Jake Atlas Taking Break From Wrestling To Focus On His Mental Health

The former WWE star announces he's stepping away from wrestling.

Sep 15, 2021 September 15th, 2021

Having competed at this past weekend's Death Before Dishonor PPV for Ring of Honor, Jake Atlas has revealed he's stepping away from the wrestling business in order to focus on his mental wellbeing and to explore other industries.

After losing to Taylor Rust at Death Before Dishonor XVIII, some speculated that Atlas may have suffered a concussion.

Taking to Twitter, Atlas played down any concussion concerns or injury worries, and announced that he will be stepping away from the squared circle.

I’m not concussed or “banged up.” I simply just can’t keep going anymore. Take your mental health seriously, both for yourselves & for each other, because we only have one life to live. Thank you to anyone who did support me for 5 years. I didn’t do much, but what I did was fun.
— ????? (@kennymarquez) September 14, 2021

Unfortunately, it was unhealthy for me the entire time. I just learned how to hide it really well. I hope that friends & fans I’ve made alike continue to support me no matter what.
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— ????? (@kennymarquez) September 14, 2021

I have major anxiety just having done that, please be sensitive. Thank you.
— ????? (@kennymarquez) September 14, 2021

Jake Atlas is one of the many names released by WWE this year, with his tenure with Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut coming to an end on 6 August.

Since departing WWE, Atlas battled Effy at GCW's Effy's Big Gay Brunch Chicago event earlier this month, before then competing against the former Tyler Rust this past Sunday.

All of us here at WhatCulture Wrestling have nothing but positive vibes for Jake Atlas at this time. Mental health is a serious issue that we all need to be aware of, and hopefully stepping away from the ring helps Jake on this front.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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