On the January 18 edition of "AEW Collision: Maximum Carnage," Christopher Daniels fought his last career match against "Hangman" Adam Page, who ultimately drove the final nail into his in-ring career. Before the match aired, news circulated that Daniels had retired from in-ring competition. Days later, Daniels confirmed the speculations were true,and his three-decade career had drawn its final curtain. According to the"Wrestling Observer Newsletter," notes were made from Daniels' interview on Chris Jericho's"Talk Is Jericho" podcast on what led to this life-altering decision.
"So, then the match happens with 'Hangman.' I was going to take this move, and I ended up sliding a little too far down, and I actually bumped my head a little bit and got a little tingly in the arm," Daniels revealed. "The finish was meant to be the Buckshot Lariat to the back of the neck, but when it hit, I got a little bit of a jolt again, and I was like, 'Oh.' And I've had stingers before, so I didn't think anything of it."
After the contest, Daniels realized that the seriousness of his injury was not something he could dismiss as he had in previous years. Given the damage he had already incurred to his neck, a visit to the doctor and their advice ultimately influenced his decision to retire for the sake of his health and well-being.
"I did another little MRI, and they were like, 'You really, really should stop doing this.' I was like, 'Seriously?' And they said, 'Well, yeah. You're 54 years old, this isn't going to get any better, and your vertebrae are starting to fuse, so you're going to get less and less flexible, and you've taken enough bumps where any sort of whiplash the danger quotient sort of rises and rises. So, I had to sort of take a look at that and go, what am I really doing this for?" Daniels added.
While it was sad to see how their match concluded, Christopher Daniels was touched by how sound it went. Daniels, who serves as the Head of Talent Relations backstage, will remain in that position. It's important to note that Daniels had considered surgery to address the damage he acclimated in his neck throughout his tenure; however, as of this report, there is no mention of whether the procedure remains on the table or, if so, how soon Daniels will be required to have it.
"As the match goes, I'm very proud of how the match went," Daniels concluded. "And knowing that was my first match in four months at that moment, it was something...I recognized that what I was doing backstage was more important to the company than my in-ring participation."
It's interesting to point out that had the injury not occurred, Daniels' contest against Page wasn't originally intended to be his last; instead, he aimed for the match to kick off his long-awaited return to in-ring competition afterstepping down from his on-air role as an Executive Vice President.
"The idea was going to be [to] get to the point where I wrestle this match with Hangman and then, you know, when that story's over, just do what comes next, whatever other young guy would come forward, and I would wrestle that person and go from there. And then that ended up not really working out because of the way the match went."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
