MVP is putting a clock on his wrestling career, and he doesn’t sound interested in dragging things out once that clock hits zero. The AEW veteran says he expects to wrestle his final match sometime in 2027, and when he’s done, he plans to actually stay retired.
According to The Takedown on Sports Illustrated, MVP opened up about his future during his latest appearance on Marking Out, explaining that age has changed both what his body can do and how badly he still wants to step between the ropes. He admitted that the physical decline is real, but the bigger factor might be that the fire simply isn’t burning the way it once did.
“My ability to wrestle at a high level is deteriorating because of time. I don’t have the explosiveness that I used to. And let me be real with you, I don’t have the desire. My passion for actually getting in the ring and having that match isn’t what it used to be.”
That’s a much clearer picture than MVP gave fans in September 2025, when he pushed back on the idea that he had already retired. Now, he has an actual target in mind, with 2027 looking like the finish line.
MVP’s most recent match came on the October 22, 2025 episode of AEW Dynamite, when The Hurt Syndicate challenged The Opps for the AEW World Trios Championship. That doesn’t mean MVP is completely done wrestling until his retirement match arrives. He said he’d still answer the call if Tony Khan wanted him teaming with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin again.
“If Tony says, ‘Hey, I want you, Bobby and Shelton to do a trios match,’ I’m ready. I can give you a tag.”
What MVP has no interest in doing is chasing one last singles championship run just for the sake of putting another title on his résumé. Even if Tony Khan offered him the AEW World Championship as a career sendoff, MVP says he’d turn it down.
“If Tony said, ‘Hey, as a gift to you, for your career on the way out the door, I’d like to give you an AEW Championship title run,’ I would say no.”
MVP has spent decades wrestling around the world and has already reached the point where he knows exactly what he does and doesn’t want from the final stretch of his career. Tagging with Lashley and Benjamin is still on the table, but another major singles run clearly isn’t. With 2027 now circled as the likely end of his wrestling career, the biggest question is what kind of farewell MVP wants before he finally hangs up his boots for good.
Who do you think MVP should wrestle in his final match, and should AEW turn it into a major retirement storyline? Leave your feedback in the comments below.
