10 Awesome Wrestlers Who Quit Before They Were 40

Wrestling many be a lot of fun to watch, but it's not always the most glamorous business in which to work in. 

Pro wrestlers, especially those at the highest levels of competition, work hundreds of matches in a given year, expose themselves to the risk of injury, and have to deal with travel demands that border on the ridiculous.

Given all that, it's no surprise that some wrestlers decide to just get out of the business while they're still young and healthy. 

Wade Barrett, whose contract with WWE expires in June and has decided not to re-sign with the company, is rumoured to be pursuing interests away from the biz (such as broadcasting duties for soccer games) once he leaves.

Ryback has expressed dissatisfaction with WWE's pay structure, but it's the same everywhere else, so he likely won't find a system that suits him. Could he be leaving wrestling, too?

They wouldn't be the first stars to decide that the business just isn't all it's cracked up to be. Many wrestlers - great workers, top names - have simply decided to hang up their boots young, while still in good health. 

Here are 10 awesome wrestlers who quit before they were 40 - not because they were hurt, but because they simply wanted to.

Johnny Jeter was considered a top prospect in OVW and a can't-miss star for WWE's future.

He formed a tag team in the developmental territory with Matt Cappotelli, then turned on the Tough Enough winner after winning the OVW Championship. The two feuded over the title, then Jeter was called up to the main roster.

Unfortunately, his call-up didn't go as well as expected. He was repacked as "Johnny", a male cheerleader and one member of the five-man Spirit Squad. Along with Ken Doane, Mike Mondo, Nick Mitchell, and Nick Nemeth, Jeter won the WWE World Tag Team Championship, but the group soon became a comedy act that would be squashed by Triple H and Shawn Michaels on a weekly basis.

They were taken off TV after less than a year. While WWE gave Jeter a few appearances under his old name, mainly on house shows, he was soon released without making any kind of impact.

The Spirit Squad gimmick turned out to be a career-killer for everyone but Nemeth, and in Jeter's case, it was literal. Though he briefly returned to OVW after the league stopped being a feeder for WWE, in 2008 the then-26-year-old decided to leave wrestling altogether.

He became an accountant, and apart from a single set of appearances for Chikara in 2014, he hasn't been back in the ring since.