5 WWE retirements that were real and 5 that were part of a storyline

#3 Real: Ric Flair's WWE retirement

The Nature Boy!

Not many can claim to have made the same amount of impact that Ric Flair has in the business of pro wrestling. Being considered as one of the greatest to ever embrace this profession, Ric Flair is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer and holds the record of 16 World Championships in the company, tied with John Cena.

In late 2007, Ric Flair announced on RAW that he will never retire, leading to Vince McMahon retaliating and announcing that the Nature Boy will be forced to retire after the next match that he lost. He went on to take on the likes of Triple H, Umaga, and even Vince McMahon himself and defeated them to keep his career intact.

It was at WrestleMania 24 where Ric Flair lost, in what was considered by many to be the match of the year, to Shawn Michaels. Interestingly, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008 a day before his match with the Heart Break Kid.

Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels - Wrestlemania 24, Told one hell of a story for me, picture perfect as only wrestling can do, What memories do you have of this match? #wwe #wrestlingcommunity #wrestlingisforeveryone #WWE #Raw #Smackdown #NXT #AEW #wcw #AEWDark #nwa pic.twitter.com/6fLiYMlhdz

— Wrestling Noir (@ThyStevePearson) May 25, 2020

On the following episode of RAW on March 31, 2008, Ric Flair had his farewell ceremony that saw several Superstars, legends, and the fans give the Nature Boy a standing ovation and celebrate his career. In a rare moment, even The Undertaker came out, broke character, and showed his respect to Ric Flair.

Ric Flair went on to wrestle for other promotions like Ring of Honor and TNA/Impact Wrestling after that, but the above moment continues to be his "retirement" from the WWE ring. In recent years, we have seen the Nature Boy make numerous appearances for WWE for various storyline purposes but it's safe to assume that we won't see him back in the ring again!