AEW star confirms he has made peace with in-ring retirement
A well-known face on AEW programming alongside his peers, Sonjay Dutt also occupies an important backstage role in the Tony Khan-led promotion. The 42-year-old veteran recently opened up on his in-ring retirement several years ago.
Nowadays, Dutt is generally featured on AEW television alongside his allies Jay Lethal, Jeff and Karen Jarrett, and Satnam Singh. He also produces for the company, helping to put together matches and backstage material, among other things.
Besides competing in a couple of multi-person matches with his teammates on Rampage: Fight For The Fallen in 2022 and on AEW Dynamite last year, Sonjay has not actively wrestled since he hung up his boots years ago. Speaking with Mike Jones in a recent interview, Dutt reflected on his retirement, alluding to the cumulative effect of physical issues piling up towards the end of his career and his gradual transition to backstage responsibilities.
"I have totally made peace with that. I made peace with that towards the last couple of years of me being an in-ring competitor. Injuries catch up and life changes you. I have a wife and two kids. I tore my Achilles, and my shoulder was in bad shape. it was just a whirlwind of everything that happened at the perfect time to where I transitioned and started learning more and more about the backstage production aspect and the office roles. Everything happens for a reason. No complaints," Dutt said. [H/T - Fightful]
Before his retirement, Dutt did some of his best work for TNA and performed on the independent circuit.
AEW's Sonjay Dutt also worked in WWE
Before signing with AEW in 2021, Sonjay Dutt was employed by WWE as a producer for about two years. In an interview with Renee Paquette in 2022, the former Impact X Division Champion explained his motivation to depart from the sports entertainment juggernaut. He felt underutilized by the Stamford-based company in his backstage roles.
"So, for 10 years now, like a lot of people, especially if you've worked with me in WWE where I was just a match producer, and that is kind of what WWE is where, 'Okay, this is your job,' which kind of was part of the reason why I wanted to quit. I was like, 'Look, I know in my heart of hearts I can do more than just be a match producer,' because before WWE I was at Impact, and what you see now I did at Impact," Dutt said.
Dutt was recently seen alongside his long-time friend Jay Lethal in ROH, where the latter teased having his sights set on "bigger fish" than QT Marshall to mark his return to the company.