Retirement Match

A Retirement match, or Career match, is a stipulation that puts the career of one or both wrestlers on the line. If the stipulation applies to both participants, the loser of the match will be forced to retire from wrestling. More commonly, it applies to just one wrestler; in this case, only the wrestler subject to the retirement clause must retire if defeated, while the other does not face this risk (unless they are putting something else on the line).

Logically, this stipulation means that the wrestler forced to retire must end their wrestling career definitively, and therefore cannot return to wrestling in the future. Despite this, there have been instances of wrestlers who lost a Retirement match and later returned to wrestling after a break, violating the match's stipulation.

Additionally, a Retirement match can also refer to a match that does not mandate retirement but serves as the final match of a wrestler who will retire voluntarily afterward. In this scenario, a Retirement match primarily serves to pay tribute to the wrestler who is retiring one last time.

Retirement Match: Info