MLW comments on Lio Rush announcing his retirement

MLW CEO Court Bauer has issued a statement on Lio Rush announcing his retirement from pro wrestling.

As noted, Rush took to social media on Tuesday night and announced his sudden retirement after suffering a shoulder injury during his AEW debut at the Double Or Nothing pay-per-view on May 31. Rush said he will fulfill his contractual obligations with NJPW once healed, but beyond that he is retiring. He also mentioned how AEW wanted to sign him to a contract, which would’ve put him under contract to two top promotions at once. You can click here for his full statement.

In an update, MLW issued a statement today with comments from Bauer. The promotion said they were informed of Rush’s retirement on Tuesday. Bauer praised Rush as a brilliant athlete, and wished him continued success with the next chapter of his life. The full statement from MLW reads like this:

Lio Rush retires

Lio Rush exits active competition in the squared circle

Major League Wrestling was informed yesterday that former World Middleweight Champion Lio Rush has elected to retire and focus on his family projects outside of the ring, following an injury.

“Lio is a brilliant athlete who made a difficult decision but one that I admire for his commitment to putting family first,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “I along with everyone at Major League Wrestling wish Lio continued success with the next chapter of his life and thank him for sharing his extraordinary talent with the world.”

Rush debuted with MLW at the Kings of Colosseum event back in January, where he defeated Myron Reed to become the MLW World Middleweight Champion. He became a double-but-unrecognized champion while with MLW due to their working relationship with Mexico’s AAA promotion as he defeated Laredo Kid to win the AAA World Cruiserweight Title. After working the two title wins over Reed and Laredo Kid, Rush only worked two more matches for MLW – the successful Middleweight Title defense over Brian Pillman Jr. on the March 17 Fusion episode, and then the Middleweight Title loss to Reed on the May 5 Fusion show.

For those who missed it, you can click here to read a statement on Rush’s retirement from AEW President Tony Khan. You can click here to read the deleted reaction to Rush’s retirement from WWE ring announcer Greg Hamilton.

Stay tuned for more on Rush and his retirement.