On the last Monday Night Raw of 2014, as guest hosts Edge and Christian came out for the shows opening segment, ringside commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler announced that Christian, who hasn't wrestled since March 24 due to concussion problems, had retired from in-ring competition. Later in the segment, Paul Heyman said Christian had suffered far too many concussions to ever wrestle again. It was something of a surprise to wrestling fans, who hadnt been updated on Christians condition in nearly a year, and there was considerable consternation over the fact that the former two-time World Heavyweight Champion, four-time Intercontinental Champion and nine-time tag team champion hadnt been given a retirement speech, a final farewell, or a last match. The story of Christians sudden retirement was recently called into question by a fan report claiming that Christian flatly denied any such thing during an appearance in Florida and said that Lawler had simply been wrong. This flies in the face of earlier reports, including one by the highly-reputable Pro Wrestling Insider, that WWE had officially confirmed Lawlers statement. Christians future in wrestling is unclear, but it seems likely that he is approaching the one more match stage of his career. With WWE stating he is done in the ring and Christian himself saying otherwise, its conceivable that his final match, if he has one, might not take place in WWE. If Christian is truly preparing to hang up his boots, he deserves nothing less than a stellar opponent for his last hurrah, whether it be in front of a small but worshipful independent crowd or beneath the bright lights of Wrestlemania, and unfortunately, Edge isnt an option.
