Iconic WWE star, 61, teases major comeback and insists she’s ‘never retired’

WWE legend Jacqueline has admitted she ‘needs that one match’ before she officially retires. The 61-year-old former Women’s Champion, who was a huge name on Raw and SmackDown in the Attitude Era, would love to tangle with 2025 Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair, and she’s definitely not ruling out a comeback. Speaking exclusively told Metro during For The Love Of Wrestling at Manchester’ BEC, Jacqueline insisted a wrestler ‘never’ actually retires from the business.

She said: ‘WWE offered me a legend contract, and right now, I still make appearances for WWE, I still do signings and stuff like that. ‘Who knows, I might step back in the ring! You never know. I need that one match. Like I said, a wrestler’s never retired.’. The WWE Hall of Famer even has an opponent in mind, pointing out that 14-time world champion Flair would be a perfect fit. ‘That one match I would like is probably Charlotte Flair, that would be a good match, because I like her style, I love the way she’s wrestling. She’s tough too,’ she added.

‘I would love to get in the ring with her and wrestle. That would be a great match. She’s great on the mic, she’s got a great look, she can wrestle!’. Jacqueline is open to any role, noting that under her WWE Legends contract, she could be brought back ‘in any type of field’ including as a manager, road agent or other backstage roles. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. As well as highlighting Flair, she pointed out that ‘a lot of the girls’ on WWE’s roster right now can deliver in the ring, with fans often watching for them rather than the men. She said: ‘You got girls like Bianca [Belair], Naomi and Nia [Jax], they all can wrestle! They put on great matches. And I think more people come to see the women matches than the men matches, right?’. In 2019, Becky Lynch, Flair and Ronda Rousey became the first women to main event WrestleMania, while Bianca and Sasha Banks made history with their own headline match in 2021.

Although the female star frequently headline NXT events, a main roster PLE (premium live event) hasn’t ended with a women’s match since February 2024 when Rhea Ripley beat Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia. ‘I think with the women back in my time, when I was wrestling, [we] could do it, but we didn’t get the opportunity to do a main event or the main event, but the women’s today, they have the opportunity,’ she added.

Although Jacqueline returned for the first ever women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, her last singles match came in 2013 against ODB at TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice, and she hasn’t had a one-on-one match in WWE since 2004. For the latter, she lost to Chavo Guerrero Jr at Judgment Day, just one night after beating him on SmackDown to become the first woman in WWE history to win the Cruiserweight Championship.

‘I was nervous, but it went well, and I really enjoyed it. It was fun,’ she smiled, reflecting on the historic SmackDown win. ‘To this day, I still joke with Chavo about beating him.’. Jacqueline broke down barriers in wrestling, even if WWE in the Attitude Era typically used women for ‘sex appeal’ more than their skills in the ring. ‘We still had the talent. It was kind of frustrating, because they weren’t really selling women wrestling back then,’ she pointed out. ‘They were selling more of the sex, the T&A stuff.’.

As a trained wrestler, that was tough, especially when it came to the swimsuit competitions, which Jacqueline admitted she ‘didn’t like’. ‘I wanted to show people that I can wrestle. I’m a professional wrestler,’ she said. ‘But even though they had the swimsuit competitions and it was frustrating, it was fun too. I’m not bitter or anything… I really enjoyed my time with WWE. It was a dream job. We had fun back then.’.

After a career travelling the world and ‘living out of my suitcases’, Jacqueline is enjoying her almost-retirement. ‘I was always on the road. But, you know, I put in the work, and I really enjoyed the job,’ she beamed. ‘But now I just go around the world and visit, do a little sightseeing, and enjoy life more.’. The 'bustling' suburb Londoners are flocking to — while it's still affordable.

What I Own: We lived rent-free to afford our £278,000 flat in the London suburbs. My boyfriend coerced me into a joint mortgage and ruined my life. This is the salary you need to buy a house in every London borough — and it's bleak. London’s ‘ugliest’ tall buildings where flats can cost £1million. For The Love of Wrestling is expected to return to Manchester in 2026. Horror, Rock & Wrestling is coming to BEC on March 22-23, 2025.