To put it simply, retirements in wrestling rarely stick. More often than not a legend of the business will hang up their boots, wave goodbye to the fans for the final time and ride off into the sunset, all with the hope of being able to finally live a life without being in constant agony from taking bumps every week. However, the wrestling business is one that a lot of performers end up unofficially married to, and walking away simply isn't that simple.
Over the past few years, we've seen a variety of wrestlers who have been retired lace up their boots once again for either a one-off bout, or depending on their condition, a full-time run with a major company. The likes of Sting and Adam "Edge"Copeland were seemingly done for good due to medical issues, but would make triumphant comebacks, with Sting in particular having a three-year run with All Elite Wrestling (who Copeland is now also signed to) that is seen by some of his long time fans as the best run of his career.
The wrestling business and the people within it have changed so much over time that stars who have been retired for many years are seeing young, hungry talent break through into the mainstream, reminding them of what they once had while also seeing younger versions of themselves in those same stars. It's those stars from the past and present who we will be talking about today, because for as much as some wrestlers want to leave the memories alone, others feel like there is one last story to be told in their respective careers. So sit back, relax, and join us on a journey through the thoughts of several retired WWE Hall of Famers who have identified current wrestlers who they would happily unretire for on a one-off basis.
The current Senior Vice-President of Talent Development for WWE is none other than "The Heartbreak Kid"Shawn Michaels, and given the career that he had, there aren't many better suited to guide the stars of "WWE NXT" towards greatness in their own careers. He was nicknamed "Mr. WrestleMania"for a reason as he routinely stole the show on WWE's grandest stage, won just about everything there was to win, and managed to have not one, but two legendary stints with the company in two different eras, being featured at the top of the card in both those timeframes.
Michaels famously retired at WWE WrestleMania 26 in 2010 as he failed to break The Undertaker's undefeated streak at "The Grand Daddy of Them All," and stayed retired for eight years. He then more infamously came out of retirement at WWE Crown Jewel 2018 to reunite with his D-Generation X tag team partner Triple H to take on The Undertaker and Kane, and while he now looks back on that match with a sense of fondness, he did at one point regret stepping into the ring after such a perfect retirement. The DX vs. Brothers of Destruction match didn't tarnish his legacy by any means, but it wasn't exactly a match fitting of man so closely associated with greatness.
However, before the match at WWE Crown Jewel 2018, Michaels was actually tempted to unretire on two occasions. During a live interview with "Inside The Ropes" in 2018, "The HeartbreakKid" admitted that WWE had offered him the chance to have one more match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania, only with a different spin. That spin was that it would have taken place after "The Deadman's" undefeated streak was broken by Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30, meaning that it would simply be a chance for Michaels to do the one thing he could never do; beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Obviously, Michaels turned the match down, something that made him and his family fully realize that he was likely done with wrestling forever. With that said, another offer came in 2017 to have a match at WrestleMania, this time with someone he had never wrestled, "The Phenomenal"AJ Styles. Michaels stated that he did initially want to do the match, and speculation only grew larger when Styles dropped the WWE Championship before that year's WrestleMania, but it never came to be and Styles wrestled Shane McMahon instead. Michaels rounded off by saying that it was nice to know that there was always a place for him on the WrestleMania card if he ever wanted it, and that The Undertaker and AJ Styles were the only men who truly tempted him.
Michaels hasn't been back in the ring since 2018, Styles is also set to retire at some point in 2026, and as for The Undertaker, he has his own dream opponent for a final retirement match.
At WrestleMania 33, the same show Shawn Michaels had been offered the chance to wrestle AJ Styles, The Undertaker seemingly retired from wrestling. Following his loss to Roman Reigns in the main event, "The Deadman"left his coat and hat in the middle of the ring and descended into the darkness, with a lot of people believing they had just seen the last of The Undertaker.
Of course, that wasn't the case, and The Undertaker would spend the next three years trying to have that elusive retirement match that scratched the impossible itch once and for all. His journey to retirement was all documented in "The Last Ride" documentary where he felt like matches with the likes of John Cena, Triple H, and Goldberg would satisfy him, but nothing seemed to work. It wasn't until he was offered the chance to wrestle the aforementioned AJ Styles where he felt like he could finally rest, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to change those plans and force The Undertaker's final match to be turned into the cinematic spectacle that was the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36.
A combination of finally having the right kind of send-off with the fact that his body simply couldn't go in the way that it used to led to WrestleMania 36 being the final match of The Undertaker's illustrious career. However, there is a man on the current WWE roster who "The Deadman" is such a big fan of that he admitted, to the man himself no less, that he would unretire for him. That man is the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, "The Ring General,"Gunther.
On an episode of Taker's "Six Feet Under" podcast, he and Gunther discussed what a WrestleMania match between the two of them would have looked like, with Taker admitting to Gunther that he is the one man in WWE who he would have loved to work with. Taker explained that there is a level of grit and realism with Gunther that stands out on every card he's on, and that if he had anything left in the tank, Gunther would be the final opponent for The Undertaker.
Gunther joked that he would push Taker to his limits when comes to chops, something that "The Deadman" famously hated during his time as an in-ring performer. With that said, depending on how the story played out, The Undertaker did tease the idea of potentially putting "The Ring General"over if they were to wrestle. Despite all of that, the match remains a pipe dream for both men, and given Taker's health, it's unlikely it will ever happen.
Kurt Angle's retirement in 2019 has gone down as one of the most underwhelming in WWE history. He returned to the company in 2017 to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and subsequently became the general manager of "WWE Raw,"leading many to wonder whether the Olympic Gold Medalist would ever get in the ring again. Those questions were answered at WWE TLC 2017 when he stepped in as a one-off member of The Shield to team up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, and would embark on an unofficial retirement tour from that point on.
Along the way, he did have some bright spots. Angle was Ronda Rousey's tag team partner for her debut match at WrestleMania 34, where they teamed up to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.He got to have some good matches against the likes of Drew McIntyre and Chad Gable, and got to run it back with some old foes from the past like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, with both of those matches being less than memorable. Angle would eventually retire at WrestleMania 35 as he lost to Baron Corbin in a match that went just over six minutes in length and disappointed basically everyone who watched it.
Given how beloved Angle was as an in-ring performer, and the fact that the WWE Hall of Famer didn't really go out on the best of terms, the topic of having one more match to make up for WrestleMania 35 has been brought up more than once. As for who Angle would want to face if he did come back, that answer has changed over the years. In 2022, Angle explained that he would want someone who would be able to carry him to a good match given his limited ability at his age, which is why he would want someone like a Seth Rollins, or a Roman Reigns, or even a John Cena to stand across from him. Angle was adamant that Cena be the top of his list given Cena's televised debut in WWE was against Angle, but since Cena is retiring from wrestling on December 13, that can't happen.
Fortunately for Angle, he has also named someone who is not only still active, but isn't even on the WWE roster. In 2024, Angle heaped a lot of praise on former AEW Men's World Champion Kenny Omega after Omega mentioned that Angle is one of his biggest inspirations as a wrestler. Angle admitted that Omega, as well as fellow former AEW Men's World Champion Bryan Danielson, were the two best wrestlers in the world at that time, but that it was Omega who was turning his head the most when it came to getting back in the ring. With all that said, it's still unlikely the match between Angle and Omega would ever happen given Angle's age and health, but in wrestling, never say never.
Considering the amount of punishment he sustained throughout his career, it's a small miracle that Mick Foley is even alive today, let alone walking around and being the lovable "Hardcore Legend" everyone came to know him as. Foley's last official match as an in-ring performer was the 2012 Royal Rumble match where he entered at number eight and eliminated both Primo and Epico, as well as Justin Gabriel with the help of Ricardo Rodriguez. He was eventually eliminated by Cody Rhodes, but that wasn't meant to have been the last fans saw of Foley in the ring as he was meant to be involved in a violent angle at that year's SummerSlam.
In the spring of 2012, Foley was confronted in a hotel lobby by a young man named Dean Ambrose, an aspiring wrestler who was angry at the fact that Foley's hardcore style had influenced so many people to follow in his footsteps, only for those same people to be left battered, broken, and permanently injured. At the time, Ambrose was still known by long-time indie fans as Jon Moxley, who would go on to debut as one-third of The Shield that November at Survivor Series as the planned match with Foley, which would have been Ambrose's coming out party in WWE, fell through due to Foley not being medically cleared to compete.
Moxley would later come out and admit that a match between himself and Foley not happening was probably for the best, but that hasn't stopped the "Hardcore Legend"from wanting to get back in the ring and have one final bloodbath to cap off his career. In 2024, Foley revealed that he was planning on losing 100 pounds in order to get in ring-shape by the time he turned 60. He was aiming to get himself healthy enough to have one last death match before retiring, and given that a match with Moxley never materialized, the former AEW Men's World Champion was named by Foley as one of his ideal opponents.
However, Foley also considered facing the self-proclaimed "King of the Death Match" Matt Cardona as he felt like the match would have more natural heat as Cardona is not seen by many fans as a true death match wrestler, whereas Moxley has a long history working in violent matches and promotions. Foley and Cardona even went as far as to trade barbs on social media to hype up a potential match, but much like the SummerSlam 2012 bout, Foley was forced to cancel his plans for a retirement match as his doctors stepped in and said no. Since then, Foley has thrown out names like Kevin Owens and CM Punk in a non-death match setting, but it's likely that his doctors would have to step in for a third time and say "Mick, please stop trying to wrestle, we've already told you twice."
