At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday, Edge was the big surprise returnee during the show’s main-event battle royal. However, another familiar name from the first decade of the 2000s — Montel Vontavious Porter (aka MVP) — also made his presence felt during the men’s Rumble match, entering at No. 12 and getting eliminated by Brock Lesnar in less than 30 seconds. The next night, MVP was back in the ring on Monday Night Raw , where he lost a singles match against Rey Mysterio. That, as he recently suggested in a social media post, just might be his final match ever as a WWE superstar.
On Thursday night, MVP took to his Instagram account, sharing a photo of himself from this week’s episode of Raw and penning what appeared to be his official goodbye to the WWE Universe. The former United States Champion thanked Mysterio in his caption, also stressing that he isn’t done with pro wrestling despite his advanced age and the possibility he has closed the book on his WWE career.
“One for the history books. My FINAL WWE match took place on Monday Night RAW against my close friend and legend @619iamlucha A great way to close out that chapter. The end of my career looms larger every month. It’s been one HELL of a ride! I’m not finished just yet. But soon. Very soon. Thank you @wwe and the #wweuniverse for all the love!!! What an amazing week I’ve had.”
As explained by Wrestling Inc ., MVP was recently rumored to be back in WWE for a handful of appearances, with nothing long-term on the horizon for the 46-year-old superstar. At that time, it was expected that he would be sticking around for a bit following the Royal Rumble and the Raw episode thereafter, but the publication noted that the main purpose of his return was to give his son a chance to watch him wrestle for the company where he first became a household name for fans.
MVP’s recent matches marked the first time he had competed for WWE in close to a decade. As recalled by Fightful , the veteran wrestler — real name Hassan Hamin Assad — made his debut for the company in 2006 as part of the SmackDown brand, going on to win the United States and WWE Tag Team titles within a year and a half of his arrival. He was, however, moved down the card as his run with the promotion continued, and with his television appearances dwindling, he was released in December 2010.