This former AEW star has explained why he has no interest in stepping back into the ring.
Appearing at K & S WrestleFest for a virtual signing, Christopher Daniels addressed the possibility of returning to the squared circle.
Daniels admitted that while he still loves wrestling mentally, his body can no longer keep up at the level he expects from himself.
“I mean, I wish I could but, I have to be honest about physically how my body’s beat up, and I watched some of the last matches of my career,” he said.
He said he noticed signs of slowing down during the final matches of his career and feels retirement came at the right time. Daniels added that he has no interest in returning to the ring if it means risking poor performances or damaging his legacy.
“I did a lot of stuff in DEFY in Seattle, Washington, and I watched a lot of those matches and while the mental part of those matches is really, really good at least — I’m very proud of it — I have to be honest and say I wasn’t really in the best of shape, and I could tell that I was slowing down, and so, yeah… the way it ended for me is probably best that it ended, and yeah, I don’t really have a desire to get back into it just because I don’t wanna embarrass myself.” [H/T Fightful]
Christopher Daniels retired in January 2025 following a brief feud with “Hangman” Adam Page. The rivalry culminated in a Texas Death Match on the January 18, 2025 edition of AEW Collision: Maximum Carnage.
Despite being retired, Daniels most recently appeared during the AEW Double or Nothing Buy In pre-show. He accompanied Zayda Steel and Viva Van for their eliminator match against Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross). Following the bout, Daniels was laid out after taking a running kick from Bayne.
WrestleZone’s full coverage of AEW Double or Nothing is available here.
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