The WWE as a company seems like a total dichotomy: releasing some people who are extremely talented strictly because they are getting older (we’re looking at you Jim Ross and the recently demoted Jerry Lawler), while relying heavily on other long-standing stars to sell tickets. As a result, there seems to be an ever-widening age gap between the eldest and youngest performers that get put in a prominent position on WWE television regularly. That’s why we set out to put together this list of the eight oldest and seven youngest WWE wrestlers in order to illuminate how large the chasm actually is.
In order to be considered for this list, you needed to meet some basic requirements. The most obvious necessity is that you are signed to a contract as a performer by the WWE. Secondly, you need to be a wrestler, which means Jerry Lawler and Booker T. who both take part in pre-shows on the WWE network were never a possibility for inclusion. You also need to be an active performer who isn’t a part of the NXT roster, as they could make up a later list themselves. As a result, we used the Superstar section of WWE.com as our resource for who they consider to be a member of the WWE roster. One thing, we couldn’t get our hands on anyone’s birth certificates so our best resource for the age of those included was Wikipedia. We also made two exceptions, The Undertaker was excluded as there are a lot of rumors that he may have already retired and The Rock seems unlikely to contribute regularly again.
31 Oldest Wrestlers
Let’s start off with a few honorable mentions in the oldest department. Coming in at thirty-nine years of age are A.J. Styles, Alberto Del Rio, Titus O’Neil, and Brock Lesnar, while the recently returned Rhyno is 40 years of age.
30 8. D-Von Dudley: August 1, 1972 (age 44)
Part of the most decorated tag team in wrestling history, assuming their claims are accurate, D-Von has been teaming with his on-screen brother for twenty years. Brought into ECW and turned into the latest member of the Dudley family, D-Von would go on to feud and then team with Bubba Ray. Soon becoming the stand out members of the faction, let alone the entire company, they were signed by the WWE and became international superstars.
Feuding with the likes of The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and The Acolytes, they are intrinsically linked with the hottest era in wrestling history. Briefly becoming a singles star as Reverend D-Von, after a reunion with Bubba, the pairing would eventually be released and work for TNA off and on for nearly a decade. Brought back last year, it speaks to how much respect the WWE has for him that they brought the now forty-four-year-old in at such an advanced age.
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28 7. Big Show: February 8, 1972 (age 44)
We have to admit it when we sat down to do this list the thought came to us that The Big Show could very well be the oldest WWE employee. That is probably because he won his first World Heavyweight Champion in 1995, more than two decades ago, in his very first match. Only twenty-three at the time, his massive size and the fact that he brought to mind comparisons to Andre the Giant-inspired his WCW bosses to hand him the ball immediately. Wrestling there for another four years, he would win their biggest prize once more before heading to the WWE in the thick of the Attitude Era.
A cornerstone of the WWE ever since, The Big Show’s character has gone through at least twenty heel and face turns, which may be a sign that he has been poorly used at times. Alternatively, it could be pointed to as evidence that his bosses feel that he is a capable performer who can be placed in any slot and make it work. While we certainly feel that Show’s career has gone through ebbs and flows, we balk at anyone who would think that he hasn’t earned the world’s respect time and time again. Forty-four today, fans have begun to chant please retire at him but we’ll miss him when he steps out of the spotlight.
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26 6. R-Truth: January 19, 1972 (age 44)
A wrestler who has managed to have an extremely long career in the top two North American wrestling companies, WWE and TNA, Ron Killings doesn’t get the respect he deserves from some parties. Mostly known for playing a comedic character during his latest WWE run, which has lasted eight years at this point, R-Truth has actually won titles and main evented pay-per-views. We get it, though, when he is running around with Scooby Doo and attempting to capture Pokémon it can be difficult to take him seriously. Keeping in mind that he is actually a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion who tangled with The Rock and John Cena once upon a time may help to remind the everyday fan of what he is capable of. Throwing in the fact that he is forty-four years old and is still quite agile in the ring should then seal the deal.
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24 5. Bubba Ray Dudley: July 14, 1971 (age 45)
As part of D-Von’s entry on this list we discussed the overarching career of The Dudley Boyz, an extremely important one in wrestling history, so for this entry, we’re going to do something different. Despite the fact that this list is focused on the WWE, we think it is important to talk about Bubba’s time as a singles star, which largely took place as part of their competitor.
First working alone in ECW, when the WWE broke up The Dudleys it seemed obvious that they saw more potential in Bubba. Put into a short-lived feud with Triple H, who’d already been made into one of their biggest stars, the pairing eventually fizzled out and Bubba didn’t live up to his potential. Years later, while working for TNA, Bubba completely remade himself into Bully Ray, a thinner and meaner singles star. Finally, given a real shot he could bite his teeth into, Bully was in the conversation among the most hated heels in the industry. Forty-five years old today, we really hope that the need for hot new stars will inspire Vince McMahon and company to recast him as a hated singles star once again.
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22 4. Chris Jericho: November 9, 1970 (age 45)
There is no question about it, Chris Jericho achieved his greatest success in the WWE but if you haven’t seen his WCW work you are really missing out. Highlighted by a hilarious promo where he listed the many moves he could do, his one-sided Goldberg feud and a period where he seemed to be scared of the audience, he could be great.
Brought into the WWE as Y2J, one of the best setup debuts ever, and one that they need to try to recreate a lot more (i.e. instead of just bringing someone out like they are already known because they did well in NXT, give your new stars introductory vignettes), Jericho had arrived but it took a few years for him to hit his stride. A former six-time World Champion, and the first Undisputed Champ, Chris has been involved in some of the most entertaining storylines at any given time. Whether it was his teams with The Miz, Big Show, or Kevin Owens, his incredible feud with HBK or his 2011 redebut, Jericho makes great TV. Forty-five years old, Chris has once again become a fixture of WWE’s greatest segments each week, which is further proof that he should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
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20 3. Mark Henry: June 12, 1971 (age 45)
One of the strongest men in the world, Mark Henry still holds multiple records in the weightlifting world. Signed by the WWE in 1996, he has played a part in many memorable storylines over the years. Whether it was as a member of the vaunted Nation of Domination, rechristening himself as sexual Chocolate, and pulling off strongman feats on WWE, they are only a few things we remember Mark for. However, it wasn’t until 2011 that Mark found his best character and did his best work.
Opening the Hall of Pain, taking on a fantastically simple theme song, and turning himself into one of the most vicious wrestlers at the time, Mark was suddenly someone worthy of a World Title run. In our minds, there is one moment in his twenty-year run that is the absolute peak of his career. Prior to an episode of Monday Night Raw, he claimed to have a major announcement to make and intimated that he would retire that night. Instead, we were treated to one of the best promos ever. Shaking John Cena’s hand before giving one of the most heart-wrenching speeches we’d seen at the time while shedding tears, it was all a precursor to one of the best turns ever. Instead of announcing he was done, Mark would slam then champion Cena to the mat and reveal he wasn’t done yet. Currently seen in a mentor role at forty-five years old, we can only pray Mark is put in a position to blow us away like that again.
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18 2. Goldust: April 11, 1969 (age 47)
Goldust may be seen as a comedy character on Raw each week today but that should never make people forget how ground-breaking he was at one time. Though his initial time as Goldy may not have aged well in a world that frowns upon the type of character that played upon homophobia, the fact that Goldust pushed the envelope earned him a place in history. We just hope that some of the people who were inspired to boo him for his antics at the time would go on to question the prejudices inside of them that the WWE was playing on
Returning several times over the years, the Goldust character got away from the initial vision in several entertaining and one less than stellar way. Although we never cared for the stammering for comedic effect character it was during that era that he began to team with Booker T., which led to many uproarious segments. For us, though, it was the raw emotion that he and his brother were able to bring out of us during their feud with The Authority which we will always cherish. Forty-seven years old, he remains a part of the roster even now, when we are supposed to be embroiled in the “New Era”.
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16 1. Kane April 26, 1967 (age 49)
The oldest person that is considered a part of the main WWE roster, we’re sure when Isaac Yankem, DDS debuted, nobody saw his long career coming. Redebuting as the silent and deadly brother of The Undertaker, there were few wrestlers who have ever been able to give off such a sincerely frightening aura. Dethroning Steve Austin for the WWE Championship in 1998, his reign may have only lasted a single day but it still said a lot about the respect he had won.
A mainstay of WWE television ever since, Kane went through some pretty big transitions, learning to speak and taking off his mask for instance, over the years but mostly remained near the top of the card. Whether he was teaming with or fighting against The Undertaker, attaching a car battery to Shane McMahon’s nether regions or teaming with Daniel Bryan, Kane has a way of being memorable. We guess standing at nearly seven feet tall, wearing a black and red outfit and causing fire to erupt from the ring posts, will do that for you even at forty-nine.
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14 Youngest Wrestlers
Don’t worry, it isn’t just the oldest category that is getting some honorable mentions. While nobody over the age of twenty-seven is young enough to qualify for our list, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to let you know about the quartet of twenty-eight-year-olds that we see on WWE TV. Carmella, Aiden English, Apollo Crews, and Tyler Breeze are all young enough to deserve a call out as they just barely missed out on an actual entry.
13 7. Jason Jordan: September 28, 1988 (age 27)
One of the most popular wrestlers who received a call-up in the wake of the roster extension, Jason Jordan, as one-half of American Alpha, could be poised to have a legendary career. A former amateur wrestler who competed at Indiana University, the fact that Jordan was a part of the Big Ten Conference and qualified for the NCAA Division 1 level three times speaks to his athleticism. That said, athletic ability is an asset for a wrestler but in the WWE the ability to entertain is paramount.
Someone who was signed by the WWE way back in 2011, Jason impressed his bosses and coaches enough that he was able to exist in developmental for five years but by 2015 he needed to catch on. Enter into the picture Chad Gable. Wearing their passion and heart on their sleeves, American Alpha’s obvious desire and wrestling ability won over the NXT crowd enough that it was a matter of time before they were moved up. Twenty-seven years currently, Jason Jordan hasn’t been on the main roster long but the fact that fans are already starting to embrace him gives us hope for his future.