John GreenLuca Crusifino — the WWE wrestler whose real name is Roman Macek — announced his retirement from professional wrestling on 27 April 2026, aged just 25. Released by WWE three days earlier as part of a roster cut, he confirmed on social media that he was stepping away from the sport entirely. His exit raises a question that applies to thousands of young professionals in the UK: what happens to your finances when a performance career ends in your mid-twenties without warning?
Who Is Luca Crusifino?
Roman Macek signed with WWE in 2022 following a college football career at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He debuted on WWE NXT in February 2023, initially portraying a lawyer character before joining the D'Angelo Family faction and later transitioning to a new persona on WWE EVOLVE. Over four years he competed in 93 total matches and 40 televised bouts.
WWE released him on 24–25 April 2026 as part of a broader roster reduction. In his retirement statement on 27 April, he wrote: "After much reflection, I've decided it's time to close this chapter of my life. As of today, I'm officially stepping away and retiring from professional wrestling. It's not an easy decision, but it's the right one for me." He added: "Being a part of the WWE has been a dream ever since I was a child."
He is 25 years old. He retired after four years in professional sport.
The Financial Reality of a Short Sports Career
The arc of Macek's career — signed at 21, released at 25, retired before most workers have completed their first decade in employment — is not unusual in professional sport. The average professional football career in England lasts approximately eight years, according to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). But that average conceals the large number of players released in their teens or early twenties, often without significant savings or financial planning in place.
Research by XPro, a charity supporting former professional players, found that approximately 60% of professional footballers face serious financial difficulty — including bankruptcy — within five years of retirement. The earnings structures in wrestling and football differ, but the underlying dynamic is identical: career income arrives in a concentrated window, often without employer pension contributions, and the end can come without notice.
For wrestlers on developmental WWE contracts, the earning potential is typically lower than headline figures suggest. A release with no warning and no transition plan creates immediate financial exposure — regardless of how hard the athlete trained or how much they gave the role.
What Young Athletes Often Get Wrong
Financial advisers who work with professional athletes consistently identify the same patterns. The combination of young age, irregular income, and physical uncertainty creates planning challenges that ordinary employment does not:
No pension base. Many sports and performance contracts do not include employer pension contributions. A 25-year-old retiring from sport potentially has 40 or more years of retirement to fund — with no occupational pension foundation to build on. The UK state pension requires 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to receive the full amount. Those years do not accumulate during overseas contracts, self-employed performing careers, or gaps between signed deals.
Lifestyle commitments locked in at peak earnings. Spending decisions made during the earning years — mortgage commitments, car finance, recurring costs — do not automatically adjust when income disappears. Athletes who expand their lifestyle during their career can find fixed costs exceed income almost immediately after a release.
No income-generating assets. Athletes who spend rather than invest during their career leave themselves with no financial continuity at the point they retire. Those who use career earnings to build an ISA portfolio, contribute to a pension, or buy income-generating property have options. Those who do not have very few.
As explored in our guide on what young high-earners should do with sudden wealth, the period of peak earning in a short career is also the period when disciplined saving feels least urgent — and that gap between how things feel and how they actually are is where long-term financial difficulty begins.
What a Wealth Manager Would Advise
The UK government's official guidance on planning retirement income is a practical starting point for anyone facing a sudden career change: assess all existing pension arrangements, understand entitlement to state pension, and take regulated financial advice before making major decisions about savings or investments.
For athletes and performers specifically, qualified UK wealth managers typically recommend three immediate priorities when a contract ends:
Review and consolidate pension arrangements. Any personal pension opened during the career — including any from a previous employer — should be located, valued, and consolidated where possible. The Pension Tracing Service (gov.uk) can help identify lost pension pots.
Maximise ISA allowances. A Stocks and Shares ISA allows up to £20,000 per tax year to grow free of UK income tax and capital gains tax. For a 25-year-old with a 40-year investment horizon, even modest regular contributions compound significantly.
Plan income, not just capital. A wealth manager can model sustainable withdrawal rates from savings across a 50-year retirement horizon. What looks like a reasonable sum at 25 can run out far earlier than expected without structured drawdown planning.
Luca Crusifino is 25. With decades of financial life ahead of him, the decisions he makes — and the professional advice he takes — in the next six months will matter longer than any match result from his four-year career.
ExpertZoom connects you with regulated UK wealth managers and financial advisers who can help navigate sudden career transitions and build long-term financial plans that last.
Financial information: This article contains general information only and does not constitute financial advice. For advice tailored to your personal circumstances, consult a regulated financial adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Free guidance is also available at MoneyHelper (moneyhelper.org.uk).
