With the recent emotional retirement of Daniel Bryan still fresh in my head, I decided to write a article about the top 5 wrestlers who were forced in to retirement……… We wont be focusing on the “Worst Injury” for this list. Wrestlers whos careers have ended due to death will also not be a factor on this list. Wrestlers who were well passed their time and retired due to injury will also not be on this list. So please understand this list before making comments in the comment section.
Without further explanation lets get to the list
5. Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness was a very hot prospect back in his Ring of Honor days. People spoke of Nigel in the same degree as they spoke of greats like Punk, Bryan and Samoa Joe. People actually expected bigger things from Nigel than they did for guys like Bryan and Punk due to him having more of a WWE look, with his size, superior physique and incredible in ring ability, Nigel looked to be destine for stardom.
Nigel at a time was considered to be one of the the top in ring performers in the world and finally one day WWE came knocking on his door. Nigel and WWE verbally agreed to a contract, but Nigel didn’t pass the WWE’s Physical evaluation. Nigel had nagging arm issues and the WWE said he needed extensive surgery and rehab and opted not to sign him….. Nigel signed with North Americas number two promotion, TNA.
Nigel had a great debut in TNA but then got lost in the shuffle. When it look like Nigel was going to get a push to the top of the card, It turns out Nigel was sidelined due to a injury. It was very suspicious because the nature of the injury was never disclosed…. It was later revealed Nigel McGuinness had contacted hep B while in TNA.
Nigel McGuinness had a fare well tour on the independent scene and documented his journey for a documentary he was working on. It was Nigels good bye to in ring competition, It showed how difficult it was for Nigel McGuinness to walk away from something he loved so much and it also showed how unfulfilled Nigel felt hanging up the boots so early.
4. The Dynamite Kid
When you ask any great in ring worker who is the greatest of all times, Dynamite Kid is the name you will hear. The Dynamite Kid is a wrestlers wrestler, Wrestlers like Bret Hart, Harley Race and Chris Benoit have all called Dynamite Kid the Greatest in ring performer of all times.
Dynamite kid was putting on matches in the late 70’s and early 80’s that guys today wish they can do. Dynamite Kid was so far ahead of his time….The matches that him and the equally great Tiger Mask was putting on in Japan is still looked at as some of the greatest matches ever, Matches that revolutionized the light weight division. There might of never been a Jushin Liger, a Super J Cup, a WCW Cruiser weight Division or even a X Divison if it wasn’t for the amazing matches Tiger Mask and Dynamite were having in the 80’s.
For every bit as good as Dynamite Kid was in the ring he was a jerk outside of the ring. Dynamites bullying and unprofessional conduct soured alot of the promoters and bookers on him. But Dynamite was a God in Japan.
Dynamite had to retire from wrestling full time in 1991 , Dynamites body was completely torn up at this time. Dynamite did make a few appearances and In a sad attempt to make some money Dynamite Kid took a booking for a 6 man tag in Japan in 1996. Dynamite was unrecognizable, He looked unhealthy and a shell of the great performer he once was. after that 6 man tag Dynamite Kid was confined to a wheel chair due to all his drug abuse and damage done to his body from his in ring career. Dynamite would never wrestle again.
The sad thing about Dynamites story, Just as injuries began to take a toll on him and his personal life began to go in a downward spiral, Wrestling promotions began pushing smaller more athletic performers. in 1992 the WWF was putting the belt on smaller guys such as Ric Flair and Bret Hart and in the mid 90s Bret Hart and Shawn Michales were the two main guys in the company…. If Dynamite had kept himself healthy there is no telling What he could of become.
3. Magnum TA
Back in the early to mid 80’s Magnum was the man in the JCP. He was in a hot feud with Tully Blanchard, The crowed loved him and the wrestlers, bookers and office liked him. Magnum had everything going his way…Magnum was Dusty Rhodes project, He was gonna be the next Dusty Rhodes for JCP (Jim Crockett promotions which later became WCW) and the NWAs answer to Hulk Hogan.
Magnum had the essential 80’s look and appeal and guys like the 4 Horsemen, Dusty Rhodes and Road Warriors were all pushing for Magnum to be the man. Sadly right before Magnum was being groomed to take Ric Flairs belt he was involved in a car accident that ended his wrestling career and almost confined him to a wheel chair. Magnum got lucky and was able to live a normal life but wrestling was out of the question and he had to retire.
Not many people know this but after Magnum retired, Magnum went to bat for Barry Windham and talked Dusty in to giving him another chance and as a favor to him, Dusty Rhodes gave Barry Windham another chance. Dusty had alot of heat with Barry because of the way he left to go to WWF.
2. Edge
Edge had a long career at this point, He reached every pinnacle you could reach in the WWE, IC, Tag,World and WWE championship title regins. Edge also won the King of the Ring, Royal Rumble and main evented Wrestlemania against the Undertaker….. At the time of Edges retirement he was the go to guy and the main face on Smackdown. Edge at this point cemented himself as a permanent main eventer, Edge had successfully defended his title at Wrestlemania against a heavily pushed Alberto Del Rio who just won the biggest rumble of all times, Edge who at this point wasn’t having the quality of matches he once was, and not as cutting edge ( no pun intended) as he once was but Edge had name value and a solid fan base so the WWE felt more comfortable putting him in a position to be one of the top faces of the company (the John Cena of Smackdown you may say) but sadly Edge was forced to retire. Edge’s condition was so bad that the WWE wouldn’t let him drop the title, It was to risky to even consider Edge taking a bump. So Instead of losing the title in a match, Edge forfeited the championship and gave a emotional speech tp say good bye to the wrestling business.
1. Daniel Bryan
The man who inspired this article was most likely to be number 1 on this list. Bryans emotional retirement in February shook the wrestling world to its core. Not since the attitude era have we seen the crowd cheer and get behind a wrestler. Bryan was destine for great things and not even the WWE could get in his way. No matter what Vince McMahons plans were the audience was going to back up Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan is World class wrestler and a world class person and there is no doubt in my mind Daniel Bryan had great things headed his way….. Daniel Bryan accomplished so much in his career from independents, Japan and WWE. Its sad his career ended so early from injuries but Daniel had a amazing career.
Conclusion
I was going to add Bret Hart and Steve Austin to the list but Bret was around 42 when he got his concussion and he was pretty much finishing up his in ring career. Steve Austin on the other hand, his career was winding down, Austin was being thrown down the card by Vince McMahon before his retirement. Plus another factor is Austin is still able to wrestle, Not a full time scheduled but if Austin wanted to make a come back and have a match at wrestlemania he could be medically cleared. so that was my reasoning for not putting them on the list.
