10 Professional wrestlers who retired in 2020

#6 Naoki Sano

Naoki Sano is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and is notable for his incredible rivalry with one of New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest wrestlers, Jushin Thunder Liger, whom the former defeated to capture the title. Liger credited Sano for his success, and it isn't hard to fathom why. Naoki Sano consistently put on good matches and he helped elevate the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division.

His bouts with wrestlers such as Rick Martel and Liger are bangers that every wrestling fan should see, because they are simply that good. Sano's match with Liger on January 31, 1990, was one of the best matches of that year. He was also the first NJPW wrestler to compete inside the Tokyo Dome, the home of one of the biggest events in professional wrestling, Wrestle Kingdom.

Besides wrestling, Naoki Sano was also a mixed martial artist. His last match was at Wrestle Kindom 14 in January 2020 where he teamed up with his former rival Jushin Liger in a losing effort against Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee.

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#5 Jushin Thunder Liger

Jushin "Thunder" Liger is proud of the tricks he just pulled off! #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/ctYUWAHT0z

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) August 23, 2015

Naoki Sano wasn't the only one who wrestled his last match at Wrestle Kingdom 14, as his partner Jushin Thunder Liger also retired shortly after the show. Liger is one of NJPW's top wrestlers and the longest-tenured competitor. He competed in the promotion from 1984 before finally hanging up his boots in early 2020.

He also competed in the world's biggest wrestling companies such as WCW, Ring of Honor, IMPACT Wrestling and WWE, where he battled many renowned wrestlers. Jushin Thunder Liger was inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame.