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The WWE website has posted an article about superstars who had their retirement matches at WrestleMania.
Shawn Michaels
As you should know by now, The Undertaker has won every single one of his 20 matches at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels came very close to beating him at WrestleMania 25. This was one of the very few achievements that Michaels had never accomplished. So he bet his career on a chance to do it again at WrestleMania XXVI. Unfortunately for Michaels, the gamble did not pay off. Michaels went into the Hall of Fame one night before, indicating that he was not going to end the ‘Streak’.
Ric Flair
For many years, Ric Flair had been asked when he was going to retire. Mr. McMahon made the decision for him in 2008. McMahon warned Flair that if he lost another singles match, then McMahon would enforce Flair’s retirement. The long line of young superstars proved to be no threat. But the only serious risk was Shawn Michaels. The chances of Flair beating Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV were so slim that Flair accepted induction into the Hall Of Fame. Sure enough, Michaels put an end to Flair’s career. This match, combined with the recent heart attack suffered by Jerry Lawler, means that Flair will never wrestle in the WWE again. The match would later be voted the match of the decade.
(The WWE does not acknowledge any of Flair’s matches for TNA Wrestling, Japan or the independent circuit since).
JBL
JBL refused to admit that his poor back health would have meant retiring from the ring. He tried to overcompensate by being the first man to hold the United States and World Heavyweight Championships at the same time. He hid his insecurities by pretending that the World Champion, Rey Mysterio, was the one suffering from delusions about his abilities. He tried to humiliate Mysterio by forcing him to face a serious of super heavyweights. But Mysterio ended his losing streak by beating JBL. In a bid to restore his ego, JBL took on the newcomer Bobby Lashley, but quickly lost the US title to him. That same night, the humiliated JBL challenged Mysterio for the World Title one more time, promising to quit if he couldn’t win. He didn’t, and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long fired him.
None of this was at a WrestleMania. JBL’s back health improved enough for him to have another 18 months in the ring. He planned to announce his retirement as the Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania 25. But once again, Mysterio ended JBL’s career with a title match loss. JBL quit
out of frustration.
Edge
This entry was a mistake. Unlike the others on this list, Edge had no plans of retiring when he did. He opened WrestleMania XXVII by successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. One week later, WWE doctors told Edge that his neck was in critical condition. Due to the risk of life-long injury, the WWE doctors refused to clear Edge to ever wrestle again.
Or at least this is how we were told this had happened. There is a conspiracy theory that the WWE doctors knew before WM XXVII how serious Edge’s neck injury was. But the genuinely did not until afterwards. Edge’s last match was actually a tag team match at a house show.
Goldberg
Goldberg had a famously short stint in the WWE, leaving after just 1 year. His final match was a clash against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX. Immediately after this match, Goldberg started demanding a very high fee to work for any company. On top of this, Goldberg has also been very fussy about which companies he will work with. While very few have been able to afford to hire him, he plan refused to work for the ones that could. Essentially, Goldberg negotiated himself into retirement. Goldberg claims to have wrestled a series of matches in Africa, however, all of his named opponents denied ever working with him (outside of WWE).
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin famously walked out of the WWE in 2002. He then returned in early 2003. He had the third of three WM matches against the Rock. Austin had taken the WWE Championship from the Rock in both WM XV and X-7. But their third encounter at WM XIX ended with Rock taking a non-title victory. The next night, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff fired Austin due to the alleged state of Austin’s neck.
Over the coming year, Austin slowly revealed that his neck and knees were severely damaged after a long career in the ring. His frustration at a forced retirement led to him walking out of the WWE, (as well as a scheduled loss to Brock Lesnar with no build-up). It was also revealed that Austin was rushed to hospital with heart complications the night before WM XIX. Rock was not made aware of Austin’s poor health.
Shawn Michaels
As you should know by now, The Undertaker has won every single one of his 20 matches at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels came very close to beating him at WrestleMania 25. This was one of the very few achievements that Michaels had never accomplished. So he bet his career on a chance to do it again at WrestleMania XXVI. Unfortunately for Michaels, the gamble did not pay off. Michaels went into the Hall of Fame one night before, indicating that he was not going to end the ‘Streak’.
Ric Flair
For many years, Ric Flair had been asked when he was going to retire. Mr. McMahon made the decision for him in 2008. McMahon warned Flair that if he lost another singles match, then McMahon would enforce Flair’s retirement. The long line of young superstars proved to be no threat. But the only serious risk was Shawn Michaels. The chances of Flair beating Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV were so slim that Flair accepted induction into the Hall Of Fame. Sure enough, Michaels put an end to Flair’s career. This match, combined with the recent heart attack suffered by Jerry Lawler, means that Flair will never wrestle in the WWE again. The match would later be voted the match of the decade.
(The WWE does not acknowledge any of Flair’s matches for TNA Wrestling, Japan or the independent circuit since).
JBL
JBL refused to admit that his poor back health would have meant retiring from the ring. He tried to overcompensate by being the first man to hold the United States and World Heavyweight Championships at the same time. He hid his insecurities by pretending that the World Champion, Rey Mysterio, was the one suffering from delusions about his abilities. He tried to humiliate Mysterio by forcing him to face a serious of super heavyweights. But Mysterio ended his losing streak by beating JBL. In a bid to restore his ego, JBL took on the newcomer Bobby Lashley, but quickly lost the US title to him. That same night, the humiliated JBL challenged Mysterio for the World Title one more time, promising to quit if he couldn’t win. He didn’t, and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long fired him.
None of this was at a WrestleMania. JBL’s back health improved enough for him to have another 18 months in the ring. He planned to announce his retirement as the Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania 25. But once again, Mysterio ended JBL’s career with a title match loss. JBL quit
out of frustration.
Edge
This entry was a mistake. Unlike the others on this list, Edge had no plans of retiring when he did. He opened WrestleMania XXVII by successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. One week later, WWE doctors told Edge that his neck was in critical condition. Due to the risk of life-long injury, the WWE doctors refused to clear Edge to ever wrestle again.
Or at least this is how we were told this had happened. There is a conspiracy theory that the WWE doctors knew before WM XXVII how serious Edge’s neck injury was. But the genuinely did not until afterwards. Edge’s last match was actually a tag team match at a house show.
Goldberg
Goldberg had a famously short stint in the WWE, leaving after just 1 year. His final match was a clash against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX. Immediately after this match, Goldberg started demanding a very high fee to work for any company. On top of this, Goldberg has also been very fussy about which companies he will work with. While very few have been able to afford to hire him, he plan refused to work for the ones that could. Essentially, Goldberg negotiated himself into retirement. Goldberg claims to have wrestled a series of matches in Africa, however, all of his named opponents denied ever working with him (outside of WWE).
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin famously walked out of the WWE in 2002. He then returned in early 2003. He had the third of three WM matches against the Rock. Austin had taken the WWE Championship from the Rock in both WM XV and X-7. But their third encounter at WM XIX ended with Rock taking a non-title victory. The next night, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff fired Austin due to the alleged state of Austin’s neck.
Over the coming year, Austin slowly revealed that his neck and knees were severely damaged after a long career in the ring. His frustration at a forced retirement led to him walking out of the WWE, (as well as a scheduled loss to Brock Lesnar with no build-up). It was also revealed that Austin was rushed to hospital with heart complications the night before WM XIX. Rock was not made aware of Austin’s poor health.