Moments when wrestlers should have retired

[Deleted]

Taker at WM28.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Chris Benoit hugs Eddie Guerrero, the cameras turn off, he walks backstage, he hands over the title, and then he just goes home and becomes a real estate agent or something.

[realist]

Mar 18, 2019 10:09:16 GMT -5 carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) said:

Chris Benoit hugs Eddie Guerrero, the cameras turn off, he walks backstage, he hands over the title, and then he just goes home and becomes a real estate agent or something.

The only problem with that is Benoit could never sell out houses.  j/k lol

[Deleted]

Mar 17, 2019 14:20:37 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

Ric Flair in his mid 90's.

Fixed again.

Also...

Ultimate Warrior after '92.  It was clear when he made his '96 comeback that his moment was over.

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

Probably Sting at Bound For Glory 2008. He put over AJ and made a quasi-retirement speech after the fact, and I’m struggling to think of anything worthwhile he’s done since.

[Deleted]

Everyone involved as soon as the Heroes of Wrestling PPV ended.

[Natural Born Farmer]

Mar 18, 2019 16:44:21 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

Probably Sting at Bound For Glory 2008. He put over AJ and made a quasi-retirement speech after the fact, and I’m struggling to think of anything worthwhile he’s done after the fact.

Even if it was years too late, him showing up in WWE was still pretty cool. If he had gone over Triple H at Wrestlemania, I think that would have been a perfect retirement moment.

[Eddie Brock]

The Undertaker after WrestleMania 27. He manages to win with his streak intact, but has to be carted out following the match. We never hear from or see him again; he vanishes.

The ONLY way I'd bring him back is for a one-off vs. Sting at WrestleMania 31. Hype it as both guys' last match, and Undertaker wins with the Tombstone to make it 20-0. Both guys immediately retire after and Sting goes into the HOF.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Mar 18, 2019 16:45:37 GMT -5 @akeemresurrection said:

Everyone involved as soon as the Heroes of Wrestling PPV ended.

...Probably before it started.

[Deleted]

Mar 19, 2019 16:00:12 GMT -5 Eddie Brock said:

The Undertaker after WrestleMania 27. He manages to win with his streak intact, but has to be carted out following the match. We never hear from or see him again; he vanishes.

The ONLY way I'd bring him back is for a one-off vs. Sting at WrestleMania 31. Hype it as both guys' last match, and Undertaker wins with the Tombstone to make it 20-0. Both guys immediately retire after and Sting goes into the HOF.

I'd be much more ok with Taker if they'd allow him to retire the Deadman after 27 or so and let Biker Taker make some sporadic appearances.  

[jason1980s]

I think Roddy Piper after WrestleMania III. I get he had to adapt to the times, more cartoon quality in late 80s/early 90s and he was an overall friendly man and enjoyed life but his 1989-1992 run seemed so far away from the original WWF Roddy version. And the multiple times he came back just didn't make any kind of splash and he was the type of guy who should have and could have and a big splash returning if he was original Roddy and the storylines were good enough.

[ChitownKnight]

-The rock after he lost to Cena at mania 29 if you count that Rowan thing as a match.
- While I’d still like to see a 17th title reign and a couple more matches from the guy, Cena hasn’t really done anything of note since that Reigns match.
-HBK at mania 26
-If Cena wrestled Taker at mania 32 then that should of been his end
-HHH at mania 33 after he lost to Rollins with his own move

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Harley Race right after he lost to Flair in Starrcade, but the death of Kansas and a divorce pretty much left him broke. There’s a sad clip of Harley in a singlet wrestling in the early nineties.

Terry Funk in 97 after the beautiful ceremony and event and beyond the mat filming it, and most of all because the doctor told him that even with his good knee, he shouldn’t be standing at all. Funk returned to the ring six months later.

Greg Valentine like thirty years ago, he’s embarrassing himself.

[67 more]

Mar 21, 2019 0:19:42 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Harley Race right after he lost to Flair in Starrcade, but the death of Kansas and a divorce pretty much left him broke. There’s a sad clip of Harley in a singlet wrestling in the early nineties.

Terry Funk in 97 after the beautiful ceremony and event and beyond the mat filming it, and most of all because the doctor told him that even with his good knee, he shouldn’t be standing at all. Funk returned to the ring six months later.

Greg Valentine like thirty years ago, he’s embarrassing himself.

But it takes Greg Valentine twenty years just to get warmed up.

[realist]

Owen Hart - either after injuring Stone Cold with that piledriver or after the Montreal screwjob. He still went on to have some good career moments, but if he had stepped away right there, he would probably still be alive.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Mar 20, 2019 17:31:10 GMT -5 jason1980s said:

I think Roddy Piper after WrestleMania III. I get he had to adapt to the times, more cartoon quality in late 80s/early 90s and he was an overall friendly man and enjoyed life but his 1989-1992 run seemed so far away from the original WWF Roddy version. And the multiple times he came back just didn't make any kind of splash and he was the type of guy who should have and could have and a big splash returning if he was original Roddy and the storylines were good enough.

I'd say WM 8 after putting Bret over.

In 1992, he still seemed like he fit in as a crazy face, he'd done some fun stuff with Rick Rude and Flair in the preceding years and that match was one of his best so he'd have gone out on a super high note.

Every time after that he just seemed like an old retired guy. He was fine to bring back as a ref or interim president, He seemed to start aging super fast.

1992


1994


1996

[Deleted]

Piper pre-WM3 was pure gold.

The Piper who returned in '89 was not the same guy. Instead of being the off the cuff nut that I loved, he seemed too self-aware as if his trip to Hollywood convinced him that he was some kind of a great entertainer and so he was either really over the top or he was trying to earn an Oscar nomination.

[bmfjules]

Baron Corbin after his first tryout match.

[jason1980s]

Mar 21, 2019 9:13:41 GMT -5 @oldbaby said:

Piper pre-WM3 was pure gold.

The Piper who returned in '89 was not the same guy. Instead of being the off the cuff nut that I loved, he seemed too self-aware as if his trip to Hollywood convinced him that he was some kind of a great entertainer and so he was either really over the top or he was trying to earn an Oscar nomination.

The commentary was just bad, as I noted in another thread Roddy v. Macho on the mic was like he became a cartoon character from the 1990s. The movies and TV shows I've seen with him, not his more famous one, were actually very good. If he had retired completely (outside the one time legend appearances) and focused on TV and movies, I think he would be very popular as an actor and even more well known. It was like he wasn't the same Roddy on TV. He wouldn't be a Rock movie star but definitely close to Austin or Cena in terms of how believable an actor. Certainly better than Hulk Hogan.

[agent817]

Mar 18, 2019 16:24:34 GMT -5 @oldbaby said:

Mar 17, 2019 14:20:37 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

Ric Flair in his mid 90's.

Fixed again.

We have to see if he'll make it that far.