Lex Luger
There was a time when Lex Luger had the perfect body for a WWE superstar. He launched his wrestling career in the ’80s, and it was when he joined up with the Four Horsemen that he became a main event player in the NWA. After his career ended in WCW, things took a darker turn for Luger.
In 2007, Luger ended up paralyzed due to nerve damage in his neck. He was able to stand again in 2008 after being in a quadriplegic state. In 2010, he finally saw a silver lining, as he was able to drive again after lots of hard work and dedication.
Rick Martel
After the AWA (another top wrestling organization from the ’80s) started to die, Martel decided to move on to the WWE, where he was reborn as The Model. He then failed to make it as a tag team wrestler in the Can-AAm Connection and Strike force.
Later, he adopted the role of a villain who sprayed perfume in the opponent’s eyes so he could get the win. At the age of 42, in 1998, he ended up retiring from wrestling due to chronic pain as a result of his wrestling career.
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Poffo‘s career wasn’t easy because of who he was related to. He was the son of Angelo Poffo, and everyone thought that he would effortlessly make it in the wrestling industry. But the truth is he was always overshadowed by his younger brother Randy Savage.
Poffo started wrestling in the WWE as a jobber under the name Leaping Lanny Poffo. It was a few months later that he received the name that would define his career, The Genius. He used to recite poetry before his matches, and guess what? He even published two books of poetry.
Little Spike Dudley
Little Spike Dudley started in the ECW as a member of the extended Dudley “family,” and he rose to stardom after The Dudley Boyz made it to the WWE Hall of Fame. However, he was the only Dudley to make it out of the ECW. During his time in the WWE, he won over four titles while working with his “brothers.”
After leaving the WWE, Spike Dudley, AKA Matthew Hyson, continued to wrestle but on the independent scene. A few years later, he decided to get married and start a family. He now works as a financial planner with MassMutual.
Jesse Ventura
Jesse “The Body” Ventura was one of the most arrogant professional wrestlers of the ’70s and ’80s. He later worked as a commentator in the WWE and WCW. He always spoke the truth and even cheered for the villains.
After his wrestling career, Ventura starred in some Hollywood blockbusters such as The Running Man, and Predator. Then his career took a major turn. In 1991, he became a mayor for a town in Minnesota, and in 1999, he became the state Governor. Since then, he has appeared on reality shows about conspiracy theories and political news.
Scott Hall
Scott Hall‘s story is one of the most impressive stories in professional wrestling. He reached popularity in WWE as Razor Ramon. The Scott Hall DVD biography produced by WWE tells the story of how he had to take someone’s life one time while working as a bouncer at a club.
Without a doubt, he’s one of the greatest stars in the history of the professional wrestling industry. In fact, he won multiple titles both in the WWE and the WCW. However, rumor has it he liked to party a lot, and these habits led to his downfall. He even considered taking his own life but fortunately managed to move on.
Tully Blanchard
Four Horsemen is one of the greatest factions in the entire history of professional wrestling. If we go over all the different versions of Four Horsemen, three names stand out: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard.
Anderson is still working for the WWE behind the scenes. Flair is considered the greatest wrestler of all time by many, but he is currently out of the business completely. His career ended early due to substance abuse, and since 2007 he has been working as a religious minister. Blanchard became a born-again Christian on November 13, 1989. He currently has a prison ministry, where he preaches to inmates.
Paul Orndorff
Paul Orndorff was one of the many great villains from the ’80s WWE who helped make Hulk Hogan the great babyface he was. And like almost all of Hogan’s enemies, his role in the WWE faded away once Hogan defeated him.
In 1998, Orndorff retired from professional wrestling because of an arm injury. He then returned to the ring in 1990, and before finishing his career in WCW, he competed in the independent circuit. His last appearance was in the ring to celebrate Hulk Hogan’s birthday.
Bret Hart
Considered as one of the best technical wrestlers of all time, Bret “The Hitman” Hart joined the WWE and developed a tag team called The Hart Foundation, along with Jim Neidhart. After doing so, he won the WWE world heavyweight title five times before leaving.
After retiring from wrestling, Hart suffered a stroke one day while riding his bike and ended up paralyzed. Luckily enough, he was able to recover from that injury. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 and has made some random appearances in the WWE since then.
Hillbilly Jim
Hillbilly Jim was one of Hulk Hogan’s allies in the ’80s. Jim started in the crow, acting as a wrestling fan who wanted to become a professional wrestler himself. He got a chance to learn how to fight from legend Rowdy Piper, but he refused the offer and asked Hulk Hogan to teach him instead.
This marked the beginning of a friendship that lasted throughout most of Jim’s WWE career. Later on, he became the manager of a tag team called The Godwinns, which he managed until 1997. Soon after that, he retired and started working as an ambassador for the WWE.
Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus started a movement for women’s wrestling in the WWE. Did you know she was a Canadian fitness model when she debuted? Stratus started as a manager for a tag-team called T&A and finally started to wrestle in 2001.
She won the women’s title seven times, and she helped revolutionize women’s professional wrestling. As the WWE women’s champion, she retired and has remained out of the public eye since then. She made it to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ted Dibiase
Ted Dibiase was a blue-collar wrestler back in the days. He also worked for Bill Watts and proved to be a great villain and a great babyface. He debuted in the WWE as The Million Dollar Man, and it was this role that made him a star.
Even though he was never able to be crowned world champion, the most dedicated WWE fans see him as one of the best of all time. Unlike his character, Dibiase is a public speaker as well as a motivational and religious speaker.
Kurrgan
Kurrgan debuted in the WWE in 1997 during the Attitude Era. He was a monster member of The Truth Commission faction managed by Don Callis. Originally, he was called Kurrgan The Interrogator, as the faction had a militaristic theme.
Kurrgan left the WWE after his latest group, The Oddities, was disbanded. He then wrestled in the indies before his real success in 2007, when he started his career in movies, starting with a role in the epic film 300.
Nikita Koloff
Born Nelson Simpson in Minnesota, Koloff was discovered by Road Warrior Animal and then convinced to try out for a career in professional wrestling. Jim Crockett was impressed when he saw him, and he signed him with his company, the Carolina NWA.
He then started to perform as Nikita Koloff, a Russian character. He even had to pretend to be Russian outside the ring just to sell the character. After his wife’s death in 1989, Koloff decided to become a part-time wrestler. He retired in 1992 after an injury to his neck, and he now runs his own Christian ministry.
Mideon
Dennis Knight used to wrestle around the territories before the WWE noticed him. He worked as a cowboy character by the name of Tex Slazenger. When he debuted in the WWE, he kept the cowboy gimmick as a member of the Goodwins tag team.
He then made a sudden turn when he became Mideon, a disciple of The Undertaker. He had a lot of tattoos and used to paint satanic symbols on his face. Since his retirement, Dennis Knight has worked as a chef and now runs his own catering company.
Scott Steiner
Here is a clear example of how much a WWE superstar can change from their wrestling debut to their retirement. He was part of The Steiner Brothers tag team, which won the World Tag Team Championship seven times.
Scott was an athletic superstar with long black hair, and he used to make high-flying moves off the top turnbuckle. He has settled down in retirement with his wife of twenty years and two children. Together as a family, they operate a Shoney's restaurant in Acworth, Georgia.
Kamala
Kamala was James Harris’s character when his career first took off. He was a savage from Uganda, a headhunter who needed a manager to control him whenever he appeared in public so that he didn’t hurt any of the fans.
Kamala was set up to challenge Hulk Hogan and had a lot of opportunities to work with Hogan in 1987. He then left for some time before returning to finish his WWE career in 1993. He wrestled part-time until he had to have his leg amputated due to diabetes. A year later, he tragically lost his right leg.
Jake Roberts
Jake “The Snake” Roberts had a lot of public battles with drugs and alcohol over his life. But thanks to Diamond Dallas Page, he was able to get his life together. He is the son of Grizzly Smith and became a huge star in the WWE when Vince McMahon gave him a snake.
Roberts was shown at his lowest in the documentary Beyond the Mat. It was only a matter of time before he was lost in alcohol and drugs. Roberts reunited with the WWE in 2014 and started talking to young NXT talents about all the dangers of the industry.
Michael P.S. Hayes
Before the Four Horsemen became the biggest and most famous faction, The Fabulous Freebirds ruled it all. This faction revolutionized professional wrestling by introducing music to the WWE. Michael Hayes proved that a unique theme could make the crowd react differently whenever someone would enter the ring.
He was not the best wrestler, but he was a true rock and roll star in the ring. He has since worked as a booking agent, a writer, and even a road agent for the company. The Fabulous Freebirds were introduced to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.