10 Wrestlers Who Should Have Stayed Retired

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Ric Flair
WWE

...but only until 2022, when he absolutely nailed it.

'The Texas Rattlesnake' has always been fiercely protective over himself and his legacy; so much so that one of the few times he almost got back in the ring before a glorious WrestleMania 38 contest with Kevin Owens was binned when he smartly elected not to turn up to Taboo Tuesday 2005 and lose to Jonathan Coachman.

Oddly, the defeat wouldn't have felt anywhere near as preposterous then as it would do now. The quiet dignity around Austin's WrestleMania XIX was very him - a clued-in Jim Ross was permitted to speak in glowing terms of his run atop the industry as he departed following a loss to The Rock, but nobody else was any the wiser that this really was it for the 'Toughest S.O.B'. What followed in the months afterwards was anything but dignified.

A parody of himself as the Co-Raw GM and/or "Sheriff" of the show, Austin later said he needed to get away from wrestling for a sustained period to truly get it out of his system. There were other more fan-friendly reasons for him to step away.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett