AEW veteran Christopher Daniels recently detailed the thought process and circumstances that led to his in-ring retirement, revealing that the career-ending storyline with “Hangman” Adam Page was an idea he pitched himself. The former ROH World Champion decided at the beginning of 2024 to approach the year as if it were his last, which ultimately led to him hanging up his boots.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Daniels explained his mindset. “I said to myself that I’m gonna try to make this a good year for me,” he said. “I’m gonna wrestle this year like it’s my last and see how I feel.” A key part of his approach was not actively seeking out matches, but rather making himself available only when he felt AEW President Tony Khan had a genuine creative need for him on the show. Daniels did not want to use his backstage position to take television time away from other talent.
This mindset led to him pitching a unique storyline idea directly to “Hangman” Adam Page during Page’s heel run. “I was like, ‘Hey, man, what if you ended my career? That would be great heat for a heel to be if you crippled me so bad I couldn’t wrestle anymore, that would be cool,'” Daniels recounted. He didn’t think much of it until Page later approached him, stating he had taken the idea to Tony Khan and they were moving forward with it.
Daniels also revealed he specifically asked for the match not to be advertised as a retirement match. “I don’t want people to know it’s a retirement match. I want people to be shocked,” he explained. “It sort of lent itself to the reality of professional wrestling that we don’t always know when our last match is.” He expressed minor frustration that the news was leaked online beforehand by Sean Ross Sapp, but was ultimately happy with how the match and angle played out.
The decision was also influenced by his physical condition. Daniels noted long-standing knee issues and a more recent, concerning development. “In the middle of 2023, I was realizing I was seeing atrophy on my left side, like my left shoulder my left bicep,” he said. “I could tell I was getting weaker as I was wrestling on this side, I was like, okay. So that put a lot of thought into my head, like, okay, maybe this should be it.”
Although he is no longer an active in-ring competitor, Christopher Daniels remains a key figure in AEW. He continues to work for the company in his backstage role as the Head of Talent Relations.
