10 WWE Wrestlers Who Retired In Their Prime
8. Lita
Lita's exit just two months after Trish Stratus' may as well have happened in an alternate universe, let alone in a different city on a different show.
The Toronto and Philadelphia locales were all that separated Unforgiven and Survivor Series respectively in 2006, but the booking team weren't half as keen on being kind the second time around. Unlike Trish, Lita was beaten. Unlike Trish, Lita's match wasn't placed in a position of prestige. Unlike Trish, Lita's underwear were stolen and sold to the crowd by babyfaces to send her on her way.
And her absence didn't just make fans' hearts fonder for the former Team Extreme star - it created a mutual feeling from the woman behind the gimmick herself.
Amy Dumas walked away from wrestling entirely - seemingly rather happily so - until wrestling called her back and asked for Lita.
Forming part of an improved narrative around her time as WWE rebuilt their women's division, Lita was considered a cornerstone and viewed on television as such. Never the tightest between the ropes, Lita didn't need to damage her own legacy in the process - despite WWE's efforts to do just that all those years ago.