No professional wrestler every truly retires. Not long after Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair in an emotional WrestleMania XXIV match in 2008, the Nature Boy put on his wrestling boots to wrestle for Impact Wrestling. The Undertaker signaled his retirement when he left his coat and hat behind in the ring after suffering a defeat at the hands of Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33. In 2017 he returned and put on sloppy displays against Goldberg, Triple H and Shawn Michaels in Saudi Arabia.
Likewise, there are many “retired” wrestlers who still have one more match left in them. Here are 10 of them:
10 The Undertaker
The Undertaker is not The Undertaker anymore. When his appearance at ESPN GameDay felt like he was pushing the envelope, he went ahead and did an interview with Steve Austin as Mark Calloway. That said, he can still captivate the WWE crowd as the Deadman one more time.
Plus, he does not deserve to go out the way he did: after a pitiful performance in Saudi Arabia. One effective way of bringing his glorious career to a closure would be having him pass the torch to The Fiend in a WrestleMania main event match.
9 Goldberg
Here is the other wrestler who was involved in the woeful Saudi Arabia match. Goldberg has already returned twice, with his second return ending rather poorly. The former Universal Champion deserves a chance to redeem himself. At 52, he still looks his menacing self, albeit with a grey beard, and his star power could help WWE create another big name in Matt Riddle.
They already have a history that makes the job all the easier for the WWE writers. It is a win-win for everyone involved wherever they wrestle — NXT TakeOver or SummerSlam — and whoever ends up winning the match.
8 CM Punk
This only seems like a matter of formality at this point. CM Punk made an actual surprise appearance on a WWE show, WWE Backstage, on FS1. And, once a wrestler associates themselves with a WWE partner, like 2K or Fox, it is then only a matter of time before they lace their wrestling boots to perform for WWE.
Goldberg did that. Sting did that. Now the Internet fans are hoping he would follow in their footsteps. Unlike most wrestlers on this list, however, CM Punk can go on to have title reigns on top of “one more match.”
7 Big Show
Big Show has not performed for WWE in a year because of a hamstring injury. However, the last time he did, he appeared to be in the best shape he has been in a long time and also had excellent chemistry with Sheamus and Cesaro. At 47, Big Show can still go in the ring, and the long injury-caused absence will only ensure he receives a loud pop when he eventually returns.
He has already put over Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar in recent times. Perhaps, he will want to use his stardom to put someone like Keith Lee or Lars Sullivan over before he hangs his boots. Or, he can stay and wrestle Ricochet, Aleister Black and Mustafa Ali for as long as he wants.
6 Shawn Michaels
We have already witnessed what was once considered unthinkable when Shawn Michaels teamed up with long-term best friend and tag-team partner Triple H to face The Brothers of Destruction at a Saudi Arabia show. At 54, the Heart Break Kid looked relatively smooth and, in a recent episode of SmackDown, he even teased a match against Daniel Bryan, a bout that the internet has been anticipating for ages.
Although he has now taken an executive backstage role in NXT, he has kept himself in shape and would not need a lot of time to be ring-ready. A match with AJ Styles, Johnny Gargano, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns will sell out the biggest arena in the world.
5 Booker T
Booker T has moved on from wrestling duties to commentary and WWE Backstage appearances for WWE. Given he is in his 50s, it makes sense he does not want to put on his wrestling duties anymore.
However, as a former World Heavyweight Champion, he knows he is more than his current Shucky Ducky Quack Quack self. He still looks jacked-baby and, like his former World Champions Wrestling (WCW) colleague Goldberg, can come back for one more run. Perhaps, WWE will not put the world titles on him, but he can be a great tag-team partner for an upcoming wrestler like Shorty G or Mustafa Ali and put them over big-time.
4 Edge
This one now seems more obvious than ever before. After limiting himself to only promos for the longest time, Edge returned to the ring with a spear on Elias at SummerSlam, and it is an understatement to say the crowd and the Internet went bananas.
In addition, he also retired from E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness to leave the Birdman hanging. All signs point to a potential in-ring return. Plus, given he is not much older than WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, one cannot rule out a world-title reign as well.
3 Christian
Here is the other half of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness. Christian has maintained that he would return to the ring if the doctors cleared him. Should the doctors clear him, he can not just go on to have one more match, for he can also hold the mid-card titles or become a big name on NXT.
The opportunities are endless, and it is now only a matter of clearance from the doctors. Given that Daniel Bryan returned to the ring, Christian making a comeback to the ring is now not impossible.
2 The Rock
The Rock recently announced that he has quietly retired from wrestling. However, it is the same Dwayne Johnson who allowed WWE to market his match with John Cena as once-in-a-lifetime match before wrestling him a year later again.
In wrestling, as we discussed earlier in this article, you can never be sure of anything. That said, his stock in Hollywood continues to rise, and it does not make much sense for him to return to an art form that is not appreciated by most Americans. However, he knows, Vince McMahon knows, and the fans know there is one more match left in him: Roman Reigns vs. The Rock.
1 AJ Lee
AJ Lee followed in her husband’s footsteps out of WWE not long after the company fired him. Unlike him, she has distanced herself from wrestling altogether, as she has turned her focus to writing and other forms of media.
However, at a tender age of 32, she knows she can become ring-ready if she sets her heart on it. Additionally, given that WWE now has names such as Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley all setting the WWE rings alight with their talent, there is a chance she is feeling the itch.