10 OTHER Gimmick Matches WWE Needs To Revisit

4. Retirement

Punjabi Prison 2006 Great American Bash
WWE.com

As fashionable and as deep as the current WWE roster is, there are a few old warhorses in dire need of a trip to the glue factory. This is where the Retirement Match comes in.

First out to stud is the Big Show. It was almost poetic justice that his mooted WrestleMania 33 match with Shaquille O'Neal was cancelled. Show got himself in the shape of his life - years and years after sleepwalking his way through pesky televised matches for which he didn't receive mainstream publicity - only for karma to rear its head. There's absolutely nothing left for him to do. He needs to go, and he needs to go formally.

The next man many fans never again wish to see wrestle is Kane. Many of his peers cite him as the safest worker in WWE, which is a neat euphemism for boring. Like Show, he's turned so often that he isn't so much a wrestling character as a plot device. He's been wrestling slow, uneventful matches for over two decades.

Completing the triumvirate of tedium is Mark Henry, who was half-decent for about six months of a twenty year career. Not that he ever could, but he now officially cannot wrestle without tearing some muscle or other.

All three men are barely around much anymore - why not squeeze the very last drop of blood from these leaden stones by promoting their next match as their very last?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!