Every year, the pro-wrestling industry sees new wrestlers emerge onto the surface. While lots of wrestlers from the past are still going strong, some have retired, and others have taken their place.
In WWE alone, fans have seen quite a few retirement matches in the past year. The following wrestlers are some examples of that.
AJ Styles
Former WWE Champion AJ Styles recently retired at the Royal Rumble event. He wrestled Gunther in his final match. Everyone had expected Styles to lose this match.
There was some speculation regarding Styles’ future, with many in the internet wrestling community believing he could have a stint with AEW. However, that’s not going to happen, as Styles has reportedly signed a new contract with WWE that will see him coach the newer generation of wrestlers behind the scenes.
Goldberg
Goldberg’s WWE retirement match happened suddenly. He was out of the company for over 4 years before his eventual return at Bad Blood 2024. He had a segment with Gunther, which eventually led to a World Heavyweight Championship match on Saturday Night’s Main Event in July 2025.
Gunther ended up defeating Goldberg via a sleeper hold.
Fandango
Back in 2006, Fandango signed a developmental contract with WWE. Over the next few years, he became popular with his Fandango moniker. However, it wasn’t enough for WWE to push him into the main event.
After his release in 2021, Fandango returned to the indies. Although he did have a short stint in NXT when he returned to the brand for a match against Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup Title. Earlier this year, the wrestler retired at TNA Genesis with his final match taking place against Eddie Edwards.
John Cena
Another WWE Superstar that Gunther retired was John Cena. Their match also took place at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2025.
A lot of fans weren’t happy with the result of this match when Cena tapped out to Gunther, but it was the outcome he wanted. Cena signed a Legends Deal with WWE post-retirement, which will see him work as a brand ambassador for them for the next 5 years.
Valhalla
Valhalla announced her departure from WWE in June 2025, revealing that the company wasn’t renewing her contract. In February 2026, she appeared on the Wild Traditions podcast, confirming her retirement from the business.
Valhalla wants to focus on “farming” and “motherhood” now that she’s left the world of professional wrestling. She was part of The War Raiders in WWE.
Main image credit: IMAGO / Depositphotos
Ishaan Sharma has been following wrestling ever since he was 8. That was over a decade ago. He loves to write about this pretend sport and has worked with online publications such as Sportskeeda and TheSportster, where he shared his insights about the wrestling business.