3 retired WWE stars who returned to the ring & 3 who never came back

The WWE Universe has seen multiple stars being forced to announce their retirement either due to injuries or because they were unable to continue to perform at the highest level. Still, some of them stayed retired, while others came back and had another run with WWE.

With that in mind, we take a look at three superstars that never came out of retirement and another three that returned to WWE even though they had initially retired.

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#6. Corey Graves had to retire due to concussion concerns

WWE commentator Corey Graves (Photo credit: WWE.com)

Corey Graves had a promising stint on NXT several years ago, but was dealing with concussion-related issues, which eventually forced him to retire in December 2014. Graves never returned to the ring, but WWE didn't release him.

Instead, he was moved to backstage roles before becoming part of the commentary team in 2016, a role he has kept until now.

#5. Tyson Kidd never recovered from a serious spinal cord injury

Former WWE star Tyson Kidd (Photo credit: WWE.com)

Tyson Kidd had to deal with a serious spinal cord injury he sustained back in June 2015 and required surgery. It kept him out for a very long time, and eventually put an end to his active WWE career, as Tyson Kidd never returned to the ring and retired from wrestling completely.

Until now, he has spent time with WWE on backstage roles, and there is no indication that he will return anytime soon.

#4. Jason Jordan was forced to retire due to a neck injury

Former WWE star Jason Jordan (Photo credit: WWE.com)

Jason Jordan sustained a serious neck injury back in 2018 that required surgery and forced him to retire, after he was initially expected to stay out of action for more than a year.

Since then, he has stayed with WWE in backstage roles, while he has worked as a producer as well. WWE Creative seemingly has no plans to bring him back, so it is safe to say that he will stay retired.

#3. Christian came back from concussion issues

Unlike Tyson Kidd and Jason Jordan, an injury didn't force WWE legend Christian to retire for good. The former world champion stayed out for seven years, as concers related to concussion issues forced him to retire back in 2014. In 2021, he returned and competed at the Royal Rumble before leaving the company for good.

After his departure from WWE, he moved to AEW, where he is having a successful stint as Christian Cage.

#2. Daniel Bryan had to retire temporarily due to concussion issues

Daniel Bryan got a major push in WWE several years ago, which saw him become the WWE Champion. Still, he was forced to retire temporarily in 2016 amid injury woes and concussion issues, with WWE initially bringing him back in on-screen executive roles, namely the SmackDown GM role between 2016 and 2018.

However, he was eventually cleared to return to the company as an active wrestler in 2018 before moving to AEW in 2021 and having a run there under his real name Bryan Danielson.

Now that his contract with AEW is over, Bryan Danielson is considering retirement again, even though it is likely he will re-sign with AEW, but as a part-time wrestler.

#1. Edge returned to WWE after nine years

Edge was dealing with neck injuries during his career with WWE. These injuries didn't prevent him from becoming a legend in the company and a Hall of Famer. They forced him to retire, though, back in 2011.

Nine years later, he was medically cleared to compete again and returned to the company for another run with WWE. Even though he didn't become a world champion again, he came out of retirement and continues to wrestle.

Once his deal with the Stamford-based company expired, he moved to AEW, like Christian and Bryan Danielson did, and continues to perform at a high level weekly.