The heroes and villains of professional wrestling often seem immortal. With amazing confidence, larger than life physiques and incredible athleticism, they appear to be real life superheroes. But unlike Clark Kent, these men and women are susceptible to the hands of time. Bodies break down, speed is drained, hairlines recede and weight is gained. Eventually, it's time to hang up the tights. While men like Verne Gagne and Lou Thesz wrestled into their 50s and 60s, the style of wrestling at the time was slower, and more mat-based than what we see today. Not to say old-timers like them didnt look ridiculous playing the role of tough guy in spandex, but in the modern era, having a broken down veteran competing with a younger, far more athletic opponent makes you have to suspend your disbelief to a ridiculous degree. It can also be kind of sad to watch. You can go to just about any indie show and see a Brutus The Barber Beefcake or Vader still living the dream, but this list isn't for them. This is for the wrestlers who stuck around in the major leagues well past their peak, and no one told them to stop. Now, if a wrestler is happy, healthy and the fans are still receptive to them, then who are we to judge if they want to wrestle into their old age and make some extra money? But in a dream world with storybook endings, where we could remember our favorites as they were, here are 12 wrestlers who just hung on too long.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
