10 female WWE Superstars who retired too soon

#2. Former Divas Champion Paige

Paige is one of the most talented female WWE Superstars of the past decade. She joined WWE in 2011 and became the inaugural NXT Women's Champion in 2013. She defeated Emma in the finale of the NXT Women's Championship tournament.

The Anti-Diva's main roster debut was also historical. She defeated AJ Lee to capture the Divas Championship on her first night on the Red Brand in April 2014. Paige held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Lee. However, in August that same year, she defeated Lee once again to recapture the title at SummerSlam.

Over the next few years, Paige suffered a series of neck injuries. She returned to WWE after undergoing successful neck surgery in late 2017, however suffered another injury at a live event. In April 2018, the then-26-year-old officially announced her retirement from in-ring action.

Following her retirement, Paige has played different roles in WWE, including becoming SmackDown General Manager and the manager of the Kabuki Warriors. Despite not appearing on WWE television since 2020, her WWE contract is still valid.

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#1. Former WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly

Kelly Kelly was only 19 years old when she signed her first WWE contract in 2006. She spent nearly two years on ECW before moving to Monday Night RAW in 2008. Over the next three years, she chased both the Women's Championship and the Divas Title.

In 2009, Kelly challenged Maryse for the Divas Championship a few times but was unsuccessful in capturing the title. She also faced Layla at Money in the Bank in 2010 for the Women's Championship but failed to capture the gold once again.

In June 2011, Kelly finally won her first title after defeating Brie Bella for the Divas Championship on RAW. She held the belt for nearly four months before losing it to Beth Phoenix at Hell in a Cell. About a year later, the former Divas Champion officially left WWE. She was almost 26 years old at the time.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Kelly disclosed why she decided to leave WWE and retire.

"For me, I had never been hurt. I had never really been out, [I had] never taken time off. From 19 until 26 years old, for 7 years basically, I was on the road straight 300 days a year. I was tired, my body was tired (...) It was just my time. I was just ready to be at home and put focus into my family. It wasn’t anything bad that happened," she said.

Kelly Kelly has made several WWE appearances since retiring. She participated in the 2018 and 2020 Women's Royal Rumble matches. The former Divas Champion also competed in the 20-woman Battle Royal at Evolution.

In 2019, the 34-year-old also appeared on the RAW Reunion episode, during which she won the 24/7 Championship. However, she lost the title later that night to Candice Michelle.