10 WWE legends who have not had a retirement match yet

#10 Stone Cold Steve Austin

The end of an era

If there was ever an example of a career ending without a proper, respectful conclusion, it has to be that of Stone Cold. While some might argue that Hulkamania was responsible for WWE’s greatest period of success, others will choose to challenge this, claiming that it was actually the era of Stone Cold that gave wrestling it’s true golden era.

The rivalry between McMahon and Stone Cold is still the greatest wrestling feud ever done. It spoke to people on so many different levels and permeated fan’s imaginations in a way that the old cartoonish ‘good vs. evil’ narrative never did back in Hogan’s time. While the debate will forever remain, one thing is for sure, Stone Cold’s career warranted a much better conclusion to the one we ended up with.

In contrast to Hogan, Austin’s relationship with the company is still strong. His podcast appears on the WWE Network and he is continuously asked to make appearances on episodes of RAW and editions of Wrestlemania. Therefore, the only thing preventing a return to the ring seems to be Austin’s health.

It is unclear whether his body could withstand another 10-15 minutes against a younger, more athletic star, and you do always run the risk of ending such a legendary career with a rather half-baked wrestling match, a la Bret Hart.

But like many people on this list, the fan reaction will be enough to cancel out any disappointment in terms of in-ring action. Even in this day and age, when in-ring work counts for so much, fans can still appreciate a good story told with limited actual wrestling.

There was some indication after Stone Cold’s podcast with Paul Heyman that the Rattlesnake might be eying up a match with Brock Lesnar. That would be quite a fitting send off in itself, but in terms of storyline, it might not make too much sense. The two men don’t have much of an in-ring history with each other, and it would be very difficult to book the ending of the match itself.

If Stone Cold were to pull off a shock victory, it would feel too much like the Goldberg match at Survivor Series. If Brock won, fans might be too angry at seeing Stone Cold bow out with a loss.

Whatever the future holds for Stone Cold and the WWE, an official retirement match will be a licence to print money, whoever the opponent turns out to be.