Christopher Daniels Talks Ring of Honor, Retirement, ROH's Mount Rushmore

In March, wrestling veteran Christopher Daniels won the Ring of Honor World Championship for the first time—some 15 years after he first debuted with the company.

While some casual wrestling fans may question giving the title to a 47-year-old Daniels when the company is focused on building new stars, the championship victory made for one of the most memorable moments in the company's history.

Watching Daniels accomplish a lifelong dream in the twilight of his career is what wrestling is all about.

In a recent interview promoting ROH's War of the Worlds tour, Daniels spoke to Ring Rust Radio about the future stars rising through the ranks, how much longer he expects to continue wrestling and who he would place on the Mount Rushmore of ROH.

Daniels has been wrestling for almost 25 years and has earned the respect of people within the business and the fans.

The veteran's world-title victory created a genuine buzz around ROH, but Daniels shifted the focus to some of the younger talents in the company who can benefit from the new eyes on the product.

"You talk about the guys that are coming up like Dalton Castle, Jay White and Flip Gordon," he said.

"A tag team like War Machine that has only been together for a short period of time but have already been Ring of Honor tag team champions and now they're currently IWGP champions and there is a bright future for those guys as far as a tag team dominance.

"Guys like Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay, who just recently joined Ring of Honor and continue to show innovation and a creative mindset for pro wrestling that I think Ring of Honor fans are very happy to have on our roster. I think they will continue to grow and become great characters and great contributors to the history of Ring of Honor."

Even while he is the brand's default ambassador as the champion, Daniels continues to put over other wrestlers. As one of the most selfless performers in the business, he knows how to help younger talent get over with the fans.

Daniels' return to ROH has been a blessing for the company, but his time in the business is running low. While talking about how much his friend, Frankie Kazarian, has left to give to the industry, the veteran revealed that he may only have a few months left in the ring.

"As much as Frankie and I are alike in terms of our mindset and our wrestling and as close as we are as friends, the big difference between us is I've been wrestling six years longer than him, and I'm going to retire before him. I don’t expect him to hang it up at the same time I do," Daniels said.

"He's got many, many years ahead of him and I feel like my career is pretty close to being over. I'm not going to put a timeframe on it, but I know that I'm talking probably in terms of months probably when you think about it."

For any fan who has followed Daniels' career in ROH, TNA and throughout the independent scene, imagining the business without the Ring General is odd. When he does decide to hang up his boots, it will be the end of one of the most decorated careers in wrestling history.

While there is no doubt Daniels is one of the most successful wrestlers in the history of ROH, he can also be a very modest man.

Many pundits would put Daniels on the Mount Rushmore of Ring of Honor, but when asked who he would select to be immortalized, the veteran highlighted four others as being more deserving.

"Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, CM Punk and Nigel McGuinness," Daniels said.

"I wasn't going to put myself on there. As much as I've contributed to Ring of Honor, those guys did as much or more and certainly deserve the recognition. It's nice to think that people think I deserve to be top four like that and that sort of sense of what they've done for the company, but if I found out I was No. 5 on the list out of four, I wouldn't be disappointed."

"You look at the track record of those four guys and what they contributed to the company in the time when they were champion, I don't think my current run compares to the stuff they've done yet,” he continued.

"You can try to build a title reign that stands up and when you lay it side-by-side with what Joe, Punk, Bryan or Nigel all did, that's my goal is to try to be comparable to those guys and it's a long road ahead of me to do that."

Daniels may be too modest to admit the massive influence he's had on Ring of Honor, but his place in history has been cemented. Not only was he one of the reasons ROH has been so successful over the years, but he was also a star in Impact Wrestling where he helped put that company on the map.

If Daniels does walk away from wrestling in the near future, the business will be losing one of the true good guys in the sport. As someone who always took the time to help others and worked tirelessly to improve his ability, his influence will be missed.

Until the veteran walks away, though, ROH fans—and wrestling fans in general—should enjoy every match and moment he creates.

Daniels is a one-of-a-kind talent, and there will never be another wrestler quite like him.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).