10 Wrestlers Who Should Have Stayed Retired

8. Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan TNA X Division
IMPACT Wrestling/TNA

Hulk Hogan is easily the most recognisable name in professional wrestling, and at this point courts infamy as much as he ever did the bright lights of standard issue fame and fortune. But even discounting every gross detail that's emerged about the views he holds beyond promos, his post-full-time wrestling run remains full of misses rather than hits. 

Hogan’s initial farewell from the ring came in the early 2000s following a last WWE Championship-winning run that flattered to deceive. From there, he continued to make sporadic appearances for the market leader, but when that well ran dry, he embarked on a TNA run that was nothing short of a disaster. 

The matches were plodding, the promos lacked the energy and bizarre believability of his heyday, and his physical limitations were painfully evident save for one magic night against Sting at Bound For Glory 2011. Hogan's aura of invincibility was shattered, and each subsequent appearance only further tarnished his once-untouchable legacy. That his presence had actively damaged the company's standing in the industry hung over the run too - he was mostly as terrible a booker as he was a talent. 

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. 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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.