Rich Swann Says He’s Retiring From Pro Wrestling

Less than a month after leaving WWE, former Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann announced on Twitter that he’s retiring from pro wrestling after finishing up his remaining independent booking dates.

Swann was suspended by WWE in December after being arrested following a domestic violence incident with his wife, pro wrestler Su Yung. Swann was subsequently cleared of all charges, but he and WWE ultimately decided to go their separate ways.

Swann had been laying relatively low following his release. However, one day before announcing his impending retirement, he tweeted his dissatisfaction with independent bookers allegedly booking a “bank robber” over him.

The “bank robber” alluded to in the tweet is CZW staple Nick Gage, who in April 2011 was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree bank robbery. Gage violated parole in 2015, but he served his time – and he didn’t appreciate Swann calling him out.

As my colleague Hunter Patterson pointed out, it’s probably not a good idea to start a Twitter fight with a guy who signs all his tweets with the name of the prison gang he joined.

The rest of Twitter thought it was a poor choice on Swann’s part, too.

It’s true that Gage is a convicted felon and Swann is not. However, the reality is that, even without a conviction, society looks down far more on domestic violence and abuse than it does bank robbery – particularly in today’s social climate. Unfortunately, if he were to continue wrestling, Swann’s arrest would likely follow him the rest of his career.

That being said, WWE has proven time and time again that they’re big on redemption. If Swann continues to lay low and work on himself, who knows – he could be back in a WWE ring one day.

In the meantime, at least he can take solace in the fact that his sins are not the worst of WWE’s disgraced ex-cruiserweights.

What are your thoughts on the saga of Rich Swann? Share them below.