10 Annoying Things That Wrestling Is Obsessed With
4. Phoney Retirements
"If *insert wrestler here* loses this match, then they'll have to leave *insert promotion here* forever". That bold claim is timeless. It's also hard to stomach when fans have seen it used so often and know said wrestler isn't going anywhere. If anything, they're only going off on a short holiday, or to heal up a niggling injury.
Retirement angles are the same.
Very few wrestlers actually close the book on their careers after losing due to the dreaded retirement stipulation. Even Shawn Michaels, who managed to stay away for eight long years, crawled back for one more payday on an unwanted Saudi Arabian stadium show in 2018. It's just what wrestlers do - everybody wants that sweet, sweet cash.
The iconic Terry Funk is perhaps the prototypical example of a worker who can't hang up his boots for good. He's had more "retirement matches" than most, and still only considers himself partly retired aged 76. That's insane.