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We've seen several WWE legends get grand retirement matches. When looking at some of the biggest names in recent times, a few Superstars have had grand farewells. WrestleMania 35 alone saw the conclusion of two legendary careers - Kurt Angle and Batista.
WrestleMania 36 was technically The Undertaker's retirement match, and it was the perfect way to conclude his WWE career, along with his Survivor Series farewell. However, there are a few names who may never get a retirement match despite having a long tenure with WWE.
#5. Triple H - A shift from the WWE ring to the office
Triple H transitioned into being a part-timer nearly a decade ago. While he has had matches on big WWE pay-per-views, his in-ring appearances have decreased drastically as the years have gone by. Normally, we only see Triple H return to a WWE ring at WrestleMania for one-off appearances.
He is always in a marquee match, simply because he is a marquee name for WWE. But 2020 was an exception where Triple H wasn't on the WrestleMania card for a reason that wasn't an injury. Speaking to SportsCenter, he said:
Right now, I'm a full-time office guy. It's funny, ironically I wasn't scheduled to be in this year's WrestleMania anyway. Every year as time goes by, it gets more and more hectic for me. Getting in the ring just becomes an added burden. Especially this year, with the way things turned out, and what we have to accomplish, I was very thankful I wasn't scheduled to be in the ring this year, because it would have been almost virtually impossible to do everything else that's happening.
It's clear that Triple H's desire to get back in the ring has dipped in time, and that's ok given that he was among WWE's top stars for a long time. While several other Superstars have had grand farewells, it wouldn't be surprising to see Triple H simply phase out of WWE programming as he already has and quietly retire.
#5. Big Show
Big Show is also one of the longest-tenured Superstars in WWE. He has been a loyal servant to the company since 1999 (minus a brief departure in 2006-07) and has done whatever the company has asked him to do.
Big Show has admitted that he could have been booked better, but that hasn't stopped him from putting over whoever WWE asked him to. His most recent stint saw him put over Randy Orton in the latter's resurgent 2020 run.
Given how in-and-out he is with WWE these days, it wouldn't be surprising to see Big Show abruptly stop wrestling without anyone realizing it.
#4. The Rock - A quiet retirement from WWE?
The Rock is a Superstar who quietly retired from WWE years ago. His last match was against John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 29. While his last match "technically" was against Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32, it was a bout that lasted all of six seconds.
While a main event match against John Cena would be the perfect retirement match for The Rock, it was never meant to be. The Rock had once revealed at the end of 2013 that the original plan for WrestleMania 30 was for him to face Brock Lesnar.
Triple H had also revealed that the original plan for the WrestleMania 32 main event was a match between himself and The Rock. The Great One never got an official farewell match, and given his status in Hollywood and outside pressure, the chances of him ever returning to the ring again are slim.
#3. Kane - Still hasn't written off a WWE return
Kane is another WWE Superstar who has only been making sporadic appearances in the last few years. Just like The Big Show, Kane has been a loyal servant to WWE despite being an inconsistently booked character.
Kane is the Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, and that will be his focus going forward. It's hard to blame him for going after his political aspirations after having a fulfilling career with WWE.
Kane spoke to Sporting News a year ago and revealed whether he quietly retired or not:
“I think, with WWE, I don’t know if you ever really retire from it all the way, especially folks that are lucky enough to get in the position that I’m in,” said Jacobs. “You can always do stuff and they can find creative ways to use you. That’s one of the things I really look forward to. When people ask me if I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring, I’m like, ‘eh, I don’t know what I’d be doing, but I’m sure at some point I’ll do something.'”
Given how busy he is with his political career, it's hard to imagine WWE going out of their way to give him a retirement match. With that said, you can never say never.
#2. Goldberg - Another WWE World title before eventual retirement?
Goldberg isn't a favorite among WWE fans, but there's little doubt about the fact that he has more drawing power than most of the roster. He's an established legend and one of the few stars in WWE that holds a larger-than-life presence.
He certainly isn't the most technical wrestler you'll see in WWE, but for years, fans paid to see him have short, but intense matches. That's a pattern that's followed, but his post-2018 WWE run hasn't always yielded the best matches.
In that time, he's faced The Undertaker, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman. His WrestleMania 33 match against Brock Lesnar was seemingly the perfect farewell for him in WWE. Both he and Lesnar got to right the wrong of WrestleMania 20 and did so in just five minutes - which was ultimately the culmination of a five-month storyline.
It's hard to say when Goldberg will retire, but he could be a star who doesn't get a proper retirement match. However, since WWE always likes to capitalize on him as much as possible, he may have the highest chance on this list of having a retirement match.
#1. John Cena - will WWE's former franchise player ride off into the sunset?
John Cena wasn't just WWE's franchise player, but he managed to stay in that role for 10 years - something that even Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, nor The Rock could do. While he was WWE's most "polarizing" star in that time, his shift to part-timer status saw fans quickly realize that he was a generational talent.
You won't see many WWE fans disputing the fact that he's among the greatest of all time. Just like The Rock, he made the switch to Hollywood, and since then, his appearances have drastically reduced.
In the last few years, John Cena has given back to WWE the best way he could, by helping to elevate full-time Superstars. There's no doubt about the fact that John Cena deserves the best farewell possible in WWE. But given how rare his appearances have been, there's a big possibility that we will see Cena quietly ride off into the sunset from WWE.
