Daniel Bryan's Retirement
When I woke up yesterday to read my news feed from whatever social media site I was looking at, I got really excited. Someone had seen Daniel Bryan in a Phoenix airport getting ready to depart on a flight to Seattle, which was the place of that evening's Raw. They also had an accompanying picture-because let's face it, "picture, or it didn't happen."
Much the same way he yells, I was yelling "yes" as I read the news. This was great. AJ Styles had reignited my WWE flame, and now adding Bryan back on the show made me a happy boy. Then I read some of the comments on that post.
Reading comments on anything can be dangerous. The negativity out there is ridiculous, especially when the people don't know each other. This particular post was met with great joy obviously, but then I got to one that said (I'm paraphrasing) "Don't get all worked up, he's just going to Raw to retire."
That's a big-time bummer. That one comment made all the sense in the world. His last two years were plagued with injuries. No matter what optimism we all had, the most realistic outcome for our beloved sports-entertainer was going to be retirement. Within hours he sent out, what will probably become the most infamous tweet in wrestling history, and thus created history.
It was over. All in 140 characters. Now obviously his career could more accurately be reflected in 140 volumes of books, but that one tweet was the nail in the coffin of his career.
We've heard the various rumors about him wanting to go someplace else that will let him wrestle. Some even think this is still some outrageous storyline. I'm assuming the position that he is done (which I 100% believe he is) and this is a reflection of that. More than a reflection, it's a celebration. Because let's face it, he gave us plenty of reason to celebrate.
That picture kills me. His love of the game is evident, and his pain of it being taken away seems overwhelming. But he rest on the fact that he truly gave it his all, no matter the circumstances. The ending wasn't what he wanted it to be, but the destination was remarkable.
It's amazing that this kid, this "wrestler's wrestler" crossed over into pop culture like he did. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was "bland," "an indy guy," etc. But he did. Everything "the man" or even sometimes we thought he couldn't do, he did.
Everything he did turned to gold. The anger management angle? Nobody would have gotten that to work. It was one of the best story lines of the year. Even something as simple as screaming "YES!" shouldn't have become the phenomenon that it became. I promise you that "yes" is going to be around for a long time. It's essentially the son of the "what" phrase, but infinitely less annoying, and it doesn't detract from other's promos.
Since 2011 three of my favorite wrestlers prematurely had, or chose to, leave the profession. (Nigel, Punk, Bryan) Bryan's I feel will hurt the worse. With all due respect to Nigel, who in reality has the much sadder story. He never got to attain the fraction of success that Bryan did, despite being equally (in my mind anyway) talented. But Bryan's influence on the WWE is still rippling through the company, and hopefully will continue to. Look at all the guys being hired. You can't say that's not due in part to Bryan's success. You can't leave out CM Punk either. He broke many doors down himself. Although he won't even be acknowledged by WWE at this point, he deserves his props. Although he is very much anti-wrestling at this point, and doesn't like to even talk about it, he did put up a powerful tweet that I will be leaving you with. Good job and well done, you have 'till five referee!
Much the same way he yells, I was yelling "yes" as I read the news. This was great. AJ Styles had reignited my WWE flame, and now adding Bryan back on the show made me a happy boy. Then I read some of the comments on that post.
Reading comments on anything can be dangerous. The negativity out there is ridiculous, especially when the people don't know each other. This particular post was met with great joy obviously, but then I got to one that said (I'm paraphrasing) "Don't get all worked up, he's just going to Raw to retire."
That's a big-time bummer. That one comment made all the sense in the world. His last two years were plagued with injuries. No matter what optimism we all had, the most realistic outcome for our beloved sports-entertainer was going to be retirement. Within hours he sent out, what will probably become the most infamous tweet in wrestling history, and thus created history.
Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I'll have a chance to elaborate. #gratitude— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) February 8, 2016
It was over. All in 140 characters. Now obviously his career could more accurately be reflected in 140 volumes of books, but that one tweet was the nail in the coffin of his career.
We've heard the various rumors about him wanting to go someplace else that will let him wrestle. Some even think this is still some outrageous storyline. I'm assuming the position that he is done (which I 100% believe he is) and this is a reflection of that. More than a reflection, it's a celebration. Because let's face it, he gave us plenty of reason to celebrate.
I didn't think the original image was depressing enough so I added another. pic.twitter.com/3iuw9Re09i
— MaffewOfBotchamania (@Maffewgregg) February 9, 2016
That picture kills me. His love of the game is evident, and his pain of it being taken away seems overwhelming. But he rest on the fact that he truly gave it his all, no matter the circumstances. The ending wasn't what he wanted it to be, but the destination was remarkable.
It's amazing that this kid, this "wrestler's wrestler" crossed over into pop culture like he did. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was "bland," "an indy guy," etc. But he did. Everything "the man" or even sometimes we thought he couldn't do, he did.
If I had to sum him up in one sentence, it would be a "once in a lifetime talent." His indy career was legendary. The greatest indy star ever- PERIOD. With respects to Joe or Punk or whoever else, they can't touch Bryan Danielson. He had more great matches, with more great opponents than anyone.(His series of matches with Nigel McGuinness alone are better than most people would ever have) We could feel his passion, we could feel our selves wanting him to succeed against impossible odds. And the fact that he carried that over to the WWE speaks volumes.How @WWEDanielBryan inspired a #CrewSC victory chant: https://t.co/rRM9bvp8Ul pic.twitter.com/wBCScFcbUs— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 8, 2016
I was so grateful (there's that word again) to see his rise in WWE. One of my favorite moments ever was John Cena picking him for his opponent at Summerslam 2013. Then it had some accompanying promos between the two that summed up both of their philosophies and how different they were from each other. It was very Meta, very genuine, very awesome. Then they had a barn-burner of a match which Bryan won clean!!!! That was one of my favorite time periods in WWE, and it was all because of one man.Tonight on @WWE #RAW, we celebrate the illustrious career of @WWEDanielBryan. #ThankYouDanielBryan https://t.co/P719aJT9fX— WWE (@WWE) February 9, 2016
Everything he did turned to gold. The anger management angle? Nobody would have gotten that to work. It was one of the best story lines of the year. Even something as simple as screaming "YES!" shouldn't have become the phenomenon that it became. I promise you that "yes" is going to be around for a long time. It's essentially the son of the "what" phrase, but infinitely less annoying, and it doesn't detract from other's promos.
Since 2011 three of my favorite wrestlers prematurely had, or chose to, leave the profession. (Nigel, Punk, Bryan) Bryan's I feel will hurt the worse. With all due respect to Nigel, who in reality has the much sadder story. He never got to attain the fraction of success that Bryan did, despite being equally (in my mind anyway) talented. But Bryan's influence on the WWE is still rippling through the company, and hopefully will continue to. Look at all the guys being hired. You can't say that's not due in part to Bryan's success. You can't leave out CM Punk either. He broke many doors down himself. Although he won't even be acknowledged by WWE at this point, he deserves his props. Although he is very much anti-wrestling at this point, and doesn't like to even talk about it, he did put up a powerful tweet that I will be leaving you with. Good job and well done, you have 'till five referee!
— Coach (@CMPunk) February 9, 2016
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