10 female WWE Superstars who retired too soon
Over the past two decades, several female WWE Superstars have hung up their boots at a young age.
The WWE women's division has changed drastically in the past few years. Several performers have joined Vince McMahon's company and led what has become known as the Women's Revolution. While some performers have joined the company, many have also left. Some leave for other promotions, while others want to exit the industry altogether.
These ladies retire from WWE for different reasons. The issue of injury often arises due to the physical nature of the industry, but that's not the only reason performers call it quits. Sometimes superstars leave the industry altogether to start a family or a business.
A number of these female WWE Superstars were only in their 20s when they hung up their boots. Some were even in the prime of their careers. Although these performers believe they made the right decision, many WWE fans think they retired too soon.
Here are 10 female WWE Superstars who retired too soon:
#10. Former WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool joined WWE in November 2004 after participating in the Diva Search competition. She captured her first title 4 years later when she defeated Natalya for the Divas Championship at the 2008 Great American Bash.
In the following years, the former school teacher became one of the top female superstars in WWE. McCool won the Divas Championship and the Women's Title on multiple occasions. However, she decided to retire in mid-2011 when she was only 31 years old.
In an interview with Lilian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast in 2019, the former Divas Champion disclosed how her relationship with The Undertaker led her to hanging up her boots.
"It was tough. Just leaving in itself was tough because it got to a point where I was dealing with so much (...) mostly being Undertaker’s girlfriend and why I was on TV (...) even having a writer throw the papers up one day and say ‘Why don’t we just call it the Michelle McCool and Undertaker show?!' It was nonstop and I went to Vince (...) and bless his heart he was wonderful (...) I just said 'Vince, I don’t wanna hate something that I grew up loving so much and the longer I stay the more I’m like like getting a sour taste in my mouth.' So making that decision to leave was as hard as it is, but more than wanting to be in WWE or be a champion I’ve always wanted to be a mom," she said.
A year before her retirement, McCool married The Undertaker. In 2012, she gave birth to their first child, Kaia.
The former Women's Champion has made a few WWE appearances in recent years. McCool participated in the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match in 2018. Later that same year, she participated in the 20-woman Battle Royal at Evolution. She still appears to be in great shape.
#9. WWE Hall of Famer Lita
Lita is one of the greatest superstars in WWE history. She joined the company in 1999 and quickly became one of the leaders of the women's division. The high-flyer played a part in several entertaining storylines, alongside legends like Kane, The Hardy Boyz and Edge.
However, Lita's most famous feud was with Trish Stratus. The two ladies were the first women to main-event Monday Night RAW. The former member of Team Extreme also competed against Victoria in the first-ever women's steel cage match in WWE history.
After winning four Women's Titles, Lita decided to hang up her boots in 2006. She was only 31 years old at the time.
Since her retirement, Lita has made several WWE appearances, even competing in four matches. In 2012, the former Women's Champion defeated Heath Slater on RAW's 1000th episode. She then participated in the 2018 Royal Rumble match before teaming up with Trish Stratus to defeat Alicia Fox and Mickie James at Evolution.
Lita's final bout came on RAW the day after Evolution. She teamed up with Stratus, Natalya, Bayley, and Sasha Banks to defeat Fox, James, and The Riott Squad.