Madison Rayne Is Happy With How Retirement Match Played Out, Didn’t Want To Disrupt Things In The Division
Madison Rayne announced her retirement on the January 1st episode of ROH TV after teaming with Deonna Purrazzo against Billie Starkz and Diamante.
The announcement wasn’t built up, and Rayne had only wrestled sparingly on television over the years.
Speaking to Purrazzo and Steve Maclin on Boots To Boots, Rayne explained why her retirement went off the way she wanted it to.
“I didn’t picture my last match. All I knew is that I didn’t want it to be a huge (deal). I didn’t want it to be promoted as ‘Madison Rayne is retiring.’ I didn’t want the focus of what was happening in the women’s division, whether it was Dynamite, Collision, or Ring of Honor…I’m so glad we ended up doing it on Ring of Honor for a lot of reasons, but I didn’t want my moment to mess up the dynamic of what was already happening in the women’s division. The fact that Tony Khan allowed me to slide in with my best friend and have this match, and it just fit the way everything else was happening with Ring of Honor and the women, I’m really grateful for that. I don’t need to go out as champion. I didn’t need the streamers. I didn’t want any of that. I know the things I’ve accomplished. To have that moment, as I’m saying this, it almost felt more personal and special that people kind of found out throughout the course of the day. The people who needed to know, knew. Everyone in the match knew, Tony knew, our producer knew, (her husband) Josh (Mathews) knew, Steve (Maclin) knew. People kind of started to find out as the day went on. The crowd, after the match, they figured it out. It wasn’t shoved down their throats. They figured it out. It was natural and happened organically. Now, because of the way it happened and the way Tony let us do that, I’m going to look back and be so fulfilled and happy and know that I did it my way and I didn’t disrupt the dynamics of anything else that was happening to have my moment. I’m thankful for that,” she said.
Rayne’s career spanned two decades, where she competed for AEW, ROH, WWE, TNA, and more.
Elsewhere during the interview, Rayne gave more insight on her decision to retire. You can find her full comments here.
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