To outside fans looking in and, of course, to plenty of the Superstars, headlining WrestleMania is the absolute pinnacle of your career. For your checkbook, the payday a Superstar gets from WrestleMania is possibly more than many mere mortals see in their entire lifetime.
But to the wrestlers, while headlining any show is quite the achievement, it doesn’t necessarily mean the be-all and end-all as far as sticking around. Whether a wrestler decides to retire or head to another company or just take a break after the show of shows, several over the years have opted to leave WWE the very same year they headlined the granddaddy of them all. There might have just been lengthy sabbaticals for some, but they all left.
10 Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania 37
With all the recent hubbub about Daniel Bryan heading to AEW, he is one of the highest-profile Superstars on this list. He fought so hard to get his career back and then when many least expected it, found his way right in the middle of the feud between Edge and Roman, leading to the instant classic triple threat main event. Bryan hasn’t been seen since losing a career-ending match to Roman on SmackDown. Now he’s once again the talk of the town as it seems all but academic he’ll be All Elite come the fall.
9 Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania IX
Hulkamania returned to the WWE after a brief hiatus after WrestleMania VIII. He came back looking to defend his friend Brutus Beefcake and wound up walking out WrestleMania IX with the WWE Title despite not being booked in the main event.
He defended the title against Yokozuna at King Of The Ring '93, and after losing the title wasn’t seen again in WWE for nearly a decade.
8 Edge - WrestleMania XXVII
Despite not being on his terms, Edge couldn’t have asked for what was once thought of as a great ending to his career. He walked into WrestleMania XXVII as WWE champion and walked out the same way. He was forced to retire at the time due to a neck injury. But thanks to modern medicine and a decade’s worth of healing, he was able to return in 2020. But he left WWE to rehab after successfully defending the title.
7 Batista - WrestleMania XXX
One might wonder if Vince McMahon had grand visions of former wrestler now actor Dave Batista walking the red carpet of then-new Marvel movie, Guardians Of The Galaxy, brandishing the WWE Title. But a certain movement put an end to that possible future. Instead, Big Dave got to reunite Evolution with Triple H and Randy Orton and attempt to take out The Shield. When that plan failed, Batista did what he did four years prior and quit on national TV.
6 Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XIV & XXVI
Through pain and anguish and grit, Shawn Michaels; with the help of Triple H, Chyna, and painkillers, willed his body to carry on at WrestleMania XIV. He was able to successfully pass the torch to Stone Cold, setting the stage for the Attitude Era.
He returned later as the Commissioner, but for all intents and purposes, his in-ring career appeared over, until it wasn’t. He would have a second chapter that started four years later, culminating with his date with destiny and the Deadman at WrestleMania XXVI.
5 Ronda Rousey - WrestleMania 35
From one of the greatest WrestleMania debuts in history to being one-third of the first ever women’s main event in the history of The Showcase Of The Immortals, it’s all in a year’s work for Ronda Rousey. The Baddest Woman On The Planet took the year off after losing to Becky Lynch and hasn’t been seen since. There were murmurings of a rumor that she was making a comeback. But for the time being, pregnancy has upended that murmur.
4 Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania 36
As the last great attraction in wrestling, Brock Lesnar more or less writes his own ticket and can come and go as he pleases. That had become a huge part of his character during his second run. As the COVID-19 pandemic loomed, The Beast was clearly in no interest in leading the locker room through it (which is totally ok), as rumors of how WWE was handling the initial few weeks were angering Lesnar. After dropping the title to Drew McIntyre, Lesnar left the company and only resurface recently donning a hipster ponytail. But he still hasn’t made his grand WWE return.
3 Undertaker - WrestleMania 36
As someone who spent nearly 40 years of his life in front of live crowds and the past 30 as the greatest character WWE ever created; The Undertaker certainly deserved a huge going-away party in front of as many fans as humanly possible. But when you wrestle AJ Styles in a pitch-perfect cinematic contest, there’s no need. The Undertaker walked away from his last match victorious, riding off as a living legend in professional wrestling.
2 Bam Bam Bigelow - WrestleMania XI
One of the biggest main events in WrestleMania history was the 11th annual extravaganza. Bam Bam Bigelow had gotten into a scuffle with former football hero, Lawrence Taylor, at the Royal Rumble.
That altercation drove the mainstream media towards highlighting LT and Bam Bam all the way to WrestleMania XI. After his loss to the football Giant, The Million Dollar Corporation excommunicated Bigelow and he was gone from the WWE shortly thereafter.
1 Sid - WrestleMania VII & 13
Only one wrestler in WrestleMania history managed to only work two WrestleManias, both of them be main events, and still be gone from the company shortly thereafter. But so it goes with Psycho Sid, who over the years has had a habit of simply leaving any promotion he was part of. He fought Hulk in his “retirement” match at WrestleMania VIII. Five years later, he returned to the company and headlined the show as WWE Champion against The Undertaker.