Big career update on AEW star who's forced into retirement - Reports

The life of an AEW star can be a roller-coaster full of ups and downs, highs and lows. A veteran star has been forced into retirement, and new details have just leaked from backstage on his injury and in-ring future.

Chuck Taylor began wrestling in 2002 and has found success around the world for promotions such as NJPW, TNA, EVOLVE, PWG, and ROH, among others. He and best friend Trent Beretta joined AEW at the time of launch in 2019, and eventually added Orange Cassidy to the group, and have been a steady presence since then. Turmoil rocked The Best Friends in March when Trent shocked Chuck by attacking Cassidy.

Trent ordered Chuck to pick a side for weeks, and he finally went with Cassidy to set up Trent's Parking Lot Brawl win over his longtime partner. After the match, Trent attacked Taylor's injured knee with a pipe, which put him out of action. An emotional Freshly Squeezed announced on the May 1 Dynamite that The Kentucky Gentleman will no longer be wrestling as his in-ring career is over due to the injury. Now a new report from Fightful Select reveals how talk within AEW is that Taylor's career situation is not a work.

There are no plans for Taylor to wrestle again as of now as Cassidy's announcement was not just another kayfabe angle, but he is set to work another role for the company. The Parking Lot Brawl at the April 27 Rampage tapings was Taylor's first match since October 4, 2023, as he was sidelined with a foot injury.

The 22-year veteran was said to be well aware of the extent of his injuries going into the brutal Rampage bout, but sources claim Chuck just wanted to work the match as it could have been his last.

Taylor has been preparing for the end of his in-ring career. It was noted that the two-time PWG World Champion has been training as a coach/producer for several months now.

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AEW star on Trent Beretta's future as a singles star

Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta have been teaming up since they came to AEW, but The Best Friends are no more now that Taylor has suffered a reported career-ending injury.

Rocky Romero has been a friend and partner to The Best Friends. The veteran grappler, who also works as an executive for AEW and NJPW, recently spoke to Fightful Select about the domino effect that Taylor's situation is having. He praised the 38-year-old and expressed sadness over his future:

"He’s been good for so long. Some of my favorite work that he’s done was when he was in PWG. The Parking Lot Brawls the Best Friends have done have been iconic in AEW, but it’s unfortunate to not see Chuck be able to do even more, and I don’t know if we ever will," Rocky Romero said.

Romero continued and looked ahead to a singles run by Trent. He praised The One & Only High Flyer for his heel work:

"I really don’t know. It’s a pretty crappy situation overall. I am happy for Trent that he’s getting his opportunity to show out. He’s better as a heel and more comfortable. So far, it’s been great. The reaction he got in Winnipeg was amazing. Trent is such a good wrestler so it’s going to be cool to see where he can go with this and how far he can go. I don’t think I’ll be involved," Rocky Romero said.

Beretta was defeated by Orange Cassidy in a grudge match on this week's AEW Dynamite.