24Recently, the WWE Universe has been pleading for the retirement of two WWE legends over the ages of 50 in The Undertaker and Goldberg, begging them to stop tarnishing their legacies and hurting their bodies.
For a lot of wrestlers, continuing to work to old age is quite a common thing with the likes of Ric Flair and Sting all continuing to wrestle to old age. However, not every wrestler is like that.
Some understand the dangers of continuing to put their bodies through severe punishment and opt to get out of the business much earlier some under the age of 30, which is incredibly young for wrestling.
Most of the time, wrestlers don't even reach their peaks by the time they are 30, but the taxing travel and lack of family time force many to tap out before they reach that moment.
Of course, sadly for others retirement is something that is forced due to injuries, and whilst that is always a sad situation, it is particularly heartbreaking when it takes place at such a young age. Within this list, we will take a look at 10 wrestlers who all retired before 30 and why they chose to do it.
10 10. Corey Graves (30)
A prime example of a wrestler who was stopped before they hit their prime was Corey Graves, who was forced to retire just as he turned 30 due to a series of concussion injuries that were deemed too serious for him to return.
Graves made the emotional announcement live on WWE television on the pre-show panel for NXT Takeover: R Evolution, where the former NXT Superstar admitted that his time as a wrestler was coming to an end.
Thankfully for Graves, he managed to land firmly on his feet after an emotional retirement from wrestling still with a role in WWE. Triple H kept Graves around and had him transition into the broadcasting world where he has gone on to become an incredible commentator for the company.
9 9. Eve Torres (28)
The departure of Eve Torres from professional wrestling is something that left a lot of people surprised as she had been heavily featured by the company and only seemed to be improving and progressing.
However, the former WWE Superstar decided to walk away from the business in order to focus on life with her family. Eve got engaged towards the end of her WWE run and wanted to be able to commit more time at home, which is why she chose to retire.
Even though she still had plenty of gas in the tank and could likely still come back for a short run to this day, her decision was purely family based.
8 8. Ashley Massaro (28)
This entry certainly has a lot of emotion around it as Ashley Massaro sadly recently passed away after committing suicide, something that left the entire wrestling world heartbroken and shocked to its core.
Ashley was an incredibly popular member of the WWE locker room which was shown by the outpouring of love that former and current wrestlers gave, with the women banding together to set a go-fund-me which raised over $100,000 for her daughter.
Even though she was still a very active member of the wrestling community, often appearing at signings and comic cons, Ashley actually retired from wrestling at the age of 28, mainly to focus on life as a mother, as her daughter was incredibly sick.
7 7. Magnum T.A. (27)
The "American Heartthrob," Magnum T.A. was a tremendous professional wrestler but is one that many wrestling fans do not talk or know enough about, which is mainly due to the fact his career came to an end so early.
The man with one of the best belly-to-belly suplexes in the history of the sport was forced to retire at the peak of his career and popularity after he lost control of his Porsche and crashed it, leaving the left side of his body totally paralyzed for months.
Magnum managed to make a few small and brief appearances in the 2000s, but his career was all but over before his 30th birthday. However, he was also very lucky to even be alive, so his career might have been less important after such a close brush with death.
6 6. Joshua Bredl (28)
Some fans might not even know who Joshua Bredl is as he never managed to quite make it onto WWE television, but he was actually the male winner of Tough Enough season six back in 2015.
His victory surprised a lot of people considering some of the talents that were involved in the show (one name being Patrick Clark who became The Velveteen Dream) but he did and was offered a one-year contract with the company.
However, Bredl never really made the progression necessary to become a WWE Superstar and instead opted to retire from professional wrestling when he was released by the company.
5 5. David Flair (29)
Whilst everyone talks about Ric Flair and now his incredible daughter, Charlotte Flair, a lot of people forget that the Nature Boy's oldest son, David Flair also used to be a professional wrestler, although he wasn't quite on the level of his family.
David worked for WCW and even had spells in TNA, but didn't come close to the main event level, however, he is a former WCW United States Champion and even worked for the NWA for a time.
His final match in 2008 saw him team with his younger brother, Reid Flair in a tag team match against the legendary Nasty Boys in what was actually Reid's in-ring debut as a performer.
4 4. Chris Nowinski (24)
Another former Tough Enough wrestler who retired before they were 24 was Chris Nowinski, although unlike the earlier example, his was not through choice as he walked away from wrestling at just 24-years-old.
Nowinski has a great heel character and was improving as a wrestler, but during a tag team match against The Dudley Boyz, his life was changed forever. A mistimed kick gave him a serious concussion and after suffering from memory loss, insomnia and depression, he decided to walk away.
However, he certainly did contribute to the wrestling industry still, as it was through his hard work trying to find a treatment that he helped found the Concussion Legacy Foundation and has raised awareness surrounding the situation WWE now takes very seriously.
3 3. AJ Lee (28)
AJ Lee is one of the most influential women in the history of professional wrestling as she played a pivotal role in turning WWE's division from 'divas' to 'women's wrestling' and without her, the entire thing wouldn't have happened.
Whilst the Four Horsewomen often get the credit, it really was AJ Lee who got things rolling, and it is a huge shame that she never got to reap the rewards by having some classic matches later in her career.
However, AJ decided to walk away from the ring at just 28-years-old in a decision that seemed to have a lot to do with her husband, CM Punk quitting WWE after their major fallout.
2 2. Cameron (29)
The former Funkadactyl called things a day following her WWE release back in 2016, despite a fairly solid run with the company. The majority of her time was spent teaming with Naomi, but when they were split, Cameron struggled to make an impact on her own.
Cameron had enjoyed success with Brodus Clay and Naomi that led to her being a major member of the Total Divas cast, and it seems that the acting and modelling world is where her heart really lies.
Since leaving WWE, Cameron hasn't hit the independent wrestling scene and has instead looked towards her modelling as her main source of income.
1 1. Paige (25)
When it comes to young retirements, there was none more surprising or upsetting than that of former Divas Champion, Paige, whose career was sadly cut short due to a serious neck injury that stopped her from wrestling.
Paige was a child prodigy who burst onto the scene from the UK, taking the wrestling world by storm and became one of the most popular female wrestlers in WWE history. It was because Paige was so young that the retirement upset so many, as the Anti-Diva had much more to offer.
Paige had also just come back from a tough time in her life personally after private videos were leaked and it seemed like things were just turning around for her when the heartbreak hit.