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After 2025 featured the retirements of John Cena and Goldberg, 2026 has kept the trend going as several more wrestlers have hung up their boots for good. So far this year, four WWE legends who've all won world championships have confirmed that they have retired from wrestling in the ring. Learn more about the careers of those beloved performers and when they revealed the news.
AJ Styles Confirmed He Has Retired From Wrestling Following Final WWE Match
Easily one of the most influential wrestlers of his generation, AJ Styles has wrestled for WCW, TNA, New Japan, Lucha Libre AAA, ROH, NWA, and many more. He has also won several world titles, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, TNA World Heavyweight Championship, and IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The former leader of The Bullet Club and The O.C. also won the WWE Championship twice during his career, which was later honored with a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
In January 2026, Styles lost a match to Gunther at the Royal Rumble with his career on the line and retired immediately after. During a July 2026 appearance on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, he revealed when he realized it was time for him to end his career as an active wrestler.
"Well, it’s the thought of me not being able to be AJ Styles, to throw that 450 in against Gunther one last time to say I can still do this, I just don’t have to anymore, was me saying all right, I am older, but I can still go, but that’s not the reason to stay in it. At some point, you will embarrass yourself if you stay in it long enough. You will embarrass yourself because people will say, 'Wow, that’s not the AJ Styles I used to know. Man, that’s really bad.'"
ECW Icon The Sandman Has Wrestled His Final Match
Arguably the most iconic ECW wrestler of all time, The Sandman was a master of competing in hardcore matches and making entrances that captivated fans. That led to him becoming so popular that he was crowned a five-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time ECW World Tag Team Champion. After that promotion ended, he signed with the WWE and performed for them in the mid-2000s, even joining the WWE Raw roster.
An incredibly unique and compelling performer, it is easy to imagine him joining the WWE Hall of Fame someday. What is certain is that The Sandman has retired after competing in what was billed as his final match at GCW’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break X in April 2026. In an amusing twist that is perfect for him, The Sandman's bout was against an invisible man and involved a run-in from hardcore wrestling icon Mick Foley. He then left the ring to a chorus of "Thank you, Sandman" chants from appreciative fans.
Former WWE Women’s Champion Victoria Confirms She Is Fully Retired
Known in the WWE as Victoria, Lisa Marie Varon was an extremely talented performer with a captivating personality whose intensity left a mark on fans around the world. As a result, she became a seven-time world champion when she won the WWE Women's Championship twice and the TNA Knockouts Championship five times. Already inducted into the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame, it is shocking that she hasn't been given her richly deserved spot in the WWE Hall of Fame yet.
During a July 2026 livestream on the service WhatNot, the wrestler formerly known as Victoria confirmed she has retired. As a F4WOnline.com report confirmed, she made the following remarks: "No, no. I retired. I retired. My body hurts, you guys. I still do appearances, and WhatNot is my new favorite thing."
Former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali Officially Confirms In-Ring Retirement
An absolutely massive man, the WWE bills The Great Khali as standing 7-foot-1 tall and weighing 347 pounds. His natural attributes resulted in him being launched into feuds against some of the WWE's biggest stars, like The Undertaker and Batista. He also won the World Heavyweight Championship before embracing the fun-loving side of his personality. A few years after his final WWE in-ring appearance, The Great Khali was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.
While appearing on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast in July 2026, The Great Khali confirmed he'd retired. While talking to the host, he remarked that a knee injury made full-time competing impossible for him. "Yeah, I retired. Never know, but I don’t want to go. Maybe WWE asking, 'Will you come one day?' then I can go. But just one, two days….not full time. Never. I because my bad knee, so I can’t go full time."
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