10 Wrestling Retirement Matches Where The Loser Came Back

2. Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXIV

Mick Foley WrestleMania 2000
WWE.com

Ric Flair never wanted to retire. If he had it his way, he'd still be wrestling on Raw each and every week, taking a beating despite his age. Vince McMahon didn't see it the same way, though - heading into 2008, he created a storyline where Flair would have to retire as soon as he recorded his next loss.

That built to a WrestleMania XXIV match with Shawn Michaels, and pretty much everyone assumed that it would be Flair's swan song. The whole thing revolved around his goodbye, and when Shawn Michaels beat him, a tearful "Nature Boy" was done. The following evening on Raw, he got a grand sendoff.

Flair remained with WWE in a non-wrestling capacity until 2009, but when he left, he was ready to get back in the ring. He arrived in TNA the following year, and between 2010 and 2011, he competed in a dozen matches. Fittingly, his last bout to date was a loss to Sting just over five years ago.

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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