10 Wrestling Retirement Matches Where The Loser Came Back
8. The Undertaker Vs. Steve Austin - Fully Loaded 1999
When Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker in a First Blood match at Fully Loaded 1999, it didn't end Undertaker's career - it ended Vince McMahon's. As a result of the loss, the WWE Chairman was forced to leave the company 'forever'.
The McMahon-Austin feud, which catapulted WWE to success in 1998, had run its course by the summer of 1999, with McMahon being revealed as The Undertaker's "Higher Power" doing little to revitalise it. Rather than wait until business started to decline, the decision was made to shift focus away from McMahon as the company's top heel. He lost and was banished.
In possibly the most blatant disregarding of a stipulation of this sort, McMahon was back on TV six weeks later. Despite the fact that he was, in storyline, no longer with the company in an official capacity, WWE Champion Triple H goaded him into a match. When Steve Austin interfered on McMahon's behalf, the former Chairman became the new champion.
The following week, McMahon vacated the title as he was technically not part of WWE, but Austin - who had the authority - reinstated him in exchange for a title shot. It was an awfully long way to go for what amounted to a simple babyface turn for McMahon.