9 WWE Superstars who retired before they turned 40

Modified Apr 18, 2020 07:31 GMT

#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin

Possibly the biggest WWE Superstar of all time alongside Hulk Hogan, The Rattlesnake's career was cut short way back in 2003. His neck injury deemed him unable to compete following his third WrestleMania match against The Rock at the 19th edition of The Show of Shows.

Austin made his way to WWE in the mid-90s. He was a decent mid-card star during his WCW stint prior to signing with WWE, but his popularity shot up the roof when he won the WWE King of the Ring tournament in 1996 and delivered his now-famous line of "Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your a**". He headlined WrestleMania events with the likes of Shawn Michaels and his arch-enemy, The Rock.

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Austin was 39 when he wrestled his last match and went on to appear on WWE TV as an authority figure following WrestleMania. Over the next several years, Austin made sporadic special appearances for WWE, including a bunch of major WrestleMania appearances. He also currently hosts a WWE Network podcast dubbed as "Broken Skull Sessions".

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