10 Legendary Wrestlers Who Just Couldn't Face Retirement

8. Andre The Giant

There are few sadder visuals in wrestling history than seeing Andre The Giant standing at ringside during a tag-team bout between The Natural Disasters and The Bushwhackers at Summerslam 1991. On crutches (explained away in storyline by Earthquake & Typhoon injuring Andre's knee), the legendary giant could hardly move, and a lump begins to appear in any wrestling fan's throat when comparing Summerslam '91 back to footage of the big man in his prime. Once able to perform athletic moves such as dropkicks, Andre could barely even walk by the turn of the 90's - even during his swansong in-ring appearance, at Wrestlemania VI, the giant is crooked and in visible pain just moving around the ring. For a man as proud as Andre, that must have been extremely humbling, and pretty darn difficult. Many have pointed to Wrestlemania III, when Andre lost to Hulk Hogan, as a point where he could have retired with his head held high, but instead the impressive individual soldiered on, much to the detriment of his body and general well-being. Even though he wasn't very mobile, a tired and strained looking Andre still gave fans one of the most infamous 'Mania moments, slapping Bobby Heenan around at the aforementioned Wrestlemania VI.