Professional wrestlers are a lot like other professional athletes in that they start off green followed by a rapid rise, a period of sustained peaking and then an eventual downturn into obscurity. Well, that's the traditional path, at least.
But, some special talents are so damn good that they retire at the very top of their game. No matter what the situation, these men and women ensure that right up to the very last match they have inside the squared circle, they are at the peak of their powers.
I mean, sure Ric Flair had a pretty amazing retirement but The Nature Boy was a shadow of the man who won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the years leading up to his retirement at the hands of Shawn Michaels. This piece is not about people like Ric Flair. It is about those who went out on top.
So, without any further ado, here are 5 WWE Superstars who retired at the top:
#5 Bret Hart
Bret "The Hitman” Hart had a catchphrase that went like this: "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be." If you ever saw The Hitman wrestle, you knew that he had the skills to back up that claim. But, it went beyond just that. Hart had the career to back it up.
Bret Hart was one of the megastars of the WWE. He won everything the company had to offer multiple times before making the jump over to WCW. His legacy in the WWE remained untarnished despite the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident as he exited the promotion as a Triple Crown Champion.
He would go on top make as big of a splash at WCW, becoming a Triple Crown Champion there as well, winning the World Heavyweight Title, the US Title, and the Tag Titles with a certain Goldberg.
The most ironic thing here is that it was Goldberg who ended Hart's career with a stiff kick that concussed The Hitman and forced him into retirement. Despite not being able to retire on his own terms, there is not doubt that Bret went out on top.
#4 Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus is the best women's wrestler to have competed in the WWE since the turn of the century. In an era that was dominated by women who were more fit for modelling than wrestling, Trish and her eternal rival, Lita, made everyone sit up and take notice of the Women's division.
The two real-life best friends experienced the dizzying heights of superstardom due to their on-screen feud and they both retired as legends but it was Trish who had the better career. A record 7-time Women's Champion, the Canadian was such a dominant figure that she was given the honour of retiring as a champion – something almost unheard of in the world of wrestling.
A wrestler who put women's wrestling on the map and one of the best all-around competitors to step foot in the squared circle, there was no better way for Trish Stratus to go out. Before the emergence of The Four Horsewomen, it was impossible to see anyone reaching her legendary status.
#3) The Rock
The Rock's electric run in the WWE from the 1990s to the early 2000s was the stuff of absolute legend. But it was his avatar during his final run with the company which made it truly special.
Coming back from his early days in Hollywood, Dwayne The Rock Johnson portrayed a conceited heel and embarked on a legendary feud against long-time rival and fellow Attitude Era legend, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This feud set up one final match for The Rock – a match against a debuting Bill Goldberg and the man from Miami paid his dues to the business that made him by putting over Goldberg at Backlash before setting off into the Hollywood sunset to become the highest-paid actor in the world.
Despite his occasional returns to the company, this will always be considered by many to be the true retirement of The Rock and it is a cherished moment to this day.
#2) Stone Cold Steve Austin
2003 was a tough year for the WWE as it not only lost The Rock as we mentioned in the last slide, but it also lost the magnetic personality and wrestling ability of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The man who single-handedly won the Monday Night Wars for Vince McMahon's company stepped away from the squared circle after a legendary final match against The Rock at Wrestlemania that year.
There was simply no other way for The Rattlesnake to retire from the business\. Stone Cold would never wrestle an official match again and it remains one of the most bittersweet memories in wrestling.
#1) Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels may be the best performer to ever step foot into a wrestling ring. The Heartbreak Kid had an incredible career which included a return from the worst of retirements. Making a miraculous comeback to the WWE after a multi-year layoff, Michaels proved to be better than ever on his return.
A mammoth final run that included feuds against all the biggest names in the world of wrestling ended with a double-header against The Undertaker at consecutive Wrestlemanias – the second of which was a Career vs Streak match that Michaels lost to get one of the most legendary retirements anyone could hope for in professional wrestling.
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