10 Wrestlers Who Had A Late Career Renaissance

Professional wrestling is an industry in which getting older doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad thing, as some even hit their prime in their 40s! There are peaks and troughs throughout the careers of some individuals in wrestling, and the following are examples of wrestlers who had success in their younger years, fell off the map, only to return in a big way during the twilight of their careers.

These inspirational stories prove that there is no such thing as “too late” and that being of a certain age isn’t as bad as it’s often made out to be.

These are 10 Wrestlers Who Had A Late Career Renaissance.

10. Fit Finlay

It was in WCW where Northern Ireland’s finest first came to a global audience’s attention, under the name The Belfast Bruiser. Fit Finlay would go on to win the WCW Television Title before hanging up his leather jacket in 2000, transitioning into a backstage role during the promotion’s dying days due to injuries.

He was snapped up by WWE after the buyout as a trainer and agent, which meant that he mercifully missed out on the Invasion. Then, after three years working behind the scenes, Finlay decided that he wasn’t quite done in the ring just yet. In January of 2006, the veteran made his WWE TV debut at the not-so-tender age of 47.

He would work as a wrestler for the next four years, winning the United States Championship, feuding with the top stars of the day, and helping to bring Hornswoggle into WWE. Finlay once again picked up a backstage role after his second retirement, occasionally appearing on TV to get massive pops, such as when he allowed Becky Lynch to appear in the 2019 Royal Rumble.

9. Jeff Jarrett

Following a November 2022 match with Jay Lethal on Dynamite, Darby Allin got smashed over the head with a guitar, bringing about the arrival of Jeff Jarrett. After one of the most varied, decorated, and controversial careers in pro wrestling history, Jarrett found his way to AEW, mere months after appearing for WWE at SummerSlam.

Fans got very worried that Double J was up to his old tricks and would insert himself into the upper echelon, but he instead found a role that suited him perfectly. The Chosen One was a breath of carny air in the more modern AEW landscape, and because he was the only person doing his brand of old-school wrestling shtick, it made his appearances extra special.

Fear that the company would be mad enough to put a major championship on the 55-year-old former gold salesman gave his matches a unique sense of tension, and, as a result, Jeff’s been one of the most consistently entertaining members of the roster since his debut, leading the Total Nonstop Arseholes faction.

He’s also won that Leatherface belt.

8. Dustin Rhodes

From gifted rookie in WCW to androgynous face-painted movie buff in WWE to whatever the hell was going on in TNA, Dustin Rhodes has always kept himself afloat in the wrestling business, but it took a match against his own flesh and blood to make people realise what a legend he truly was.

At Double or Nothing 2019, AEW’s first official pay-per-view, the Natural went to war with his half-brother Cody. In a match so bloody it would have put the Great Muta off his tea, Cody and Dustin duked it out in one of the most emotional wrestling matches of all time, with the elder Rhodes showing that he could still pull out all the stops half a century into his time on earth.

Though he’s not quite reached those lofty heights since, this was enough to ensure Dustin’s legacy as one of the all-time greats and erase any memories of some of his darker days. Rhodes has since been a relied-upon part of the AEW roster.

7. Goldberg

When Goldberg made his WWE return in late 2016, a sense of dread rippled throughout the wrestling world. Sure, he’d been great back in his WCW heyday, but his single year with WWE between 2003 and 2004 was a bit of a disaster. Now, he was 12 years older.

However, in his Survivor Series return, Goldberg reminded everyone in just 85 seconds why he had been such a big deal in the Attitude Era, destroying Brock Lesnar. All the aura and presence that his character had lost in his first WWE run was back; Goldberg was an unstoppable human bulldozer once more.

Unfortunately, now he was too unstoppable, especially once WWE decided he should be challenging for top championships. The company decided to put him over at the expense of Kevin Owens in 2017, then Bray Wyatt in 2020, and then Bobby Lashley in 2021. But credit to Goldberg, a special performer that many had long written off as done for good, returned to become a world champion once again.

6. Mark Henry

After a successful powerlifting career and competing in the Olympics, the young Mark Henry made the jump over to pro wrestling when he signed with WWE in 1996. This was a 10-year deal, unheard of at the time, and, unfortunately, he needed all those years and then some to actually get good.

Wrestling didn’t come naturally to Henry, whose early matches could be described as “inconsistent” at best. After over a decade of gimmick changes - man in beret, sexual chocolate, friend of Tony Atlas - Henry finally struck gold in 2011, after he started inducting people into the Hall of Pain.

This new, relentless beast of a character clicked with audiences in a big way, and by the end of the year the World’s Strongest Man had reigned as World Heavyweight Champion, his first world title in a 15-year career (not counting the ECW Championship).

5. Mae Young

Whilst this list is mostly about performers whose in-ring careers picked up later in life, we couldn’t leave off a woman who enjoyed her most successful stint in wrestling well into her 70s. A trailblazing women’s wrestler in the mid-20th Century, Mae Young first rocked up in WWE in 1999 as the on-screen best bud of The Fabulous Moolah, who was an already-established name within WWE.

Over the next few years, Mae Young won over audiences around the world with her outrageous antics; antics that women 50 years younger would have looked at and gone “nah, you’re alright, thanks”.

She participated in several comedic sketches with the likes of Moolah, Terri, The Kat, and Ivory, continually threatened to get naked on TV, got into a relationship with Mark Henry, gave birth to a hand, and generally just spread laughter and joy wherever she went. It’s not like she wasn’t seeing any action either. This was the woman who got powerbombed off the stage through some tables aged 77.

4. Sheamus

The “Great White” Sheamus made his WWE TV debut on an episode of ECW in 2009. Within just a few short months, he was WWE Champion, having beaten none other than John Cena to claim the prestigious prize. Unfortunately, it appeared that Sheamus had peaked too early.

He won the championship again the following year, but soon drifted back down the card. After a few stints on top again in 2012 and 2016, it looked as if his glory days had come and gone.

After being entered into a feud with real-life pal Drew McIntyre, the Celtic Warrior began displaying a brutality that added an entirely new edge to his character. Then came his run as United States Champion, the Brawling Brutes, and his acclaimed matches with Gunther.

3. PCO

In 1995, Pierre Carl Ouellet feuded with Bret Hart over a jacket. In 2019, he won the Ring of Honor World Championship. The man now known as PCO first rose to mainstream prominence as one-half of The Quebecers alongside Jacques Rougeau, filling out the WWE tag team division in the early and mid-90s.

After years of bouncing around from company to company, having brief and forgettable stints in almost every major promotion, PCO decided that the only way he was going to reach his potential was to go absolutely bonkers. Rebranding himself as the “French Frankenstein”, the ageing star took on the gimmick of a monstrous creature, undeterred by pain or injury.

His acclaimed match with WALTER at Joey Janela’s Spring Break in 2018 earned him the best reviews of his career, which led to him signing with ROH, where he won six-man and tag team gold before finally getting his hands on the big one at the age of 51.

2. The Undertaker

Because he was around for so long in WWE, and because his wrestling persona was essentially ageless, it’s easy to forget that The Undertaker didn’t start his run of really good matches until he was in his 40s.

Though he’d always been a key part of the machine and had done great character work early in life, The Deadman’s early career is littered with total dung heaps of matches. Just look at the first half of the Streak; King Kong Bundy, Big Boss Man, Sycho Sid, Giant Gonzalez.

Though there were bright spots in there, the majority of amazing ‘Taker matches came much further down the line. His first Mania bout with Shawn Michaels happened when he was 45. His classic with CM Punk took place when he was 49. For his second Hell in a Cell clash with Brock Lesnar, arguably his final “great” in-ring performance, he was 50!

To be able to go that hard at that age, after decades of wear and tear on the body, is an accomplishment befitting of such a legendary wrestler.

1. Sting

If Undertaker had wrestled Sting at WrestleMania 31, like everyone except Triple H had wanted, The Phenom would have been 50, and The Icon would have been 56.

That match never happened and, later that same year, The Stinger was supposedly retired for good after an errant Bucklebomb at the hands of Seth Rollins. Half a decade went by, until Sting showed up in AEW, making his shocking debut at Winter is Coming 2020.

Though he initially performed in a pre-edited cinematic match, Sting soon transitioned back into actual in-ring work and, before long, he was the one getting worked over to build to a Darby Allin hot tag. And, of course, there’s all the stunts. Your 60s are a great time to discover new hobbies, but not many men that age discover a love for jumping off balconies or through tables. During his time with AEW, Sting proved that he is unlike any wrestler the world has ever seen and will see ever again. He finally retired at the age of 64.