10 WWE Wrestlers Who Retired In Their Prime

6. Molly Holly

Lita Mickie James
WWE.com

One of the finest moments from any WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony in recent years occurred during Beth Phoenix's long and at-times rambling recollection of a relatively young life and career well-lived.

Buried deep within the anecdotes, she noted how Molly Holly had paid for her wrestling training in an unsolicited gesture of goodwill due to Beth's efforts. It was a touching tribute to a person that appeared from the outside to be one of the nicest to have ever entered the industry, doing everything she could afford to for those still traversing through it.

It also spoke to how careful she'd been with her money during her prime earning years. Holly got in via WCW's mad money machine in 1999, but rapidly improved her workrate to the point where she was far too good for a flailing and failing female division.

A steady hand for WWE from 2000 through to her 2005 departure, she left wrestling full time to focus on other pursuits, but took with her a raft of enjoyable matches and angles that ensured that fans would still pine for her occasional one-off returns.

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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 almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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