Last month, reports surfaced that Chuck Taylor’s injury which he suffered at AEW All In last August may actually be career ending. Excalibur noted on AEW Dynamite that due to the nature of his fracture and the presence of necrosis of the bone, the fragments are now underneath the cartilage. Taylor’s final match, at least for now, took place on AEW Rampage against Trent Beretta in a Parking Lot Brawl back in April. Taylor would lose that match, solidifying Beretta’s heel turn on him and the Best Friends.
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Taylor spoke with Renee Paquette on Close Up, giving an update on his medical condition and talk about his new role in AEW. Taylor is currently working in a producer role. Previous reports indicated that Taylor had been training as a producer/coach for the last few months.
Will Chuck Taylor Return To Wrestling?
“It’s not really [an] emergency,” Taylor said about his foot injury. “I can’t do anything athletic [because] they said eventually I’ll get terrible arthritis, and then all they can do is fuse. That’s years down the line, so I’m hoping [to] maybe take the summer to really feel comfortable in the job. I don’t want to learn half of it and then piss off for a while.”
When asked about a potential in-ring return later down the line, it’s not completely out of the woods just yet, but with over two decades in the industry, he’s ready to explore other ventures. “Wrestling as a verb – to me, I didn’t love it as much as I used to. But I still love wrestling as a noun, more than ever,” Taylor continued. “[I] was just getting old and beat up. It hurts and knowing you’re kind of reaching the end of your career kind of puts things in perspective. I don’t really want to be a broken down guy just because I wanted another couple of years in the sun.” (h/t: Wrestling Inc.)
There are several wrestlers that have come back from career-ending injuries — Nikki Garcia, Bryan Danielson, Adam Copeland, Saraya — and all have gone on to have some standout moments in their careers. Copeland for example, is a former two-time TNT Champion, something that wouldn’t seem possible prior to his in-ring return in 2020. He is currently out injured after a dive off of a steel cage, but there’s still so much untapped potential with his career. As for Danielson, he’s beginning to wrap up his full-time career but he’s been able to put on incredible matches over his three year tenure with AEW after leaving WWE.
Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on Taylor’s wrestling future.
