10 Wrestlers Who Retired Too Young-7

7. Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus is essentially now the benchmark for female wrestling. She joined WWE in 1999, right at the stage when the company was shying away from hiring female wrestlers and preferring to hire attractive fitness models and teaching them a few wrestling moves. She began as a manager and valet, but a love of wrestling and a determination to succeed as a wrestler saw her infinitely improve her in-ring work. She retired in 2006 at the very pinnacle of women’s wrestling.

Her last match as a full-time member of the roster came at the Unforgiven Pay-Per-View in 2006, when she beat long-time rival Lita and won her seventh WWE Women’s Championship, and she retired a champion. All very impressive, but she was only 30 when she left WWE. Her retirement marked the end of a generation in women’s wrestling, but she left when she was still more than capable of ushering in the next generation.

Her absence left a void in women’s wrestling in WWE which is only now being filled. She left before she could effectively pass the torch to the likes of Beth Phoenix or Natalya. The women responsible for leading the next generation still had to live in the shadow of the last. Wouldn’t it have been great to see these women go out and beat Trish? It would have helped set up these women as capable of leading women’s wrestling from then on, and most of all, it would have resulted in some terrific wrestling matches.