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Ezekiel Jackson, a former WWE Intercontinental Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion, recently confirmed that he has not retired from in-ring competition.
The 43-year-old worked for WWE between 2007 and 2014 before appearing in Lucha Underground and IMPACT Wrestling. Performing as Big Ryck, his most recent matches took place in October 2015 for the German promotion wXw.
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Jackson said comments made in 2015 about his “final match” were taken out of context:
“I said, ‘That would be a good final match if that was my final match,’ and that’s all somebody heard… ‘Final match,’ and I go on Twitter and it’s like, ‘Ezekiel Jackson announced his retirement.’ I’m like, ‘Did I?!’ … I guess that’s what they heard. Twitter ran with it.” [58:30-58:58]
Jackson has focused on his career as a personal trainer since his latest in-ring performance in a six-man tag team match in 2015. The former WWE Superstar added that while he still keeps up to date with current wrestling, he is more interested in characters than matches.
Will Ezekiel Jackson ever return to the ring?
According to Cagematch.net, Ezekiel Jackson competed in 331 matches for WWE between October 2008 and April 2013. Before that, he participated in another 47 matches in WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental system.
Jackson stated that he is open to wrestling again one day but only wants to do so if he returns on a big stage:
“There’s still some stuff I would love to do. I’m always in shape. I’m a bit bigger now than I was when I was in WWE. When I was there, I was about 285 [pounds]. Now I’m 330. There’s a few things I would love to do. I still get that itch every so often, but it’s not gonna be anything small [if a return materializes].” [59:02-59:28]
Jackson held the Intercontinental Championship for 54 days in 2011. He was also the last person to hold the ECW World Heavyweight Championship before the title was retired.
Please credit the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.
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