10 Saddest Ends To Legendary WWE Careers
5. Andre The Giant
Andre left WWE after a WrestleMania defeat to Demolition. So far, not so terrible. However, the enormous Frenchman's health was clearly in decline, and his already limited abilities in the ring were getting slower by the match. The last six months of the big man's WWE tenure was spent largely in tag matches to protect him, and it was like watching your beloved dog getting too old to climb the stairs.
It wasn't the most ignominious exit you'll see in WWE, far from it, but the position Andre had held in many people's hearts as an unstoppable, almost otherworldly figure was being eroded in front of the cameras as each passing week showed up the toll the business took on his colossal frame.
Time catches up to all of us, and when someone has the lifestyle, profession, and preexisting health conditions that Andre did, it catches you fast. Thankfully, Andre The Giant is remembered as he should be; a monstrous figure with a heart of gold (and a liver of steel). The original giant of the WWE passed away less than three years after his WrestleMania hurrah.