Over the years we've seen a plethora of superstars come and go through the doors of WWE, and most of the time, they leave their mark. Some go on to become world champions and others are memorable jobbers, but either way, their tenure usually has at least one headline-making moment.

But aside from all that, one of the most interesting aspects of a WWE superstar's time with the company lies in how old they are when they leave the company. Due to the progression of the industry, many guys and girls sign on the dotted line much earlier on in their careers - but on the other end of the spectrum, there are some that are even older than you may have realised.

Due to how stacked this list is we've left out a few notable entries who could've featured, with one of the major ones being Diamond Dallas Page. The WWE Hall of Famer came into the business extremely late on in the game, and because of that, few people know that he's actually 62 years of age. Still, that doesn't make his work with the likes of Jake Roberts and Scott Hall any less awesome.

So with all of that being said, it's time to delve into our list of 10 young former WWE stars and 10 older ones.

20 Younger: Kelly Kelly - 31

One of the things that got Kelly Kelly a job with WWE, back in the day, was her looks. That may seem a little bit wrong for us to say out loud, but it's all true. Bizarrely enough she initially came into the company well over a decade ago, kicking off one of the most "interesting" runs for a modern-day diva. Why? Because at first, she was a model, then an interviewer, then a valet, then all of a sudden she was the champion.

Still, in between all of that, there's still a success story, and we probably should've known that she'd eventually move on to pastures new. Having only just reached her 30s, Kelly has shown a clear interest in returning to her WWE career - as evidenced by her entry into the first-ever women's Royal Rumble back in January.

Sure, she's never been and never will be the best female technician on the roster, but that's not what her role requires her to be. If anything, she can thrive under a gimmick originally designed for another member of this list: Emma. Instead of the Emmalina gimmick, you could have Kelly Kelly take control of what, in all honesty, seems like something that was handcrafted for the likes of her and Eva Marie.

19 Older: Ultimo Dragon - 51

Via: WWE.com

Ultimo Dragon is a fondly remembered lucha star from Japan, but when he made the transition over to WWE, things didn't work out quite as well for him. Perhaps the fans just weren't ready for that kind of style yet, maybe the character didn't work, or perhaps it was similar to the original Sin Cara's run in that it just wasn't a good fit from an in-ring standpoint.

Either way, the gulf in quality between Ultimo's run and Rey Mysterio's was and still is absolutely staggering.

The thing that's even crazier is that there's almost decade between them in terms of their age, with Ultimo Dragon now being in his fifties, and Rey still in his early 40s.

That seems unthinkable and will almost certainly make some post-Attitude Era fans feel even older than they already do.

In the world of professional wrestling, of course, being around that kind of age doesn't always necessarily mean that you're 'over the hill' so to speak. In fact, some superstars have even been able to expand their horizons from that point in their career, but we're confident in saying that Ultimo Dragon won't be one of them.

With that being said, we always thought his mask was pretty cool.

18 Younger: Zach Gowen - 35

via twitter.com

Zach Gowen is one of the most iconic performers in WWE history, and we aren't so sure that's an overstatement. For those of you who don't know, Zach was the one-legged superstar who was involved in a string of high-profile storylines alongside the likes of Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Brock Lesnar, the Big Show and more.

While he didn't last as long as many would've hoped in WWE, he had some moments that few people in his position could ever dream of having.

He's the personification of why nobody should ever give up on their dreams because regardless of what deficiencies you may have, there is no reason why you can't overcome the odds in whatever profession you find yourself in.

A lot of people may look back on some of Gowen's biggest moments and see them as distasteful, and while we disagree with those people, it is odd to think that he was pretty much just a kid when he got his big opportunity. He was the original baby-faced assassin in many ways, as he was capable of doing things that even superstars with two legs weren't able to do.

He may never have been a world champion, but he certainly left a lasting impression on the fans.

17 Older: Rikishi - 52

Some of you may only know of Rikishi as The Usos' father, and that's a shame. The stinkface king himself has had some really notable moments over the course of his career, and no, we aren't referring to his cameo on Raw a few weeks prior to the 1000th episode. He was a comedy guy, he was a serious guy and he was even a main event guy for a brief period of time, but throughout all of that, he was always a hard worker.

Rikishi was once known as the man who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin, which, should tell you all you need to know about the unpredictable nature of the Attitude Era. He was considered to be someone who WWE could bring into bigger stories if needs be, as evidenced by the fact he was chosen to be chokeslammed off the top of Hell in a Cell by The Undertaker.

Because of how youthful he made his work seem, it may be surprising to some that he's already moving towards his mid-50s.

Plus, while this may sound morbid, several of his family memories haven't been so fortunate, which is a tragedy in itself. Rikishi has been able to stay healthy, and we'd love nothing more than to see him back on WWE television - perhaps as a manager.

16 Younger: Cody Rhodes - 32

Well well well, what is there to say about Cody? Here, we've got a guy who was clearly being mismanaged in a big way with WWE, and everyone knew it - including the man himself. Under the guise of Stardust it was clear to see that Cody wasn't entirely happy with his current position, and now, he appears to be on the run of his life.

After bouncing around a series of different companies around the world, Rhodes found his footing as one of the top heels in both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Given how young he was when he started it shouldn't come as too much of a shock to see that he's still in his early thirties, but some people may not have been following his career all that much prior to the last few years.

Cody has let it be known that he's grateful for his time in WWE, but that moving forward, he can't see himself making any kind of serious strides towards a long-term return. That makes sense, too, because we just don't know how he'd be treated when it comes to his booking in comparison to how much freedom he has in the present day.

15 Older: Hulk Hogan - 64

Everybody knows and loves (for the most part) Hulk Hogan, mainly because of his contributions to the world of professional wrestling. The age-old argument is that without The Hulkster, WWE wouldn't even be in business today, and it rings true. The guy was the face of the company throughout his entire time there, and to be honest, you have to question how long it'll be before they decided to bring him back.

We aren't suggesting that's the morally correct thing to do at this stage, but it's what the fans want, and WWE haven't shown themselves to shy away from controversy before as evidenced by their recent affiliation with Saudi Arabia. In terms of this story, however, Hogan always did seem like he was immortal, which makes his actual age somewhat surprising for those who follow and admire him.

At 64, Hogan is one year away from the standard age people retire at. How baffling is that? Sure, it happens to all of us, but Hulk always seemed like the larger than life character who would never age. That sounds ridiculous to even say out loud, but come on, just look at the guy.

One thing is for sure, if he ever does return, the pop will be out of this world.

14 Younger: Kaitlyn - 31

Via: Sportskeeda

If you weren't a fan of Kaitlyn a few years back, then, to be honest, we can't really blame you. Despite her clearly being an incredibly hard worker she just wasn't quite able to connect with the crowd on the level of someone like, say, her on-screen best friend AJ Lee. As a result, it seemed as if she slowly began to fade into the distance, before leaving to pursue a career that was a genuine passion of hers.

While she may have been involved in some controversy in recent times, all we care about is the fact that she seems to be reaching a point in her life where she's visibly happy. Plus, she returned to the ring recently on the independent scene, which indicates to us that there's a chance she could come back into the fold with WWE one day.

We aren't quite sure how they'd implement her into the current system, but regardless of that, she deserves a hell of a lot of credit for holding down the fort prior to the Women's Revolution. Alongside the aforementioned AJ and Eve Torres, she was instrumental in maintaining some kind of interest in the division for the WWE Universe.

13 Older: Steve Blackman - 54

Via: WWE.com

Steve Blackman, on the face of it, is a man who simply should not age. He's kind of like Chuck Norris, but for professional wrestling. In all seriousness, Blackman's character had a great deal of potential and it would've been nice to have seen more done with him. He always seemed like he had a youthful exuberance that set him apart from most of the other mid-carders, but in actuality, he wasn't that much of a spring chicken at all.

Nowadays Blackman is in his mid-50s, which could come as a shock to some who were big fans of his work back in the day.

Blackman may not have ever been destined to reach the main event, but they had something with his gimmick, which is exemplified by how many "MMA" type personas there are in professional wrestling now.

Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Sonya Deville, and Matt Riddle are just a handful of the names that we can think of off the top of our heads. Whether it was intentional or not, Blackman set forth a movement that would eventually come full circle in the modern era. Oh, and he also holds the record for most combined days as reigning Hardcore Champion, so that's something.

12 Younger: Rene Dupree - 34

via youtube.com

Rene Dupree may spend most of his time these days on the lower-end of the independent scene's spectrum, but at one time, he was the youngest champion in WWE history (before Nicholas came along and blew everyone else out of the water). The kayfabe Frenchman was notable for his phenomenal physique in addition to his age, but if you just saw him and didn't know how old he actually was, you probably wouldn't have guessed that he was a teenager during his early WWE days.

It's likely that he'll continue to hone his craft over the next few years or until he's 40, and we wish him all the best with that.

Given his longevity, it would kind of be nice to see the company give him some kind of nod at one stage, perhaps as he moves towards the end of his career.

God knows that they could use some mid-card tag teams right now, especially given the nature of the booking on both Raw and SmackDown Live. As we look ahead to the future it's always difficult to guess what's going to happen in this crazy industry, and because of that, the likes of Dupree should hold out hope that the call will come in once again someday.

11 Older: Sid - 57

via twitter.com

Sid was, is and always will be a fascinating individual - both as a man and as a professional wrestler. It's not often that you get a superstar who has headlined WrestleMania that few modern fans remember for the good reasons, but somehow, Sid falls into that category. Why? Well, a horrendous leg break coupled together with some insane promos didn't really help his case.

Back in the 90s, there weren't many superstars who were as physically intimidating as Sid. Under his many gimmicks, he was viewed upon as one of the era's only true monster heels, which was something that needed to happen given just how stacked the babyface scene was. Sid did his job competently, and as a result, he had a relatively successful career with both WWE and WCW.

Yet, while he certainly looked his age around the time of Raw 1000, it's bizarre to think that he's on the verge of entering his sixties.

He was a fresh-faced spring chicken in comparison to many of the guys he went up against back in the day, and yet, he's still closer towards 'pensioner' status than any of us would care to mention.

If you want a one-word summary of his work: underrated will do the trick.

10 Younger: Emma - 29

There are a lot of things you could say about Emma, and God knows the internet has done that enough already. While her tenure with WWE included a great deal of controversy to go alongside her phenomenal in-ring abilities, beyond that, something that many fans probably didn't realise is just how young she is.

Over the last five years, the Australian beauty has been able to carve out quite a career for herself in sports entertainment given that she hasn't even hit her thirties.

Now, she's back out on the independent scene, and the quality of her work speaks for itself. From Ring of Honor to IPW, Emma aka Tenille Dashwood has been putting in quite the shift as she attempts to continue to shock and amaze fans from every corner of the globe. Sure, we still miss seeing her in WWE, but at the same time, it's great to see how much success she's finding elsewhere.

Because of her age, it's easy to imagine a scenario in which she returns to World Wrestling Entertainment before she hangs up her boots. In all likelihood, she'll start to move down the path of a full-time modelling career, but it'd be a shame if we didn't get the chance to see her mix it up with the best of the best once again.

9 Older: Sabu - 53

Via: Sports Illustrated

There are many superstars who could feasibly claim the title of being the "King of Extreme'', but with Sabu, you really do tend to believe it. The guy has put his body on the line more times than we can count, and as a result, he's made more than a few appearances on Botchamania - which is hardly surprising given what he often attempts to do.

His unique look always meant that he stood out from the rest of the crowd in whichever promotion he was a part of, and that goes for his time with WWE too. Sabu had a much bigger role during his time there than most people give him credit for, to the point where he even challenged Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Some may argue that he's always looked old, but because of how he moves, we actually believed he was a bit younger than he actually is.

Perhaps that's just us being worked into thinking something we want to as opposed to using logic, but still, it's always fun to guess with these kinds of things.

If you've got any spare time on your hands, go and find some old school Sabu matches on the WWE Network. We're confident that you won't be disappointed.

8 Younger: Muhammad Hassan - 36

via cultofwhatever.com

Muhammad Hassan, as we've covered many times in the past, was a victim of bad timing. While his gimmick was horrendously offensive and almost certainly went over the line, in any other era before it, nobody would've given it a second look. Alas, we all know the story of what happened with the London bombings and The Undertaker angle, which led to his eventual release from the company.

Funnily enough, the timing of this article coincides with Hassan's return to the ring after more than a decade, and while some may initially look at that and groan, it turns out that he's still in his mid-30s. After all of these years, there's still a chance that a successful professional wrestling career can be salvaged from the wreckage of this unfortunate situation.

Of course, that's still a long shot given how quick WWE were to cut ties with the guy, but why not give him an extended run down in NXT and see what happens? At the very least that's what they owed him because, at the end of the day, Hassan was just doing what he was told. The gimmick was presented to him and he ran with it - so some time at the Performance Center has been well earned.

7 Older: Ted DiBiase - 64

via YouTube.com

Everybody has got a price! Wouldn't it be so, so great if we could hear those words in 2018? There's no doubt in our minds that Ted DiBiase, in his prime, would thrive on this or any other roster. His gimmick was unique back then, it's somewhat unique now, and he's been involved with some of the best moments and storylines from WWE's first few decades in business.

He passed the mantle down to his son, Ted DiBiase Jr., but things were never going to work out the same way. He started off his career fairly strongly and looked like he'd be the breakout star of Legacy, only for Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton to both go on to even bigger heights.

Still, when we're talking about the original Million Dollar Man, there's no denying his influence on the business - and while he has been around for a while, whenever a wrestler reaches the age of 64 or around there it does seem somewhat surprising. After all, these guys were heroes to many of us growing up, and now it's clear to see that their glory days are well behind them.

Out of curiosity, would anyone be on board for a father & son reunion? It sounds cliche, but it worked out pretty well for Charlotte and Ric.

6 Younger: Alex Riley - 37

Via: WWE.com

We aren't going to sit here and pretend like we thought Alex Riley had the potential to be something great in WWE: because we aren't pretending. We knew it then, and we know it now. During his time as The Miz's valet, it was painfully obvious to most that Riley possessed all of the tools necessary to make some serious noise as a high-level babyface on either Raw or SmackDown.

But due to a combination of backstage issues and poor timing, A-Ry's surge to the top of the card was derailed. It's a great shame even to this day because he came out of the feud with The Awesome One looking like a million bucks. Hell, even when he came back for a brief period of time down in NXT, it seemed as if he still had a somewhat interesting character to build on.

Now, it seems as if he's enjoying his work as an actor, but there's still time left on his professional wrestling clock if he ever wants to give it another whirl. He still managed to have a more prominent career than most do under the guidance of Vince McMahon, but the question remains as to whether or not that's 'good enough' in this era.

5 Older: Jim Duggan - 64

via YouTube.com

If you're a recent entry into the world of professional wrestling fandom, you may not know all too much about Jim Duggan aside from the occasional appearances that he makes. Back in the day, Duggan was a pretty big deal, even getting a Royal Rumble win under his belt. Of course, his big plank of wood and traditional catchphrase tends to come to mind when most people think about his time with the company.

Still, the fact that he's been wrestling in the last few years would make you think that he's a little bit younger than being in his mid-sixties.

Duggan is another individual that doesn't seem to age, and yet, his wit and humour remain consistent. They say that once you've been embedded in this industry you're never able to truly separate yourself from it, and in some ways, you can see that in Jim.

His legacy will always undoubtedly be a positive one, and he's another guy who probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for the things he's been able to do over the years. Because his name isn't as well remembered as the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, that makes sense to an extent, but we'd still like to see some more appreciation.

4 Younger: Wade Barrett - 37

Via: WWE.com

Wade Barrett, simply put, is one of the most underappreciated wrestlers to ever compete in a WWE ring. From the moment he arrived during the first season of NXT all the way up until his departure, there were very few people who could touch Barrett as a top-level heel in the company. It didn't matter what his gimmick was, because he was more than capable of getting quite literally anything over.

Case in point: Bad News Barrett. He took something that should've died a quick and painful death and used it to elevate his career to new heights. It's a tragedy that he never fully recovered from not winning the WWE Championship during his first main roster run because we should be talking about him as a multiple time world champion by this point.

Thankfully, while he may be busy focusing on acting right now, he's still in the prime of his career. If he ever did want to give it another whirl then the door is always open for him, although we wouldn't be particularly keen on trusting WWE to do much with him. Then again, Triple H will probably be in charge of things sooner rather than later.

3 Older: Ricky Steamboat - 65

Via: WWE.fr

Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat is one of the greatest of all time and we won't have anyone say anything different. This is a man who was one of the first 'smaller guys' to breakthrough into the upper echelons of the business, with his match against Randy Savage at WrestleMania III still being extremely highly thought of to this day.

The reason he's seen as a surprise, at least in our minds, is because of his match against Chris Jericho back in 2009. While that may have taken place almost a decade ago you still can't deny just how good that guy looked, and to think of him as someone in his mid-sixties is a little bit baffling. Honestly, we still reckon he could wrestle circles around half of the main roster and that's not an exaggeration.

We'd love to get the chance to speak to Steamboat one day, just to get a feel for what it's like to be in the shoes of someone who's so unbelievably well respected. The fact that WWE still brings him out every once in a while is a testament to his iconic status, and beyond that, it's great to see that he still gets the high profile pops he deserves.

2 Younger: Joey Mercury - 38

Via: WWE.com

Joey Mercury has certainly had his demons, but over the years, he's been able to successfully transition into becoming one of the most respected individuals in the industry. It's been quite the transformation for a guy who, in the midst of his first run, had his nose shattered so badly to the point where many were wondering whether or not he'd be permanently blinded.

After taking some time off he came back with a vengeance alongside Seth Rollins, reigniting his career as a high profile stooge with Jamie Noble. It may not have been the role he dreamed of as a youngster, but it put him back on the map and now, he's able to pass his wisdom on to future stars that are looking to make an impact.

At the age of 38, there's still a possibility that Mercury could make his return one day for a handful of final matches.

The Cruiserweight Division would certainly benefit from his presence, which is an odd thing to say when you compare his stature nowadays to when he was teaming up with John Morrison. Still, the point remains that Mercury deserves to be respected.

Side note: how fun were the Noble, Rollins & Mercury sketches?

1 Older: Ric Flair - 69

via theblast.com

Ric Flair is 69 years of age and still possesses more charisma and style than most of us could ever dream of. The guy is an absolute revelation, he's a one of a kind superstar, and it upsets us to think that he's about to enter his seventies. Honestly, we wouldn't have been surprised to have learned he was barely about to hit sixty given how he's lived his life at a million miles an hour.

Flair's influence doesn't only stretch to pro wrestling but also goes beyond that to pop culture. The guy just "gets it" more so than most performers, regardless of their profession. He's done fantastically well to pass on everything he's learned to his daughter Charlotte, who continues to cement her status as one of the best of all time - going right alongside her father.

Who knows what the future holds for the Nature Boy, but one thing is for sure, his legions of fans are always going to be along for the ride. How do we know? Because if they've made it this far, then we're 100% convinced that they'll stick with him for eternity.

Oh, and for what it's worth, Flair will always be the GOAT.