10 Shortest Retirements In WWE History
7. John Bradshaw Layfield - 549 Days
Retired from June 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007
John Layfield has had a long tenure in WWE, shifting through many different gimmicks from cowboy with magnificent moustache, to satanic cult member, to hired gun, to Texan millionaire. And it's the last one that saw him achieve the greatest success, winning the United States Championship and dethroning Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship which established him as a career heel.
Upon losing the US Title, JBL quit SmackDown in June 2006 after losing a World Championship match to Rey Mysterio. He would use this to take time off to heal a back injury but would choose to quietly retire on June 16 for the next year and a half, barring one tag team match in Dublin, Ireland.
He'd take on colour-commentary duties during his retirement but would become physical at the tail end of 2007, attacking Chris Jericho on December Armageddon PPV and announcing his return to in-ring competition the next night.
He would continue his career until WrestleMania XXV, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Rey Mysterio, quitting once again.