Top 5 Wrestling Retirements
Intro
In the world of pro wrestling, the term retirement, has emotional conitations attached to it, whether your time has come, thanks to father time, or if an injury has speeded proceedings to the point of no return. Retirement is a word, that if you're a Pro wrestling, has an endelible mark on our fandom, so this my top 5 list of the best wrestling Retirements ever.
5 Ric Flair
This one at the time, hit me hard, because at this point, I had grown up a big Ric Flair, even these days, due to allegations of sexual misconduct, Flairs stock has gone down in my books, his original retirement after Wrestlemanis 24, when he lost to Shawn Michaels, this marked the end of an era, and the end of a time, that WWE needed to move on from. His speech, came from the heart, and when HHH lead the celebrations, by bringing out his friends, family, and rivals, made for a nice touch. However, the image of him hugging he who shall not be named, hasn't aged well at all.
4 Daniel Bryan
This. Was. A nasty pill for the American Dragon to swallow. Back in 2014 Daniel was got injured, after achieving his dream, in one of the most life affirming matches, to take place on the grandest stage of them all, and then, forward two years, and Daniel had suffered a nasty concussion, he cut an emotional promo, that still until this day is hard to watch, however, his story did have a happy ending, two years later, he was given the all clear on the road to Mania 33, even though I think he should've had a singles match against Sami Zayn, the tag match he had against. Sami zayn, and. Kevin Owens, was decent, the magic just wasn't there. I can't wait to see him at Wembley Stadium, as this will be the best way for him take his flowers, after a career road, that has taken him through many twists and turns.
3 Edge
at this point. Adam Copeland is resting at his home, recovering from a broken leg, that he sustained in a match working against Malakai Black. He now works for AEW, but if you take your mind back to 2011, the WWE wasn't in a good state at all, they were failing to invest, and promote new stars, and they were going to be dealt with another blow. In 2003 he told fans that he broke his neck, and that after this point, he knew that he was wrestling on borrowed time, and as his build up, to his Mania 27 match against, an awful human being intensified, he knew that something wasn't right, so he went to his doctor, and he confirmed the worst news possible, he had spinal stinosis, a condition that if not looked at can cause severe numbness, paralysys or, death. So he had no other choice, he had to retire, so he spoke to the masses, the night after Mania, on. Monday Night Raw, and as he spoke, the fans in the arena, and watching at home, couldn't take in what they were hearing, the dust had settled on a stellar career. (or so we thought) The year was 2019, the event was Summerslam, and just as that moron Elias, was done telling the crowd, what WWE stands for, a familiar theme rang around the arena in Toronto, and just like that. Edge was back. He sphered Elias, and at this mmoment, the internet started to swell, with the same thought, what if Edge did come back, for one last match? This became a reality. In 2014 Edge got the surgery he would require, after he couldn't hold a coffee cup, the aids that helped him, would go on to join AEW as FTR, Edge, would make a heroic comeback, at the 2020 Rumble, to a tremendous pop, the emotion was palpable in the stadium, and on Copelands face, this looked like an if I die now, then i've done it moment, life comes in swings and roundabouts, and this just proves my point.
2 Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels has retired on two occassions, the first time was in 1998, after he suffered a back injury during a match with The Undertaker, at this point. Shawns Career, was spiralling out of control, as the parralels of drug addiction, had taken a grasp on his very being, the heartbreaking truths how his life was unfolding, led to him finding inner peace, and turning his life around, he would make a comeback, facing off against his old DX friend, now slash enemy HHH, this would lead to a full-time comeback in October, he would go on to win the WWE world heavyweight championship at 2002's Survivor Series. He would go on to have a well received second run in WWE, that would come to an end in 2010, after he failed to end the streak of The Deadman. His speech the following night on Monday Night Raw, echoed the sentiment of his time was now, as he told his family, that he's coming home, he hugged HHH on the ramp, as the pair would go down differant paths.
1 Sting
Shakesphere once wrote, some men are born into greatness, some achieve great things, whilst some have greatness thrust upon them. Sting is the very ramification of those words, his legendary status, is something that many respect, and earlier this year, a forty plus year career came to an emotional end, at AEW Revolution, this had me in tears, as he went out the way the should as champion, by retaining the tag belts alongside, with his prodige Darby Allin, the match against The Young Bucks had a solid build, and it was matched with fire, and, grace. His speech that he gave to the fans afterwards ehoed my own thoughts. God Bless you Stinger.