Lio Rush Announces Retirement From Wrestling

Lio Rush has announced his decision to retire from wrestling.

Rush, who is signed to NJPW, was a shock competitor in the Casino Battle Royal at AEW Double Or Nothing but the former WWE Cruiserweight champion has revealed he suffered a serious AC injury in the match.

Despite the setback Rush says All Elite Wrestling were still eager to sign him but, having thought carefully about his future over the last couple of weeks, Rush has decided to step away from wrestling to focus on his young family and his own mental health.

The 26-year-old says he will still be working his final appearances for NJPW once he is fully healed, so as to see out his contractual obligations.

Writing in an emotional post on Instagram, Rush said:

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 an 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. 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 everyday 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...

Now here comes the part that kept me up every night since Double or Nothing...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. 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. 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.