Retirement Age: 42 Today, the hazards associated with concussions have been well-documented, but years ago, the general wrestling community didn't know as much about the injuries. It took the retirement of the greatest wrestler of all time to first open eyes to the dangers of concussions. After a rocky start in WCW, Bret Hart finally became the company's World Heavyweight Champion in late 1999. That set him up for a showdown with Goldberg at Starrcade. During the course of the bout, Goldberg struck Hart in the head with a brutal kick, severely concussing "The Hitman." In subsequent weeks, Hart continued to compete (and due to his injury, rack up further concussions). In January of 2000, Hart was forced to relinquish the title and take an indefinite amount of time off. Months later, "The Hitman" reevaluated his condition and decided that retirement was necessary.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
