10 WWE Superstars That Got Out At The Right Time

9. Trish Stratus

Shawn Michaels
WWE

Until a lauded "revolution" in 2015, Trish Stratus was rightfully considered the greatest women's wrestler in WWE history.

She had not the title reigns of The Fabulous Moolah nor the legacy of Mae Young, but eclipsed both of them on star power alone following a career that kicked off during the company's commercial and critical peak.

From 2000-2006, Stratus exhibited repeated and marked improvement in just about every area. As a promo she grew enormously in confidence from her early days as the stilted manager of Test and Albert, to the point where she was entrusted in the controversial early-2001 programme with Vince McMahon that at least provided a mammoth WrestleMania payoff.

From there, she survived the potential death of the women's division to rebuild it in her image alongside Lita, Molly Holly, Jazz, Victoria and others than desperately attempted to make the matches about the matches, rather than the exposed skin of the competitors within them.

Retiring as Champion at Unforgiven 2006, returns haven't been diminished since. When she has made fleeting appearances, she's bettered and bolstered shows rather than bogging them down as so many other returning legends do.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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