No wrestler remains retired in professional wrestling. We saw The Undertaker of all people return to wrestle Goldberg in a forgettable match after leaving his coat and hat in the ring after his defeat to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33. Even Shawn Michaels, who had time and again said, he would not wrestle again wrestle in front of the Saudi Arabia audience.
Given the absence of star power in today’s rosters, they stay relevant and some of them are still good enough to embark on one more world title reign. So, here are 10 wrestlers the writer reckons have one more world title left in their engines.
- Triple H
Roman Reigns was so unpopular in 2016 that the Internet fans rejoiced at Triple H winning the Royal Rumble and, by extension, his 14th world-title triumph. Since then, he has only wrestled only sporadically at house shows and in Saudi Arabia and WrestleMania.
However, The Game, 50, still can go in the ring and is still smoother than most active wrestlers today. Furthermore, it would take some genius from the writing team to carve out a story that leads to him being one title short of Ric Flair’s record of 16 world titles, however.
- Big Show
Big Show has not been active since parting ways with The Bar in November 2018. It seemed like a random combination then but, in his 25-year wrestling career, he is no stranger to randomness.
However, his winning the world title again would not be so random if the WWE writers can create a storyline people can invest in. At 47, if the last time we saw him on TV is any indication, he is in the best shape of his life and good enough in the ring for one more title reign.
- John Cena
This one is more obvious than the other hopeful entries on this list. John Cena is now super busy in Hollywood as the fans expect to see him on the big screen in Fast & Furious 9 and The Suicide Squad after he played a leading role in Bumblebee
Despite his busy schedule, just like his Hollywood predecessor The Rock, he finds time to do WWE appearances every now and then. Given he is now tied with Ric Flair for world title reigns WWE acknowledges at 16, WWE will want him to surpass that for all the good work he has done over the years.
- The Rock
One big Hollywood name leads us to undeniably the biggest name to go to Hollywood from pro-wrestling. The Rock recently announced his retirement from in-ring action in August 2019. Unlike Ric Flair or Shawn Michaels, Dwayne Johnson is unlikely to return to the ring as going back on his words would hurt his credibility.
However, that does not mean there is one more world title reign left in him. In fact, given the shape he is in, he can have as many as he wants. Then again, watching The Rock lay the smack down in a wrestling match again is nigh impossible.
- Mickie James
One of the best wrestlers in an era when the Internet fans were okay with watching scantily-clad women throw each other into the mud and play musical chairs, Mickie James put on four-star matches with multiple model-turned wrestlers.
The 40-year-old mother of a five-year-old has been with WWE for over three years now but has only been used in a limited capacity. Given that she is injured and will remain so until the end of her contract, it is unlikely she will hold the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championship, but she does have it in her to go on one last title reign.
- Batista
Pro-wrestling is tough business. If you do not constantly look for ways to put yourself over, the Internet fans are bound to forget you and you end up becoming irrelevant. Few outliers have always wanted to give back to the industry that made them. Batista is one of them.
Despite becoming a big name in Hollywood now, he is still keen on putting young wrestlers over. He could do just that by becoming a transitional world champion to give someone like Ricochet or Andrade the rub by losing the world title to them.
- CM Punk
This now seems more inevitable than ever before. CM Punk appeared on a live WWE show for the first time in nearly six years when he surprisingly showed up at FS1’s WWE Backstage.
In the past, wrestlers such as Goldberg first signed for a WWE partner, including 2K, before signing for the company itself. It seems the 41-year-old former WWE Champion is now one step away from hitting GTS on wrestlers on a regular basis in WWE rings before challenging for the world titles. AJ Styles vs. CM Punk for WWE Championship, for instance, would break the wrestling Internet.
- Edge
Recent reports suggest Edge could return to the ring quite soon. His SummerSlam return that saw him spear Elias only added fuel to the fire. In addition, he recently announced the end of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness as we know it by calling it quits.
All these developments point to a potential return to the WWE ring. Should the doctors deem him fit enough to wrestle again, he will find himself wrestling for the world titles. At 46, he is not too old to hold world titles as well.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
Not many Japanese wrestling legends are still active today, although they have an army of talented young wrestlers. Minoru Suzuki’s wrestling personality is not the best suited to go after titles. Hiroshi Tanahashi’s, however, is.
The 43-year-old New Japan Pro Wrestling wrestler has won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship eight times and should be move to WWE or All Elite Wrestling in the near future, he will find himself in the title contention surely. If the American audience responds positively to him, Cody or Vince McMahon will surely put the world title on The Ace.
- Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio has had a mixed return to WWE thus far but, after having two underwhelming feuds with The Miz and Randy Orton, he has recovered to have two solid rivalries with Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar. He is now in a storyline with the latter and the two will likely wrestle for the Universal Championship in a pay-per-view.
The Beast Incarnate, who is known for producing top-tier matches with smaller wrestlers such as Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, will surely have a Match of the Year contender with the granddaddy of small wrestlers. Not many will complain if the masked luchador emerges victor.