Former WWE star reveals ‘excruciating pain’ after release and lower back injury that caused arm numb

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Former WWE star Jaxson Ryker opened up about his decision to step away from wrestling, revealing the persistent injuries and body aches that contributed to it.

Ryker emphasized the toll of wrestling on his body following his WWE release in 2021. In his interview with Developmentally Speaking, the former WWE star revisited his decision to retire in 2023, reflecting on his brief return to the independent wrestling scene before ultimately calling it quits for good.

“No, I think I had in the back of my mind that it was time to start maybe pursuing other things. My body, when I got released from WWE, my body was hurting real bad. I’d had a neck injury and a lower-back injury that was causing some numbness in my arm and my hand,” said Ryker. “Just really, really excruciating pain for the most part. I always told myself years ago if I got to where I didn’t enjoy it anymore or my body hurt really bad, I would walk away on my own. I didn’t want to be 50 and crippled. And so when that happened I was like, ‘Okay, well, let’s just do an independent run. I could go all over these places. I’ve worked for NWA and that’s basically what I did for the, I took three, four months off after they released me.”

He expressed no interest in stepping foot in the ring again despite being approached to do so.

“I’ve had people call me, buddies of mine, promoters, ‘Hey, man, would you consider one more match?’” And I am so content in my retirement life. ’Cause my body feels 100 times better, you know. I don’t ache and moan and groan anymore as much as I used to. The wrestling business changed for me. And I think my views in life changed. What was important to me changed. And so it was, no. I sat back and I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve given 23 years of my life to pro wrestling. I’ve escaped with, I mean, I’ve had broken fingers and nose and stuff, but never broken a neck or anything crazy.’ And I was like, ‘I’ve had a blessed career, and I’ve got to do a lot, a lot of stuff that a lot of guys never get to or never will get to do.’”

Ryker signed with WWE in 2017 and made his main roster debut in 2020 as part of The Forgotten Sons. After the stable disbanded, Ryker was briefly paired with Elias until their alliance imploded and ultimately led to a singles rivalry before his WWE release.

Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.

Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.

When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.