Lio Rush Retiring from Professional Wrestling After Shoulder Injury: 'This Has Been a Great Ride'

Lio Rush/Instagram Lio Rush

Lio Rush is retiring from professional wrestling.

On Tuesday evening, the 26-year-old athlete - whose real name is Lionel Gerard Green - announced that he is retiring from the sport after sustaining an injury to his shoulder.

"I'm retiring from Pro Wrestling 🙏🏼," Rush tweeted alongside an image of himself. "It's been a crazy ride, but it's time to get off and do what truly makes me happy."

Thanking All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the organization he is currently signed with, "for everything," Rush noted in his post that fans could read the full story about his retirement in a different message shared to his Instagram account.

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On Instagram, Rush posted the same image of himself alongside a statement detailing more about why he will be retiring from wrestling.

"I have written and erased this post so many times purely out of not being able to wrap my head around this," he began. "The moment I went home in a sling, I kept saying to myself, 'This was like any other time I got a little bruise or strain and I will shrug it off and continue on my new journey.'"

"Once the pain subsided and I started to feel just how uncomfortable it was to feel my arm hanging from my body, I sunk into an immediate and rapidly growing depression because I knew something was wrong..." Rush continued.

Noting that he knew he would be taking time off for his injury, Rush then said that he believed "it would only affect my wrestling obligations" and that he "still tried to go on about my days as I knew them," before he realized how severe his injury was.

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"I realized just how much this would affect my everyday life," he said. "For anyone that knows me, you know that I work endlessly for me and my family. It became more and more frustrating everyday finding little things I could no longer do. Like simply putting on a shirt and a much harder fact to deal with, not being able to pick up my newborn son."

Rush then revealed he had suffered the injury during AEW's Double or Nothing in the Casino Battle Royal, which aired late last month. "Now here comes the part that has kept me up ever since Double or Nothing," he said. "Knowing I just made my surprise debut in one of the most exciting times in my career. That part sucked."

"But I'm grateful," Rush continued. "Grateful for the opportunities that I've had this past year after my WWE release. So cool of AEW still wanting to sign me despite separating my AC in the Casino Battle Royal. Which would have led to me being the first person in history to be signed with two major wrestling organizations simultaneously."

"This is an unexpected turn down a road that I would have and could have never saw coming," he added.

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Finishing up his candid statement, Rush then said that he is looking at his injury and his retirement "as a blessing in disguise."

"Since the injury, it's given me some time to think. Think about what I want in life. What I want for my wife and kids, and what's going to make me happy as far as my mental health is concerned," he wrote, referencing wife Sarah Green, and his three children. "The timing of this injury has forced me to stop and re-evaluate and ultimately it resulted in making the decision to retire from professional wrestling."

"Thank you to all the fans who have fought it out with me for the past 7 years and the people in my corner. Thank you to all the promoters and friends that I've met along the way who believe in me and my vision," Rush added. "This has been a great ride, but it's time to get off and do what truly makes me happy."

Rush then closed out his statement by saying he would fulfill his contractual obligations with New Japan once he is healed and before he officially retires. He also finished the post by sharing an x-ray of his shoulder injury.