10 Surprising Wrestlers Retiring Sooner Than You Think
Adrenaline / in his soul / how long's left for Cody Rhodes?
Has any wrestler actually retired?
The Undertaker left his hat in the ring at WWE WrestleMania 33, but quickly realised the folly of his ways. He'd need that to prevent sunstroke in Saudi Arabia, where he disgraced his legacy, so he picked it back up after the fan filtered out of the Camping World stadium. He was joined at Crown Jewel by Shawn Michaels, who had "retired" at WrestleMania XXVI. When he saw the size of that blood money cheque, he stared at his hands in disbelief. It was massive!
Ric Flair's Last Match happened at WrestleMania XXVI. He has wrestled 17 times since, almost died in the 17th match, and has alluded to the fact that he will wrestle again. Terry Funk has un-retired more than that, but people don't begrudge Terry Funk because he isn't an ar*ehole. Atsushi Onita went back on his promises to retire so often that he earned the hilariously on-the-nose nickname 'Mr. Liar'. Mick Foley retired at No Way Out 2000, but simply couldn't resist the lure of...
...being the first person eliminated from a WrestleMania 2000 main event built around the McMahons.
He's not your dad, Mick!
The following wrestlers insist that they're about to take their last bump - but let's see if they're still exploding themselves at 65 years-old...
10. The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks have taken more bumps than most, not that you'd be able to tell from their evergreen performance level.
They should be thrashed, since they started taking bumps in their formative years in their literal backyard. They have barely slowed down their hypersonic, twist-loaded frenzy of an incredible signature match, and they made their first breakthrough in the mid 2000s. They were never proper "TV" wrestlers until 2019, beyond a very ill-fated TNA run. As is often the case on the indies, they were expected to work 15 minutes at a minimum, and this intensified as they truly got over in the 2010s. They were relied upon to headline countless shows, and the fans they drew expected nothing less than the undiluted, pulsating experience.
Matt Jackson told Sports Illustrated last year, following yet another lung-busting classic (opposite FTR), that he doesn't know how many matches like that he has left in him. Matt turns 38 in March of this year, and updated his team's Twitter bio in 2021 to read:
"Wrestling's sweethearts. Needle movers. Goalpost chasers. Polarizing, self-made millionaires. Could've retired years ago so this is all extra credit. Done by 40."
Provided he still means it or indeed ever did, the Bucks might wrestle their last match together in 2025 - after which, perhaps, the younger Nick might finally pay off the Being The Elite running gag and embark on a singles run.