To those who follow professional wrestling, already have heard about the retirement of Daniel Bryan, the darling of the fake sport for the better part of the last three years. As far as professional wrestling is concerned, this is a massively huge blow to the industry, losing one of its more capable and popular performers over the span of the decade, but when it comes to caring for the well-being of your fellow human beings, it’s still the right call.
Honestly, when the initial news and tweets broke out, I was skeptical that it wasn’t a work (fake, for storyline purposes), since in the ever-changing and adapting world of pro-wrestling, this wouldn’t have been the first time a storyline was set up, utilizing social media and preying on the emotions of others to lay the groundwork for a swerve.
And there’s still a part of me that thinks that the door is not 100% shut, because if doors actually managed to shut permanently in wrestling, then we would have never seen things like Sting coming to the WWE, Bret Hart coming back after Montreal, and the countless times Hulk Hogan has come and gone.
But for what it’s worth, the rationale behind the too-soon retirement of Daniel Bryan seems legitimate enough, and if it is entirely genuine, then a most definite step in the right direction, not just for professional wrestling, but for any sort of combat/physical form of spectator entertainment. Citing a career full of concussions and the ever-rising scientific study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and how people with a history of repeated concussions are setting themselves up for a later lifetime of serious problems, Daniel Bryan walks away from the industry that made him, for a future where his health is somewhat preserved.
It’s funny, for as much flack as pro-wrestling gets, at least as far as the WWE is concerned, they’re definitely pioneers when it comes to being the ones to take the risks and move forward into the unknown. The WWE Network is basically what every single television network dreamed of doing, in being able to a la carte offer up their own private libraries, but nobody else was willing to take the plunge and be the guinea pig to learn from their failures. When WWEN launched, it was no secret that everyone had all their eyes on them, seeing what worked, and what didn’t work; and now we’ve got HBO Go and Showtime among others, and it’s only a matter of time and amassing of libraries before all sorts of other networks start launching their own private viewing apps.
The same goes for the WWE’s proactive and progressive concussion policy; in short, anyone who suffers a concussion is immediately pulled and put into rehabilitation. And in the cases like Daniel Bryan, who has a lengthy history of concussions, as much as hurts the industry to lose such a phenomenal talent, the overall wellness and health of another human being still trumps it, and retirement becomes an option. Sure, it sucks for performers who depend on exposure in order to sell themselves, but they’re being implored to actually give a shit about their long-term futures now.
Meanwhile, in spite of monumental scientific evidence and a Will Smith movie, NFL players take the field, many with a history of concussions, because either the league doesn’t care about its assets risking their long-term health, or the players themselves are so insistent on not losing their roster spot and compromising their earning power that they risk their present livelihoods for money, for their future livelihoods. Maybe both.
But back to Daniel Bryan, it’s definitely sad to see him retire at such a young age (He’s barely a year older than I am), but it is good to know that he’ll clearly be able to walk normally as he ages, and hopefully not go mental due to the amount of concussions already incurred to his brain. He was granted a luxury that only other guy off the top of my head I can think of (Edge), which is getting to retire and say goodbye on his own terms; in like 99% of other times, a guy is sent off with a loss, because as old schoolers like Mick Foley and the Undertaker say, nobody is bigger than the business, and the only way to truly show respect on the way out is to put the business over. Clearly, things have changed a little bit, and what may truly be best for business, is to let hard dedicated workers actually get to say goodbye, and soak in some adulation.
It goes without saying that Bryan will be missed. Symbolic for being a little man who succeeded in the giant world of WWE, as well as a torch-bearer for an extraordinary work rate and excellent technical ability. But as good as he was as a wrestling, I have to say the character development, and the storytelling behind a lot of Daniel Bryan is what I always remember the most fondly.
When I first saw Daniel Bryan on WWE tv, he was already the United States champion, but he was devoid of any personality, in spite of the fact that there was a wealth of technical ability in the ring. Eventually his pairing with AJ Lee revealed his vegan lifestyle, which made him a target for antagonism, which turned him heel, which really opened the door for him to actually grow as a performer.
With growth came the seeds of what would ultimately become a movement, but I have fond memories of him screaming YES! over and over again in Kofi Kingston’s face after re-naming the LeBell Lock to the YesLock, because apparently Gene LeBell never accomplished anything in his opinion. I laughed when Daniel Bryan got blindsided outside the ring by Chris Jericho during a match against CM Punk, which caused Punk to automatically get disqualified, and despite being in pain, managed to gradually start chanting YES! by virtue of his cheap victory.
Daniel Bryan had basically my favorite match in 2013, as pretty much the last guy capable of getting a good match out of the robotic and repetitive Randy Orton, in a no-DQ match that saw Bryan tapping Orton with a Singapore cane-assisted YesLock.
Lest we forget the rabid and overwhelming growth of the whole YES! Movement, to this day, I still don’t believe that I’ve seen a more incredible crowd reaction in my entire wrestling-spectating life than the night he swerved Bray Wyatt in 2014, into joining him in a steel cage tag match against the Usos, only for him to have planned it so that he could get him alone without interference from Erick Rowan and future IWGP champion Luke Harper.
As much as the wrestling landscape has changed throughout history, the general formula for a successful storyline has remained much the same – the thrill is in the chase. And there’s little doubt that among the numerous who have gone down that path, not nearly as many have done it with as much noise, impact and success as Daniel Bryan has.
I still don’t think that the possibility of seeing Daniel Bryan have another match is 0%, but in the event that we truly never do witness Daniel Bryan in action again, he will truly be missed, and never will any wrestling fan forget the incredible rise, and too-short WWE career of Daniel Bryan.
