5 WCW Wrestlers Who Retired In Their Prime (& 5 Who Hung On Way Too Long)
WCW is one of the most beloved professional wrestling companies ever, and for good reason. One-half of the incredible Monday Night Wars, it's been over two decades since they closed their doors for good. Since then, the vast majority of the roster has hung up their boots for good.
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However, they didn't all retire at the same time. Many WCW wrestlers stayed on far too long, wrestling far beyond their prime years, which is very common for the business itself. That being said, there were some former Ted Turner talents who retired while they could still go and put on a good match.
10 Retired in Prime: Rick Rude
Rick Rude deserved a lot more than he actually got. A true legend of the business, his time in wrestling was cut short due to injuries. He initially announced his retirement in 1994 but returned for a brief ECW stint in 1997.
Beyond that, Rude never wrestled again. Despite high-profile storylines, and chances to come out of retirement, the legend remained on the shelf until his tragic 1999 passing.
9 Hung On Too Long: Ric Flair
As one of the most famous faces of WCW, Ric Flair's retirement timeline is well-documented. Despite The Nature Boy seeming old and on the verge of retirement, he continued to wrestle until 2008. Almost instantly, he unretired to wrestle in Impact.
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To make matters worse, Flair unretired once again last year for a tag team match with Andrade against Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. Billed as his last match, he's since stated that he might unretire again in the future.
8 Retired in Prime: Fit Finlay
Alright, it's a stretch to say that Fit Finlay retired in his prime. The Irishman had a great stint in WCW as The Belfast Bruiser, winning some big matches from 1996 to 2001. However, his WWE run from 2001 to 2011 was even more beloved.
Finlay originally retired in 2010, coming out of retirement for a brief run on the indie scene in 2012. While he was still older, in his early 50s, he could still clearly go in the ring and have more matches if he wanted them.
7 Hung On Too Long: Goldberg
Goldberg could've just as easily found himself on the opposite side of this list. In 2004, he famously retired after his panned WrestleMania 20 match with Brock Lesnar. For years, that seemed to be it for the WCW legend.
Instead, he unretired in 2016 for another series of matches with the former UFC champion. While his rematch and subsequent feud with Lesnar was praised, most of Goldberg's second WWE stint has been panned. He just doesn't need to be in there anymore.
6 Retired in Prime: The Ultimate Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior didn't retire at his peak, but he wasn't far from it. After two years out of the ring after leaving WWE in 1996, he signed to WCW. It was for a lot of money, and sadly, they didn't exactly get a return on their investment.
Warrior only had a few, pretty poor matches in WCW before retiring in 1998. While he returned for a one-off match in 2007 against Orlando Jordan, his career essentially ended at Halloween Havoc 1998.
5 Hung On Too Long: Randy Savage
Randy Savage famously left the WWE and Vince McMahon in 1994, as they wanted him to retire. The Macho Man clearly proved them wrong, by putting in years of good work in WCW. Sadly, he also kind of struggled near the end.
Savage didn't need to retire by the time he signed to WCW, but he absolutely had to by the end. Sadly, he didn't and continued wrestling until 2004. He eventually retired that year after a brief stint in Impact.
4 Retired in Prime: Elix Skipper
Elix Skipper was one of the more successful wrestlers to come out of the WCW Power Plant. Debuting after just eight months of training time, he quickly showed his athletic ability and potential was off the charts.
Sadly, Skipper wasn't the best talker, which badly held him back. While he had some great moments, especially in TNA, he retired in 2009 after the murder of his son.
3 Hung On Too Long: Hulk Hogan
The longtime face of WCW, Hulk Hogan, stayed around just as long as any of them. The Hulkster signed to the company in 1994 with a lot of expectations. For the most part, he shattered them early and then shattered WCW later on by refusing to put over younger talent.
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Nonetheless, Hogan continued wrestling for years after WCW's closure. In the end, he didn't retire until 2012, having wrestled his final years in Impact.
2 Retired in Prime: Dean Malenko
Over two decades on from his retirement, Dean Malenko remains ridiculously underrated. A multiple-time cruiserweight champion and member of The Four Horsemen, he headed to the WWE with the rest of The Radicalz in 2000.
Malenko sadly didn't get as long of a run as others, retiring in 2001. While he returned for a 2007 dark match on SmackDown, the legend has remained retired since then. He could've easily wrestled a few more years, but he had no interest.
1 Hung On Too Long: Scott Hall
The Bad Guy helped turn the tide towards WCW in The Monday Night Wars. While they eventually lost to the WWE, Scott Hall still had a great run in the company for the most part. That being said, the wheels for Hall fell off in the early 2000s.
Despite that, he continued to wrestle, even getting high-profile matches in TNA as late as 2010. The legend considered himself retired that year but did come out of retirement for a one-off with Chuck Taylor in 2016.
