Too often the "retirement package" for a professional wrestler comes with spinal stenosis, a broken
neck, a prescription pain pill addiction or something worse.
In more recent years, WWE has been moved to address the dangers of its sport, but sooner
or later, every wrestler gets hurt, and it's not part of the act.
For the following athletes, enough was enough.
Ric Flair
If you know pro wrestling, you know Ric Flair.
A sixteen-time world champion with more than forty years' experience in rings all around
the world, he's survived just about all of his peers and even a few generations of wrestlers
that followed him, competing well into his fifties and sixties.
So what finally got the Nature Boy to hang up his robe for good?
It wasn’t his own injuries, but Jerry Lawler's heart attack, which happened live on RAW in
September of 2012.
Three months later, Flair gave an exclusive interview to WrestleNewz.com, saying:
“What happened to Jerry was terrible....I think it kind of put a decision on my future
in the ring.”
Considering that Ric Flair could work himself into quite a frenzy cutting promos, it makes
perfect sense.
CM Punk
Over his nearly fifteen years in wrestling, CM Punk went from an indie darling to one
of the most beloved and longest reigning champions in WWE history.
But after being eliminated from the 2014 Royal Rumble, Punk vanished and was never seen again.
On Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, Punk finally explained his departure, claiming
that the company blatantly ignored many health issues.The most damning allegation Punk made
was a growth on his back, which he claims was diagnosed by WWE's doctor as a fatty deposit.
When Punk got a second opinion at his wife's insistence, it turned out to be a near-fatal
staph infection.
Punk's since moved on to a career in MMA, but the fans won't let him be forgotten.
Any time anything happens that displeases WWE's audience, you can expect to hear chants
of "CM Punk.”
AJ Lee
Since debuting for WWE in 2009, AJ Lee rode her "crazy nerdy girl" gimmick to great success
and popularity.
And yet, by 2015, Lee was gone from wrestling, seemingly for good.
She seemed perfectly healthy, so what gives?
As it turns out, Lee wasn't quite as healthy as she seemed.
According to her autobiography, Crazy Is My Superpower, Lee suffered at least seven concussions
in her short career, as well has damaging her cervical spine beyond complete repair.
But there’s more to it than that.
According to IB Times, Lee often felt stuck between two sides: her company, and her husband,
CM Punk.
Ultimately, she chose her husband by leaving, but whether or not that was why she retired
from wrestling altogether, rather than work elsewhere, is up in the air.
All we know for sure is that her spine said "nope" and she walked away from wrestling
at the age of 28.
Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels' name will be constantly synonymous with WrestleMania.
Despite a back injury that kept him out of action from 1998 to 2002, Michaels was able
to return, and worked until 2010 with no more career-threatening health problems.
In fact, his retirement wasn't physically or medically motivated at all.
Talking to ESPN, the Heartbreak Kid laid out his one reason for putting the cap on his
legendary career: family.
“Someone came up to me and they just nonchalantly asked me how old my son was, and I said, oh,
he’s nine.”
Michaels suddenly realized that he was missing out on his son's childhood.
“He’s nine, he’s halfway to eighteen, man, eighteen, he’s gone.
And I thought about it, and I thought, oh my goodness, you’re right.”
Michaels' other issue was his match with the Undertaker that closed the curtain for him
at Wrestlemania 26.
The fight was highly acclaimed by fans and critics, and Michaels thought that there was
no higher note to go out on than that.
However, rumors and hopes that Mr. Wrestlemania will change his mind still abound.
Bret Hart
Bret "The Hitman" Hart was one of the best pure technical wrestlers ever.
But his active wrestling career ended both earlier than it should've and with far less
fanfare than such a legend deserved.
In December 1999, Hart wrestled Goldberg for the WCW World Championship at Starrcade.
Near the match's end, Goldberg threw Hart to the ropes and mule-kicked him in the head.
Unfortunately, Goldberg hit too hard, resulting in a severe concussion that put Hart on the
shelf for months, and WCW fired him in late 2000.
Shortly thereafter, Hart officially called it quits on his wrestling career.
Hart also suffered a severe stroke in 2002.
Aside from a symbolic return in 2010, where he won the WWE United States championship,
he's stayed on the sidelines ever since.
Sting
Sting had been wrestling for 30 years, but didn’t compete in a WWE ring until 2015.
It's a good thing he checked that off his bucket list because by the end of that year,
a freak injury would send him into an unexpected retirement.
At Night of Champions in September 2015, Sting faced Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship.
Late in the match, Sting was perched on the top rope and Rollins grabbed him for a powerbomb
into the turnbuckle.
Something went wrong, however, and Sting suffered a severe back injury as a result.
As it turned out, it wasn't just a routine back injury.
Sting was suffering from cervical spinal stenosis.
With that diagnosis, Sting realized there was no real hope of returning to the ring
for one last hurrah, and he announced his retirement the following April, right after
being inducted into the Hall of Fame.