One of the biggest “what ifs?” in wrestling history has to be the former WWE and TNA star Monty Brown.
Despite having tons of potential and an incredible finishing move, Monty Brown retired in 2007 at the age of 37, ending his career seemingly in his prime.
He was also known as Marcus Cor Von, with this name being given to him upon leaving TNA and signing for the WWE. He joined the ECW Brand, where he was poised to break out as a big star.
Sadly, he retired early and that never happened. But why did Monty Brown retire? Keep reading this article and find out the truth behind his premature retirement.
Why Did Monty Brown Retire?
Monty Brown retired from wrestling to look after his sister’s children, after she was killed after suffering with cancer in 2007.
Brown was being pushed as a future star in ECW at the time, wrestling against the ECW Originals at WrestleMania 23, alongside the team called “The New Breed”.
He was given high-profile matches on ECW against top talent, like CM Punk, Chris Benoit and Rob Van Dam, to name but a few.
However, he requested his release in September 2007, three months after wrestling his last match against CM Punk on ECW.
This was because his sister passed away, and he decided to move back home to look after her children.
His requested was granted, and after he was released by WWE in 2007, Monty Brown retired from wrestling for good.
Despite having an open-door to return to the WWE, as well as numerous offers from independent companies, Monty Brown has not wrestled since his last match in WWE.
That match was against CM Punk on ECW, which you can read more about by clicking this link.
Jeff Jarrett had glowing praise to say about Monty Brown. The pair battled for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship in TNA, with many people claiming Brown should have defeated Jarrett.
Speaking with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Jeff Jarrett had nothing but praise for Monty Brown.
“You know, Monty is one of my—in a lot of ways—what-if stories. Because he really was on a role. I personally really like Monty. But, from a professional point of view, the guy could just flat out talk.“
“He had charisma and that finishing move, the Pounce, that was so easy to like, so to speak. It was so very natural. You didn’t have to think like, ‘How did that guy do that? How does that guy fall?’ It was real simple. He’s a football player. He knew how to take your head off and he did it in the ring.”
Sadly, Monty Brown has remained retired since 2007, and now at 53-years-old seems to be out of the wrestling business for good.