9 WWE Superstars who retired before they turned 40

#5 AJ Lee

Soon after CM Punk left WWE in 2014, he tied the knot with AJ Lee. For the next year or so, Lee remained a mainstay in WWE and went on to register a win over The Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31, with Paige as her tag team partner.

The next night on WWE RAW, Lee wrestled her final match in WWE. She teamed up with Naomi and Paige to defeat The Bella Twins and Natalya. Lee was 28 when she left WWE. She won the Divas title 3 times during her stint in WWE.

#4 Paige

When she returned on WWE RAW as a heel in late 2017, Paige aligned with the debuting Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, with the trio naming itself Absolution. Weeks later, a kick from Sasha Banks led to Paige getting injured at a house show, and the referee had to immediately stop the match.

Paige came out on RAW after WrestleMania 34 and announced that her injuries had forced her to retire from active competition. The announcement left fans baffled, as Paige was a mere 25-year-old at the time. Paige went on to become the GM of SmackDown and is currently a panelist on FS1's WWE Backstage.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Raunak J