The Yes Movement took us by storm over the past couple years.
Unfortunately for all of us, this storm as passed way too quickly.
Rumors ran wild on Super Bowl Sunday as a picture of Daniel Bryan at a Washington airport, where Raw was set to air on Monday night. Were we finally going to get Daniel Bryan back? Did WWE finally clear him?
Through the large number of possibilities that flooded social media, none were what the reason actually was. Hours before Raw went on the air on Monday, Bryan took to Twitter to announce that he would be retiring and would be on Raw later that night to elaborate further.
It was April 6, 2014 that, as Jerry Lawler coined it, Bryan turned WrestleMania into “YestleMania” when, after months of being held down by The Authority, Bryan finally reached the top and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. From there, it all went downhill…fast! Bryan was able to get a few matches against Kane after WrestleMania but would have to relinquish the championship due to injuries.
Months later Bryan would return in the Royal Rumble match. From there, WWE was worried to put him in a high-level match at WrestleMania match in fear of his health … so they put him in a seven man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship…yeah that makes sense. Well Bryan walked away with the title – only to once again have to hand it over due to injuries.
Along with that, after the retirement announcement, word came out that the main reason Bryan was stepping away from the ring was due to suffering several severe concussions over his career – some of which would lead to seizures. With this being the case, you can’t fault Bryan for the decision he made, instead he needs to be applauded.
I saw the headline on Bleacher Report that Bryan’s decision puts WWE way ahead of the NFL when it comes to talent safety. It was a severe concussion that led to Bret Hart’s stroke over a decade ago and we have all seen horror stories of wrestlers struggling through life after the bell sounds. As he mentioned in his retirement speech, Bryan is looking to start a family. Why would he was to risk the chance of playing with his kids in the backyard for another couple years in the ring?
This ending is a horrible way to conclude a career that has seen Bryan scrap and claw his way to the top. One look at Bryan and you see that he is exactly the opposite of the kind of guy that Vince McMahon sees leading his company. However the connection that Bryan made with the crowd exceeded any and all preconceived notions of who McMahon thinks HAS to be holding his championship.
Not only that, but it seems like Bryan has ushered in a new generation of WWE superstars. Gone are the days of the bodybuilders being guaranteed the top spot. Looking at WWE and NXT today, we see guys like Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and others like them ready to take over the main roster. Not only smaller guys, but guys like Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe who don’t have that muscularly defined body we have grown accustomed to either. We could be in store for years of fast-paced action in the ring – and it seemingly started with Daniel Bryan.
Now when I first heard the news of Bryan’s retirement decision, two Raw moments came to mind. Will this end up like the retirement speech we heard from Edge in 2011? Will Bryan come out and explain his decision and the reasons behind it in an emotional way of saying goodbye to the WWE Universe?
Or will we see a situation similar to Mark Henry’s retirement speech in 2013? In what ended up being arguably the most entertaining moment in Henry’s career, the World’s Strongest Man and the WWE Universe in the palm of his hand wishing him the best…as he grabbed John Cena and slammed him down letting him know this was just a way of getting a title shot! Brilliant!
Obviously the night went the way of Edge’s speech. Food for thought though, even though it didn’t happen Monday, this may still be a work. This is WrestleMania season, anything can happen. Whatever Daniel Bryan’s active roster status is AFTER the Raw following WrestleMania will be our definitive answer. Until then…(yeah I had to do this)…do I think that Daniel Bryan has given everything he has to entertain us?
YES!
Do I think that there is a possibility that this COULD be a work?
YES!
Either way, were we all fortunate enough to see Daniel Bryan perform and thank him for everything he has done and the contributions he has made towards the future of this business?
YES!! YES!! YES!!
