Ranking Every WrestleMania Retirement From Worst To Best

9. John 'Bradshaw' Layfield - WrestleMania XXV

On a list of epic WrestleMania moments, adding this one seems like a joke. After his Intercontinental Championship to Rey Mysterio in 22 seconds at WrestleMania 25, John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield threw a hissy fit and told the 72,744 in attendance that he quit. There was an initial response of shock before everyone sort of realised what was going on and returned to whatever they were doing beforehand. Despite whispers of impending retirement, JBL’s swansong still felt thrown together.

Truth be told, JBL ended up as something of a pro wrestler overachiever. Justin ‘Hawk’ Bradshaw, The New Blackjacks and Acolyte Bradshaw (initially) all fell somewhat short before he found comfort as a beer-drinking compadre of Ron Simmons, as the Acolytes found their stride as the APA. Bradshaw found his groove as a tag team wrestler, a role he seemed set to play for the rest of his career.

Somehow, from there came a World Heavyweight Champion, United States Champion and Intercontinental Champion, a main event character who helped propel John Cena into the stratosphere and solidified a new generation of top stars. JBL overachieved (and then some), but his WrestleMania retirement seemed more in step with the underwhelming first half of his career.