Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: aew, lio rush, wrestling

Lio Rush Retires From Wrestling After AEW Debut, Will Return to NPJW

Published Wed, 09 Jun 2021 10:38:14 -0500

Days after making his debut for All Elite Wrestling at AEW Double or Nothing, Lio Rush has announced he will retire from wrestling for good… except to return to NJPW and fulfill his contractual obligations after healing from an arm injury suffered in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing. This retirement comes a little over a year since the last time Rush retired from wrestling to pursue his music career in May 2020. Rush took to Instagram to relay the news in a long post.

Lip Rush makes his AEW Debut and his final AEW appearance at the same time at Double or Nothing. [Photo: All Elite Wrestling]

"I have written and erased this post so many times purely out of not being able to wrap my head around this. The moment I went home in a sling, I kept saying to myself 'this was like any other time I got a little bruise or strain and I will shrug it off and continue on my new journey.' Once the pain subsided and I started to feel just how uncomfortable it was to feel my arm hanging from my body, I sunk into an immediate and rapidly growing depression because I knew something was wrong… Got the news that I'd be taking some time off due to this injury," said Rush. "Me thinking it would only affect my wrestling obligations, I still tried to go on about my days as I knew them. I realized just how much this would affect my everyday life. For anyone who knows me, you know that I work endlessly for me and my family. It became more and more frustrating every day finding little things that I could no longer do. Like simply putting on a shirt and a much harder fact to deal with, not being able to pick up my newborn son…"

Rush says that even though he's retiring, Tony Khan definitely wanted to sign him to a fat AEW contract and it would have been the first time a wrestler was signed to both AEW and NJPW at the same time. Well, unless you count Jericho and Moxley. But who's counting that, or number of times someone retires from wrestling? Not us, for sure.

"Now here comes the part that kept me up every night since Double or Nothing…" Rush continued. "Knowing that I just made my surprise debut in one of the most exciting times in my career. That part sucked. But I'm grateful. Grateful for the opportunities that I've had this past year after my WWE release. So cool of AEW still wanting to sign me despite separating my AC in the Casino Battle Royal. Which would have lead to me being the first person in history to be signed to two major wrestling organizations simultaneously. This is an unexpected turn down a road I would have and could have never saw coming…"

"But I'm looking at this as a blessing in disguise," said Rush. "Since the injury, it's given me some time to think. Think about what I want in life. What I want for my wife and my kids, and what's going to make me happy as far as my mental health is concerned. The timing of this injury has forced me to stop and re-evaluated and ultimately it's resulted in making the decision to retire from professional wrestling…"

"Thank you to the fans who have fought it out with me for the past 7 years and the people in my corner," Rush concluded. "Thank you to all the promoters and friends that I've met along the way who believe in me and my vision. This has been a great ride, but it's time to get off and do what truly makes me happy. Due to my contractual obligations with NJPW, I will be making final appearances once I'm healed. But for now, thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I'll see you all soon."

By retiring multiple times, Rush follows in the footsteps of multiple WWE Hall-of-Famers including Ric Flair, Terry Funk, and Ozzy Osborne. However, at 26, Rush is amongst the youngest wrestlers to retire multiple times, and with a long potential career ahead of him, he could surpass even Flair's record. Bleeding Cool will keep you updated on the status of all Lio Rush's retirements from wrestling, present and future.

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