4 times WWE Superstars convinced us they were retiring
Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE earlier today at the age of 77. The company will now begin laying down foundations for a future without its patriarch.
Whilst McMahon's retirement is considered to be very real, there have been several instances in the past where WWE Superstars have feigned retirement in order to get the upper hand on their opponents.
Here are some of the most memorable times that current and former WWE Superstars have faked their retirement:
#4. Mark Henry faked his retirement to get a WWE Championship match
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Mark Henry and his salmon jacket have gone down in WWE history after everyone, including John Cena, was fooled by his retirement speech on an episode of RAW.
Henry noted that he was retiring without ever winning the WWE Championship and Cena was so moved by his speech that he even handed the title to Mark so that he could hold it.
The World's Strongest Man finished the segment by delivering a World's Strongest Slam to Cena, which set up a title match between the two men. His actions made it very clear that he was not retiring after all.
#3. Sasha Banks
Back in September 2016, Sasha Banks addressed her back injury following a loss to Charlotte at SummerSlam. The Boss headed to ring and delivered a speech about the women who had paved the way for her in the business.
She got emotional about the Women's Revolution, before noting that she was pushed beyond her limit at SummerSlam. The star noted that she had some bad news about her back injury but was then interrupted by Dana Brooke who attempted to attack her but instead was locked in the Bank Statement.
Banks then announced that she was challenging for the title at Clash of Champions rather than retiring from the company.
#2. Randy Orton
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Randy Orton has dominated WWE for more than two decades, but he has attempted to fake his retirement on two separate occasions in that time. The first came back in 2005 when it became clear that he would have to wrestle The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell.
Orton opted to end his career rather than step into the cell and this was enough to draw out The Deadman. The Apex Predator then got the upperhand over him ahead of their showdown.
More than a decade later, in March 2019, Orton fooled the WWE Universe once again when he injured himself at a live event and noted that he would address his future on RAW.
Whilst using crutches, The Viper attempted to claim his career had reached its climax before AJ Styles came out to taunt Orton. The Phenomenal One was then hit with an RKO which proved that he wasn't injured at all.
#1. The Undertaker
The Undertaker has now officially retired, but it took several fake retirements to get him there. The Undertaker's biggest attempted retirement came back at WrestleMania 33 after his loss to Roman Reigns when he left his gear in the ring and walked out of the arena.
It was believed at the time that this would be his final in-ring appearance before WrestleMania 34 saw him make his return and battle John Cena. The Phenom found it hard to walk away from the company but back in 2020, he decided to retire following his Boneyard match against AJ Styles.