The world of Pro Wrestling is all about shocking retirements and comebacks – here are the 5 WWE wrestlers who stuck to their retirement
The wrestling world has seen a large number of shocking retirements as well as extraordinary comebacks as well. Several superstars hung their boots and only worked in premium live events for money. On the other hand, some wrestlers have stayed retired. Let’s look at 5 wrestlers who stuck to their retirement.
1. Paige
Even though Paige still works as an Ambassador for WWE, her in-ring days got over soon due to a horrific neck injury. WWE signed Bevis in 2011, and she became the youngest Divas Champion in history in her debut match on the main roster.
She is a two-time WWE Divas Champion. She was the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion and had an enormous 301 days reign. Unfortunately, she went on a hiatus due to a neck injury in October 2016. Then, in December 2017, she suffered another impactful injury to the neck at a match which prevented her from competing further, and she retired from in-ring competition.
She was the ascent of the “Four Horsewomen of WWE’ and was one of the torchbearers of the women’s division. She is still stuck on her retirement
2. JBL
In 2004, The Rock and Brock Lesnar left WWE, creating a significant void. Vince McMahon was looking for an authentic heel at that time, and that’s when he turned his attention towards Bradshaw and turned him into a villainous JBL.
He became a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion during the attitude Era. In 2004 he was rebranded as JBL- a rough-mannered, brawling, blustering, bad-tempered, and bigmouthed Texas elite businessman, driven into the arena by limousine. He won the WWE Championship title and had a reign for 280 days. He is the 20th Triple Crown Champion and 10th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
After a humiliating loss to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 25, JBL retired from in-ring competition and has stayed true to his word.
3. AJ Lee
AJ Lee had the looks of an angel but played the role of a vicious devil to perfection. She had incredible promo skills to verbally demoralize her opponents. Lee made her name through the storyline with her “mentally unstable” character and had high-profile relationships with the likes of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk.
She is also a former three-time Divas Champion for 406 days. But unfortunately, due to a series of injuries, Lee took retirement from Wrestling in 2015.
4. Batista
Batista came into the business being slightly older; however, that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the best WWE superstars. Popularly known as “The Animal”, he became a six-time world champion in WWE, including World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion.
He also won the World Tag Team Championship three times and WWE Tag Team Championship once. Batista headlines WrestleMania 21, one of the top five highest-grossing PPV events in professional wrestling history.
The Animal parted ways with WWE in 2010 but returned for two more stints. However, his retirement came in the hands of Triple H at WrestleMania 35, and he has stayed retired to date.
5. Ric Flair
Ric Flair needs no introduction, one of the all-time greats of professional Wrestling, a 16-time World Champion, which includes NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWF Champion.
However, many claims that he is a 21-time champion as well. Flair had a career-ending match against Shawn Michaels in 2008. The retirement did not last long, as the two-time Hall of Famer later joined TNA. His actual in-ring career came to an end in 2012. He is still quite active in the wrestling world through his podcasts.
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