ECW & WWE Veteran Jazz Calls It A Career, Was Planning Retirement Tour In 2020
Jazz is calling it quits, citing her health and responsibility to her family as the reason why she’s retiring.
Jazz recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet, who opened the interview by noting that Jazz looks great and still works like she did years ago. The former WWE and NWA Women’s Champion then told him she’s officially hanging it up.
Maybe I was [working like I used to] a few months ago, but honestly, I just had my last match this past Sunday. I am done in ring, last match, ever. I’m done. I’m limping right now, I’m done, yes.
Jazz, who made her name in the waning days of Extreme Championship Wrestling before joining WWE in 2001, stated that physical, mental, and emotional issues have caught up with her and that she’s hanging up her boots. Van Vliet noted that there’s always a ‘never say never’ approach to in-ring retirements but Jazz says she’s “not going to Terry Funk it.”
While she did have a retirement match of sorts on the indie scene this past weekend, she was planning on more in 2020. Unfortunately, the global pandemic got in the way of all that.
“I’m done. I was actually going to do a whole tour for 2020 but with the pandemic happening, that screwed everything up. But we’ll see for 2021, I might do a little tour around. I’m really done, but I could go out there and do 45 seconds, one minute, that’s all I got.” [laughs]
Jazz says she knew this was it before the match, noting that several issues were piling up in her life. She added that these mounting issues were also the reason she forfeited the NWA Women’s Championship last year.
“I’ve been having issues with my knees and my back and a lot more issues physically, mentally and emotionally. That’s why I had to forfeit the NWA title, because I was having some issues. I just figured I have two beautiful daughters and I’ve got to focus on them right now.”
Jazz held the NWA Women’s Championship for an impressive 948 days, fourth-longest reign ever and second woman only to Fabulous Moolah on the list. Fans likely last saw Jazz in AEW at the Casino Battle Royale at 2019’s All Out PPV. For more from the interview, you can check out the full video embedded below: