Christopher Daniels Tearfully Considers His Retirement: ‘I Don’t Want To Go’
Photo Credit: Lee South / AEW
Following SCU’s loss this past week, Christopher Daniel’s future is uncertain.
The 51-year-old has been wrestling for nearly 30 years, and after the forced break-up of his team with Frankie Kazarian, he isn’t sure what comes next.
On the latest episode of “Being The Elite,” Daniels considered his potential retirement by referencing a classic Dusty Rhodes promo. In a tearful message, Daniels wondered whether it’s time to hang up his boots. If so, he made it clear that he doesn’t want to go, but it might be the end of the road for his full-time wrestling career.
“You know, when I was 18 years old, I watched Dusty Rhodes, one of the guys I grew up watching, I watched him win the US title for the very first time,” said Daniels. “He beat Lex Luger, and I was so happy. And I remember, the next week, I was watching television, and he was in the locker room, sitting at a table with the US Championship. And he talked about, after all the time he’d spent in wrestling, he was talking about retiring. He was thinking about retiring.
“And I remember thinking in my head, you just won the US Championship, one of the biggest titles in pro wrestling. You beat one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling, Lex Luger, and you’re thinking about walking away, Dusty? And he said, I remember plain as day the way he put it, he said, ‘I’m thinking of laying this old body down.’ And I think to myself, at this point in my career, I’ve been in it longer than he was at that time. I’m older now than he was at that time, and I’ve done so much less than he ever did. And I wonder, should I be thinking about laying this body down?”
Daniels then reflected on the heartbreaking loss to the Young Bucks and how the outcome helped him gain a new perspective about his potential retirement.
“I mean, there’s no shame in losing,” said Daniels. “You know, you lose a match to someone like the Young Bucks, of course that thing happens. They’re the best tag team in the world. But maybe the shame is not realizing that that should be your last loss. And people have been talking to me and saying, you know, ‘When are you gonna decide to hang it up, Chris? When will you decide that you’re done?’ And maybe it’s not a decision that you make. Maybe it’s a realization that it’s time.
“And I’ve got a lot more to say to Frankie and to my family. But this moment, right now, I don’t what’s ahead for me. But I knew at some point, I would walk out a door in an arena and that would be the last time I walk out as a full-time wrestler. And I don’t know if that day is today or not, I don’t know. But if it is, all I can say is thanks. Thank you if you watched. Thank you if you cheered. Thank you if you booed. Just thanks.”
The renowned veteran stood up and stepped toward the door. But overcome with his emotions, he collapsed and held his head in his hands while he cried.
“I don’t want to go,” said Daniels. “Can’t I stay just a little [longer]?”
After he got back to his feet, Daniels took a moment to collect himself before he walked out the door.
In the past, Daniels has acknowledged his awareness of his spot on the card as a veteran performer who might be nearing retirement, but this message was his clearest reflection on the matter.
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The full episode is available here: