10 Best Active Wrestlers Over 40

Age is just a number.

Claudio Castagnoli AEW
AEW

Wrestling isn't like other sports.

Admittedly, that's not the most shocking revelation. After all, other sports aren't (openly) scripted, and their locker rooms tend not to be populated by a cast of characters who sound like the set-up to a joke. ("A fiend, a rapper and a dentist walk into a bar...").

Another way wrestling differs from more traditional sports is the age of its athletes. While other sports tend to see their participants either retire or fade away once the big 4-0 hits, wrestling has seen many a superstar put in career-defining work during their fifth decade.

Hulk Hogan joining the nWo; Bret Hart's run as an anti-American heel; the Undertaker becoming a super-worker after resurrecting his Deadman gimmick - all of these events happened after the wrestlers in question turned 40.

One of the joys of wrestling, then, is that wrestling fans get to enjoy their favourite superstars for a lot longer than the average sports fan. Unless something drastic happens, of course...

10. CM Punk

Claudio Castagnoli AEW
AEW

In a saner world, CM Punk would be near the top of this list.

Punk's run at AEW has seen the self-proclaimed Best in the World live up to his moniker by putting on a laundry list of MOTY candidates, as well as delivering scorching promos to the AEW roster. Unfortunately, Punk's infamous mouth is why Chicago's favourite son is opening this article instead of closing it.

Punk's public blitzkrieg against AEW - and the backstage brawl it sparked - will be remembered alongside the Montreal Screwjob and the Fingerpoke of Doom as one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history. Punk's scathing assessment of the company - whether it was planned or not - was, while entertaining in the moment, not exactly the most professional way for Punk to air his grievances.

Don't get us wrong - CM Punk is a proven ratings draw and one of the greatest workers on the face of the planet. But despite all that, AEW have apparently decided that the company will be better off without him. If that proves to be true it'll be a damn shame. But it'll also be an important reminder that, when it comes to being a professional wrestlers, the former part of the job description is always more important than the latter.

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Hello! My name's Iain Tayor. I write about video games, wrestling and comic books, and I apparently can't figure out how to set my profile picture correctly.