Name: Top 10 Iconic Wrestlers Who Left Fame Behind
Uploaded: 2026-01-26T16:59:37.000Z
Duration: 10 min 9 s
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Thank you for coming on this amazing, awesome ride.

Welcome to watchmojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 wrestlers who decided to make a dramatic exit from the business at the most unexpected of times.

And once you're one foot's out the door to me, I feel like I don't want to ever halfway do something.

Kamala not every wrestler ends up a millionaire.

It's a sad fact about this gruesome business.

And for Kamala, everything he gave to the game ended up costing him in a big way later in life.

After payment disagreements with the wwf, reportedly due to some huge disparities between his salary and his opponents, Kamala left the promotion in 1993.

Although he did wrestle sporadically over the coming years, he became a truck driver to make ends meet.

He eventually retired due to health issues that led to him getting both legs amputated.

I had a few times that I shed a few tears, you know about it, but

He passed away from diabetes complications brought on by COVID 19 in 2029.

Steve Stan Hansen When Stan Hansen was asked to lose his title to Nick Bockwinkle, it represented an opportunity to do his current company a favor and earn some good faith in the business.

However, Hanssen decided to refuse the fight, jumping ship to Japan while still calling himself the American Wrestling association champ.

AWA threatened legal action, so he ran over the belt in his tractor and sent it back to the promotion.

He went on to become a star in Japan, but

likely hurt his chances of becoming a bigger name in the United States simply because he didn't want to.

When I was a kid, I did not fear the boogeyman.

Number 8 Eve Torres Eve Torres was carving out quite a promising early run for herself in the WWE, winning the 2007 Diva Search, which earned her a contract with the organization.

She also became the first person to win the WWE Divas Championship on three different occasions.

However, despite seeming like a huge part of the WWE's next generation, she shocked the world by announcing her retirement abruptly at the age of 28.

And my mind was already gone, so I was ready to move on.

She then moved her focus entirely into becoming an instructor for the Gracie Women Empowerment Program, teaching women about self defense.

It's quite a noble decision, don't you think?

And today I'm empowering women watching the game, throwing parties.

Tyson Kidd sometimes the decision to walk away from the ring isn't entirely up to the athletes themselves.

Tyson Kidd was very clearly a promising technical wrestler who had spent the best part of a decade working up a reputation for himself.

Unfortunately, during a dark match on Raw vs Samoa Joe, his opponent's muscle buster finisher cost him his career and nearly his life.

Kidd suffered a brutal spinal injury, one that he claimed that only 5% of people actually survive.

His wrestling career was brought to a very sudden and irreversible end.

Thankfully, he now works as a producer with the wwe, but

his days in the limelight are sadly over.

Rick Rude it was very easy to hate on Rick Rude in his prime.

In many way, he was the perfect heel figure.

Looking back on his career now, you can see how excellently he played off the crowd, but

At a pivotal point in his own rise, he experienced complications from an earlier back injury which might have resulted in insurance rates issues.

So Roode decided to retire, becoming a ringside personality instead of.

In 1999, during an attempt to get back into the ring, Roode's training process was interrupted by his sudden death at the age of 40, making him one of wrestling's great what ifs.

Stacy Keibler Stacy Keibler was well and truly one of the standout divas of her era.

Coming over to WWF from WCW after their purchase, she entered the game right in the thick of the Attitude era.

However, the grueling lifestyle and physical tolls of this sport weren't exactly what she wanted for the rest of her prime years.

So in 2006, seemingly at the height of her powers, she left the WWE to chase other interests.

Though she did make appearances as an actress and on reality tv.

She later left Hollywood entirely to focus on her family life.

Spike Dudley as part of the notorious Dudley Brothers Faction, Spike Dudley Matthew Heisen actually spent time as a third grade teacher's assistant before finding his way to the ring.

However, his run in the WWE as part of tag teams and as a singles fighter saw him carve out a memorable career, eventually culminating in a cruiserweight championship.

When his contract ended, he spent some time on the regional scene and began training other prospective wrestlers.

Eventually, he stopped full time training completely and began work as a financial transition specialist.

Yeah, what's your relationship with wrestling like now?

Bart Gunn the problem with a career in wrestling is that you really don't know for sure how things are going to play out.

One poor move can leave you with an injury that changes the course of your career forever.

For Bart Gunn, he had a commendable run in the business between 1991 and 2007, wrestling for some of the biggest promotions around, including the wwf.

However, he eventually decided to step away from the ring so he could make a move towards a more stable profession.

He now works entirely in construction and as an electrician, a far more risk averse way of securing his future.

My career kind of don't want to say fizzled.

Aj Lee's early retirement in 2015 came as a major shock for everyone.

Known for her uncoachable charisma and technical skill, she pretty much walked away right in the middle of her most pretty promising period of time.

She instead decided to focus on writing, authoring several comic books, and

even a Netflix film, blade of the 47 Ronin.

Thankfully, after proving to herself that she was very capable of finding her footing in any field, she returned to the WWE in 2025, marking 10 long years since her initial exit.

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Trish Stratus no list of all time great divas would be complete without a mention for Trish Stratus, and

yet she seemed to have no interest in overstaying her welcome.

In fact, she walked away from the WWE just after winning her record breaking seventh Women's Championship.

It's over and Chris wins the same supervised she is clearly a legend of the game, but

there's no denying that she could have become something even greater if she had stuck around.

After her mother became ill, Stratus decided to dedicate more time to her care.

She was already toying with the idea of chasing other interests, and this made her decision final.

Aside from some small appearances, she has kept to her word.

But which wrestler would you love to see mount an unexpected comeback?