE Universe as we have seen him do that on more than one occasion in his career. During the spring of 2009, Batista was in a feud with the then WWE Champion, Randy Orton. The two squared off inside a steel cage with the title on the line at Extreme Rules 2009. While The Animal managed to walk out as the new WWE Champion, behind the screens Batista had torn his left bicep and had to forcefully be out for the next few months, after an on-screen attack by The Legacy to write him off TV.
Batista returned to WWE in September of that year, with his arm in a sling and announced his retirement. Randy Orton soon came out and started gloating over having ended his career. To this, Batista started laughing and told Randy, "I know something that you don't know." He went on to remove his sling, revealing that his arm was healed and went on to attack the Apex Predator.
Years later, Batista finally retired from WWE after his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 35. He was later announced as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020.
#2 Real: Shawn Michaels bids farewell to the WWE Universe
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is considered by many to be one of the greatest pro wrestlers that the industry has witnessed. Earning the title of "Mr. WrestleMania", the Heart Break Kid has had numerous amazing matches at the Show of Shows, but none of them were probably as great as his two encounters with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV and XXVI.
The match between The Deadman and Michaels at WrestleMania 25 is widely considered to be the best match in WrestleMania's history which saw The Undertaker defeat HBK after a thrilling contest. But the story wasn't finished as the two went on to have a rematch the next year at WrestleMania 26 with Michaels' WWE career on the line.
Being built as "The Streak vs The Career", many fans expected Shawn Michaels to finally end The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak. But The Phenom went on to pick the victory, leading to the HBK retiring at the peak of his career. Next night on Monday Night RAW, Shawn Michaels gave a very emotional retirement speech and bid farewell to the WWE Universe.
He stayed retired until 2018, where he came back for just one match at Crown Jewel teaming up with Triple H to take on The Undertaker and Kane!
#1 Storyline: Triple H retires from WWE because of a snake bite
Triple H is one of the greatest and most popular WWE Superstars in the history of the company. A 14-time World Champion in WWE, he has given the fans umpteen amazing moments and matches. While he continues to wrestle once or twice a year till now, he once announced his retirement in 1999.
During his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin at that time, WWE decided to include real rattlesnakes in the rivalry, which was of course due to Austin's nickname. During an episode of RAW is WAR at that time, the Texas Rattlesnake trapped The Game in a locker room with a real venomous rattlesnake.
While we didn't see what happened after that as Austin locked the door and left, Triple H later appeared on SmackDown a few days later with a scary wound on his face, which he revealed was the result of the snake biting him.
Triple H cut a promo in the ring saying that it has become too dangerous for him to continue this and announced his retirement. Later, The Game confronted Stone Cold Steve Austin during a backstage segment and went on to attack him with Chyna. Triple H went on to remove the prosthetic snake bite skin, revealing it all to be a ploy to get an upper hand over Austin!
#1 Real: Edge announces his shocking retirement from WWE
The Rated-R Superstar, Edge was one of the few who went out at the peak of their careers. After successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 27, Edge appeared on RAW on April 11, 2011, to announce his retirement from in-ring competition in WWE.
The reason for this was the multiple neck injuries that he had suffered throughout his career. In an MRI test after WrestleMania 27, he was diagnosed with cervical vertebral fusion and the doctors advised him to retire. Edge revealed that even a single hard fall could lead to him having a neck-down paralysis or even death. His retirement speech on RAW came as a huge shock to the entire WWE Universe, with fans in the arena visibly in tears. He later went on to relinquish his World title on SmackDown, retiring as the World Heavyweight Champion.
He was then inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2012 and continued making special appearances for WWE in the next several years.
It was at Royal Rumble 2020 that Edge appeared as a surprise entrant, making his in-ring return after almost nine years. He went on to have a heated feud with Randy Orton that resulted in a brutal Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36, which Edge won.
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