The Best of Wrestling With Retirement
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That was, to Punk, the ultimate added insult, and it apparently officially killed any thought he might have had of returning some day. Punk's since moved on to a career in MMA, but the fans sure as Hell won't let him be forgotten. Shawn Michaels' name will be constantly synonymous with WrestleMania. It wouldn't matter if he was facing a man-sized LEGO figure — Michaels would steal the show and both he and Lego Man would come out smelling like roses.
10 Best Retirement Matches In WWE History
Despite a back injury that kept him out of action from , Michaels was able to return, and worked until with no more career-threatening health problems. In fact, his retirement wasn't physically or medically motivated at all. Just before WrestleMania 25, Michaels had a conversation with another WWE employee about his son — when Michaels brought up that his son was nine, the employee made an Earth-shattering remark: That blew me away … He's halfway gone and I'm not going to miss that.
Michaels' other issue was his match with the Undertaker that closed the curtain for him at Wrestlemania The fight was highly acclaimed by fans and critics, and Michaels claims that there was, and still is, no higher note to go out on than that, and to even try would be sacrilegious. Rumors and hopes that Mr. Wrestlemania will change his mind still abound, however because most wrestlers don't really retire until the Grim Reaper tells them to and a brief reappearance of HBK at WrestleMania 32, in his ring gear, had the wrestling world buzzing.
After a decade of success and adulation in professional wrestling, The Body called it quits in , after doctors discovered blood clots in his lungs. He believes the blood clots in his lungs were a byproduct of his exposure to Agent Orange during the conflict. Whether or not that's true and it makes a lot more sense than some of the other conspiracies he subscribes to , the damage to his lungs closed a historic chapter in Ventura's life, though he's clearly enjoyed one of the most high-profile and varied post-wrestling careers in the sport's history.
Billed as the "Ugandan Giant," James Harris — who went by the stage name Kamala — wrestled for 30 years. He rose to fame during the '80s and '90s, an era when cartoonish, and oftentimes insensitive, depictions of far-flung cultures struck fear into audiences.
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Kamala, in fact, spent time working as a truck driver in his home state of Mississippi, so he was hardly the savage, primitive cannibal he portrayed on TV. Kamala retired in when, in November of that year, he was rushed to the hospital. A longtime sufferer of diabetes and high blood pressure, Kamala was in a bad state. He refused dialysis treatment, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. A year later, his right leg was also amputated below the knee. Today, he is an outspoken critic of professional wrestling, especially its low pay and poor treatment of athletes, particularly minorities like himself.
Bigelow's life is, to put it mildly, wrestling folklore. Despite a troubled second act, which included reports of non-payment on child support and serious drug abuse which eventually led to his death at 45 , Bam Bam Bigelow was one of the biggest acts — both literally and figuratively — ever to wrestle. His enduring legend is peppered with wonderful highs and shockingly terrible lows.
All of us look forward to a time when we can sit back, and enjoy the fruits of our labor. No one wants to work well into their 60s; in professional wrestling, the shelf . The sport's gruelling schedule, politics, and heavy physical toll forces many wrestlers out before they're ready to retire. Saying "goodbye" can.
Six years before his last match, Bigelow suffered second-degree burns on 33 percent of his body after saving three children from a burning building. Then, only one year before he retired, Bam Bam crashed his motorcycle and nearly killed his girlfriend who was sitting on the back.
Initially, Bigelow was fingered for a homicide investigation if his critically injured girlfriend did not recover, though thankfully, she did. Bigelow's retirement was not tied to one painful incident, but rather was brought on by the accumulation of troubles that plagued his final years. Retirement did nothing alleviate those troubles, and he was found dead in The British Bulldogs of the s were old-school, meaning they wrestled in an age of medical ignorance. In this grainy video of a match held in some low-rent gymnasium, one half of the Bulldogs, Dynamite Kid, is seen breaking his back while jumping over his opponent.
The other wrestlers don't even notice the injury. This incident, as well as subsequent injuries, led Kid to start abusing prescription painkillers on top of the steroids he was already taking.
The real reasons these famous wrestlers retired
Despite being regarded as one of the best tag-team duos in history, Dynamite Kid retired at 38, ten years after his broken back incident, looking painfully thin in his last performance. His partner and cousin, Davey Boy Smith, died in of a heart attack. His death shocked and saddened the entire wrestling world. Terry Allen took on the moniker Magnum T. Allen referred to himself as an "American Heartthrob," and stood out from the pack as a burly-yet-handsome grappler, ready to punish all takers with a belly-to-belly suplex. Unfortunately, in , at the peak of his fame and popularity, year-old Magnum T.
He was waiting in the car for hours before help arrived, and the accident left half of his body paralyzed for months. The crash permanently halted Allen's in-ring career. Apart from a few brief, almost symbolic, appearances in the s, the "American Heartthrob" was committed to the sidelines, but lucky to be alive. In , he was let go from the WWF amid rumors that he had faked an injury and convinced his mother to basically call him out sick, though Bagwell denies this to this day.
After a car crash nearly killed him in , Bagwell finally began thinking of a different career. He continued to wrestle here and there for a few years on the independent circuit but, sensing the end was near, he picked up a new hobby: He appeared on the hit Showtime docu-series Gigolos in , saying on-screen, "This is the first time I've seen a chance to segue from wrestling and I'm all over it.
I want to do it. Paul Orndorff may not be a humongous superstar, but it's hard to imagine where wrestling would be without him. He wasn't just part of the first WrestleMania: Wonderful" against Hulk Hogan and Mr.
He had a WWF title shot after about a month with the company, and was one of the top heels from the jump. Sadly, that same high bar of success was what ultimately took Mr. Wonderful out of the game.
Daniel Bryan
This would have made for a great storyline. Every time Ric Flair comes back to WWE, there is a fire in his eyes that leads us to believe that The Nature Boy would love one last run in the squared circle. However, according to WWE, Flair is retired and will remain as such. Oh, how great it would be to see The Natch go at it one last time with somebody — anybody really — as Ric Flair would make it work.
Hulk Hogan has been back with the WWE for a little while now — back where he rightfully belongs — back with the company that he helped put on the map. You never realize that you actually missed Hulk Hogan until that music hits. Like many old time wrestlers, Hogan is not in tip-top shape as his body is a battered mess. In all likelihood, Hogan would not be able to pass the company's physical even though The Hulkster wants to get back into the ring. Look, it wouldn't make for the most exciting match of all time but Hulk Hogan vs.
John Cena seems like something that needs to happen. HBK has gone on record to state that he will remain retired, as he wants to keep his promise to The Undertaker. Which is noble as well as rare. Keeping promises in the wrestling industry is not a common trend.
However, HBK fans can hold on tightly to that hope that perhaps some day he will break his promise and get back into the action. The rumor mill regarding a Stone Cold Steve Austin return to the ring has effectively run dry, as every year the rumblings begin about Austin coming back to work one last match. Obviously, this has yet to take place.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania; a match that was written in the stars.
Stone Cold has publicly stated that if he were to come back for one more match, CM Punk would be the guy to face. One last match would be the biggest thing to happen in WWE in quite some time. Well, all we can do now is raise a beer and remain hopeful. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts.
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A fresh take on sports: The only place to satisfy all of your guilty pleasures. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Pregnancy and parenting news, given to you in a way nobody else has. Of course, he then beat Ric in a retirement re-match. This contest was actually a fairly good match, and a worthy rematch from a good SummerSlam Main Event between the two the night before. The insult to injury with this match continued when Jericho was carried out, kicking and screaming, by security. He was a heel, but Jericho deserved just a little bit of dignity.
His legacy would be revived by a great run upon his return, but in the moment, this match was a travesty. Normally, someone knocking off Triple H in the year would be a momentous occasion, but Goldberg's time had way passed and this match had all the passion of a stale fart. One-sided retirement matches are always kind of lame and this one was no exception. It was even compounded by the stipulations lining up AGAINST the heel champion, as the title would've changed hands if Triple H intentionally got disqualified or counted out.
The convoluted stipulations didn't even wind up factoring into the match, as Goldberg won a mostly boring match with his Jackhammer finisher. This match was set up as Mero vs Sable's hand picked fighter. With all the intergender violence leading up, it was no surprise when Sable picked herself.
The only good thing to be said about this match is that it was short. Mero laid on his back shortly after the bell rung and then rolled up Sable for three when she tried to pin him. At only 20 seconds, it's the shortest match on the list. Sable was becoming the female version of Stone Cold Steve Austin and it surprised no one that she came right back. Marc Mero wouldn't get any more traction in the crowded midcard and both of them would be out of the company within a year's time.
This was the next to last WCW PPV in history, and the shotgun approach to booking was never more evident than during this main event. The rest of Steiner's win is just a tidal wave of interference and ref bumps from Midajah and Ric Flair. The idea of a Kidman and Hogan feud is already a little absurd, even before we discuss the hurricane of Vince Russo being involved.
A fresh take on sports: This wasn't an official stipulation, but the crowd and everyone watching at home knew they were both leaving for other pursuits. Hogan is certainly the sport's biggest star of all time. Professional wrestling gives you an opportunity to live in the spotlight with the potential to make millions of dollars. Obviously, this has yet to take place. Website for moms seeking advice, community, and entertainment. But he looks just like a wrestler, what with the tattoos and decent build and all.
But with Russo's insane booking, it was a complete disaster. This was only a couple months after Hogan returned from another absence. But, instead, Hogan continued his cheating-face ways and hit Kidman with the one two punch of brass knuckles and his very real Creative Control clause. Also, Great American Bash will go down in history for having two of the worst Retirement Matches ever on the same night.
It makes sense that two of the worst wrestlers and frequent offenders on this list end up this close to the top when they finally faced off. Hulkamania prevailed here, but the match was incredibly slow and typical of the main events in late WCW that had no effort from the biggest stars.
Nash would stay retired a month or so, but would, of course, return as part of yet another nWo version in October of the same year. It's hard to rate the old Andre the Giant matches that were more spectacles than wrestling matches. But this was one of the main events of the first WrestleMania and it was completely dreadful. This shouldn't have really been hard - Andre was the Giant, of course.