- 2 months ago
From cinematic masterpieces to awkward farewells, not all wrestling legends get the sendoff they deserve! Join us as we examine the most memorable retirement matches in WWE history - those that cemented legacies and those that unfortunately tarnished them. Which wrestling icon got the perfect ending and who deserved better?
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00:00I made John Cena give up!
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down the five best and five worst retirement matches in WWE history.
00:17Now, most of these legends have participated in one-off contests or brief runs later,
00:22but we're spotlighting the definitive farewells that concluded their career.
00:25Thank you for coming on this amazing, awesome ride.
00:33Number 5. Worst.
00:35Goldberg vs. Gunther. Saturday night's main event.
00:39Your hometown, your family's here, retirement hanging over you, the end of a career.
00:44When wrestling legends meet rising stars, there's supposed to be a passing of the torch moment.
00:49Instead, what fans witnessed in 2025 was more like a dropping of the torch.
00:54I, I, I don't even know what to say.
00:58At 58, Goldberg's limitations were painfully evident against the technically superior Gunther.
01:03His hard-hitting European style exposed every weakness in Goldberg's arsenal.
01:08That brace covering the left knee of Goldberg, Gunther has been attacking that knee throughout the break.
01:14Demand's matches are better in quick bursts.
01:17It's over! Goldberg has been dominant!
01:20But this one plotted along for an excruciating 14 minutes.
01:25The crowd's energy dissolved into uncomfortable silence as botched spots and mistimed counters piled up.
01:30Hope really beginning to slip away now of a dream ending for a legendary career.
01:37Ironically, this was not the last time Gunther would partake in an underwhelming retirement of a legend in 2025.
01:44Stay tuned.
01:46Number 5 Best
01:47Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
01:50WrestleMania 36
01:51The 2020 pandemic threw a wrench into WrestleMania 36, which WWE was forced to innovate.
01:58What resulted was not merely a wrestling match, but a cinematic masterpiece that gave the phenom a truly fitting send-off.
02:05The Boneyard match allowed the Undertaker to lean into his lore like never before.
02:23Nowhere to run!
02:24Shot like a supernatural thriller in a cemetery, the filmmaking style made it possible for the Deadman to deliver a performance worthy of his legendary status without the physical limitations that had begun to plague his in-ring work.
02:44It was a perfect blend of compelling storytelling and wrestling that still packed an emotional punch.
02:50I'm an old man, right? I'm sorry.
02:52You're sorry. Now you're sorry.
02:56After defeating Styles, he rode off on a motorcycle, a tribute to his American badass persona.
03:07Number 4 Worst
03:08Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin
03:10WrestleMania 35
03:12Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle deserved a heroic send-off.
03:16What he got instead was a forgettable six-minute contest against Baron Corbin that failed to capture any of the magic from Angle's prime.
03:23The pairing itself raised eyebrows.
03:26Corbin, while competent, lacked the star power or technical ability to deliver the emotional goodbye match Angle's career warranted.
03:33There's only one that I want to beat.
03:38That man is Baron Corbin.
03:41Their chemistry was non-existent, with the match feeling more like a Monday Night Raw mid-card bout than a WrestleMania retirement spectacle.
03:52There's all this talk about the storybook ending, the beautiful button on the career for Kurt Angle, a big win at WrestleMania.
03:59Angle ultimately put over his contender, limping away in defeat.
04:03Far worse, Corbin's career went nowhere after and he left the company within a few years.
04:07Angle went on the record to state that he felt he'd lost for nothing.
04:12My career is officially over.
04:16And yours?
04:18Yours is just getting started.
04:20Number 4 Best
04:21Trish Stratus vs. Lita
04:23Unforgiven 2006
04:25One of the greatest rivalries in WWE history culminated in a storybook ending for its top female athlete.
04:32At the peak of her career, Trish Stratus chose to retire in her hometown of Toronto, Canada.
04:37And who better to face than career-long adversary and best friend Lita?
04:41There's nothing in the world that Lita would like more tonight than to beat Trish Stratus with Trish's hometown at Trish's last match.
04:50It wasn't a chick kick or Stratus faction that put Lita away.
04:53Stratus forced Lita to tap with the oh-so-Canadian sharpshooter, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
04:59Trish hasn't locked in!
05:01That hole is as Canadian!
05:03As Canadian!
05:03It's over!
05:05It's over!
05:06It was a rare and beautiful moment where a top star got to walk away on her own terms, holding championship gold.
05:13One of the Canada's greatest export kings is going to have a night and a memory that will last forever!
05:22Number 3 Worst
05:24Lita vs. Mickie James
05:25Survivor Series 2006
05:27Later the same year, Lita would also walk away from the company, though her retirement match was not quite as ceremonious.
05:35She was launched into a hasty feud against Mickie James, and the two did their best to contrive a storyline leading into Lita's retirement.
05:42Oh, oh wait, I forgot, Edge isn't champion anymore, is he? And neither are you!
05:48Oh my god!
05:50Ow!
05:50The match itself was well executed, and Lita lost the belt in order to cement Mickie as a top star.
05:56But it's what happened after that really soured Lita's legacy.
06:00I am disgusted! I cannot think of a better crowd to leave in front of!
06:07Tag team duo Crime Time sauntered down to humiliate the defeated superstar, auctioning off her belongings to the crowd.
06:14We're going to have us a wholesale!
06:16Wholesale?
06:18Wholesale!
06:19Let's get it talking!
06:20I don't want this!
06:20We got a little more!
06:21Yo, we got a little more!
06:22Yo, yo, yo, yo, Philly!
06:23Even if Lita's shrieks were the final cries of a vanquished TV villain, the entire segment, nearly as long as the match,
06:30was a straight-up disrespectful way to retire a trailblazer.
06:34Everything's got to go!
06:35Lord, you wonder why I'm leaving!
06:37You wonder why I'm leaving!
06:39You people are so disrespectful!
06:40He didn't bust!
06:41Number 3 Best, Steve Austin vs. The Rock, Wrestlemania 19.
06:46The third and final chapter of Wrestlemania's greatest trilogy wasn't advertised as Austin's farewell,
06:52which makes the emotional weight of the match even more profound.
06:55It ain't about nothing but a wrestling match between two of the greatest that have ever been in the ring.
07:01Behind the curtain, the rattlesnake knew his battered body couldn't continue,
07:04secretly planning this banger as his wrestling swan song.
07:08Stone Cold Steve Austin went out there with a bad neck in his last match.
07:12And the Steve that was on top of that point had to work with tons and tons of injuries.
07:16The two titans of the Attitude Era delivered a match that perfectly captured the entire history of their feud,
07:23telling a story that built upon their previous Wrestlemania encounters.
07:27It took three rock bottoms for the Great One to finally conquer his nemesis.
07:31Third time to charge!
07:33Big one!
07:33Oh, God!
07:34A firm rock bottom!
07:36A firm rock bottom!
07:38A hook of a leg!
07:40And a huge shot!
07:41The subtle moment after the match when Austin lingered in the ring for one last look at the crowd
07:46becomes heartbreaking when you realize he was silently saying goodbye to the fans that believed in him.
07:51It was a really, really cool moment.
07:54Two big-ass, tough-ass guys telling each other that they loved the other one in front of millions of people.
08:00Number 2 Worst
08:02JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
08:04WrestleMania 25
08:06Another surprise retirement match, though with a lot less impact.
08:11Sometimes a match is bad not because it's long and boring, but because it's insultingly short and pointless.
08:17WrestleMania 25 saw JBL confidently stride to the ring, proclaiming himself a wrestling god.
08:23He was set to face longtime adversary Rey Mysterio.
08:26However, that bubble quickly burst.
08:28The squash match lasted only 21 seconds, but what no one realized was that JBL had secretly decided this would be his final bout just two weeks prior.
08:49He abruptly grabbed the mic to announce his departure before storming off.
08:53I quit!
08:59So with no build-up or hype, fans were left wondering, that's it?
09:04Are we seeing JBL leave the ring conclusively for the last time?
09:09One of WWE's top heels' final in-ring moments ultimately felt like a cheap throwaway gag, rather than a meaningful career conclusion.
09:17Number 2 Best
09:19The stakes had been set for the Nature Boy, win or retire.
09:27The beauty of this showdown wasn't high-flying spectacle, but the psychological warfare between two masters who knew exactly how to manipulate the crowd's emotions.
09:36Reifus couldn't throw the trigger from the Nature Boy does!
09:40Oh my gosh!
09:41He who hesitates is lost!
09:44Every time 59-year-old Flair fought back, the stadium erupted with hope that their hero might extend his reign for one more day.
09:53Sean's internal battle of winning at the price of retiring his idol was captivating.
10:08And what he utters right before the sweet chin music that ended Flair's career spawned one of the most devastating moments in wrestling history.
10:14Post-match, tears streamed down the Hall of Famer's face as 74,000 fans chanted thank you, Rick, to the 16-time world champion who had given four decades to the business.
10:39A well-earned, year-long retirement tour should have never culminated in this.
10:57We're willing to put the mishandled heel turn aside, but we can't forgive the botches, bad spots, and poor booking in Cena's final match.
11:05It's been over 20 years since that man has tapped out.
11:09This is not the way that anyone wanted this legendary career to end.
11:16What made this debacle particularly heartbreaking was watching Cena desperately attempt his signature spots,
11:22the five-knuckle shuffle looking labored, and the attitude adjustment being countered with embarrassing ease.
11:28It all culminated in a finishing sequence where Cena, resigned to his fate, tapped out.
11:34John Cena has tapped out.
11:39Considering he carried WWE on his back for multiple decades and inspired millions with his never-give-up mantra,
11:47watching Cena submit was like watching your childhood hero fall to pieces,
11:51and earned all the boos for it.
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12:17How do you top a match widely considered one of the greatest of all time?
12:27By adding an unimaginable layer of emotional intensity.
12:30Shawn Michaels' career against The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak.
12:35This rematch from their instant classic at WrestleMania 25 had astronomical stakes,
12:44forcing Michaels to put everything on the line for one last shot at glory.
12:48Shawn Michaels has one chance at greatness, one chance to do the one thing that no one else has ever done.
12:53Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, one more time.
12:56The heartbreak kid, desperate to achieve what no one else could,
12:59delivered another monumental performance filled with breathtaking near falls and desperate resilience.
13:06The image of Michaels, defiant to the very end, slapping The Undertaker before absorbing the final tombstone,
13:12perfectly encapsulated the unparalleled magnitude of Mr. WrestleMania's career.
13:17What are your thoughts on John Cena's controversial finish?
13:27Comment down below.
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