It was a lot of me kind of giving it up, believing in myself with other ventures I had, putting my family first, being selfish. It was a hard choice between signing a contract with AEW, along with the frustrations I've had with the wrestling business in general. 'I saw where my life was going and I didn't want it to be like that. Then, with being released and having to work during the pandemic, I had to work twice as hard and twice as much to make up the money and I definitely wasn't home. Then my second son, I was with WWE, so I definitely wasn't as home as I wanted to be. I never really got the opportunity to be the dad I wanted to be because I got pushed in the wrestling world pretty quickly and that was when I had my first son. I was also doing music and me taking back and moving in a direction I thought I was capable of moving in the music industry and letting that be a source of income while also allowing me the time to be with my family and wife. It was a lot of things going through my mind. I was also going through a lot of personal things during that time too and a big part of that was me… part of it was financial because of the huge hit that me and my family took with being released from WWE and trying to find consistent work without being under contract. 'During that time of me debuting in AEW, my wrestling career, viewed by the casual fan, it was on the up,” started Rush “I was going all over the country with Independent promotions, New Japan, MLW, and AAA. Rush’s retirement kicked off after suffering an AC tear in the Battle Royale, and as told to Vickie Guerrero on the Excuse Me podcast, it made Rush re-evaluate things: But soon after, Rush retired from the business, only to return several months later. After Lio Rush debuted in AEW during Double or Nothing’s Casino Battle Royale in May 2021, it seemed as though the sky was the limit for Rush.

Lio rush retires