This past Monday one of the most well respected wrestlers in history said his tearful goodbye and retired due to medical issues. For almost a year we speculated about his condition and weather or not the WWE was black balling him. After listening to his goodbye on Raw, we can safely say that the WWE made the right call in not allowing him to return. Even though a couple of independent doctors had cleared him the WWE stood by there guns and said no. Even Daniel Bryan himself admits that was the right call. As sad as it is to see him go, Daniel Bryan left behind a legacy that has changed the wrestling business and especially the WWE forever..
I will hand it to the WWE, they let Daniel Bryan talk as long as he wanted. The WWE showed a ton of class by letting him go out in style. Shane and I will be discussing the career of Daniel Bryan in an upcoming episode of The Realest guys on the Radio. As for now though I think jst a simple goodbye is in order.
Daniel Bryan was considered the king of the independents when he signed a developmental deal with the WWE. On the inaugural season of NXT, Bryan debuted with the Miz as his mentor. The Miz and Michael Cole, who was at the beginning of a heel turn, spent every moment they could downplaying Daniel Bryan's accomplishments. That is a problem that I think has plagued the WWE for a long time and it has come to the forefront again with AJ Styles. The WWE spends to much time downplaying accomplishments from other promotions and not enough time building up the talent that they worked so hard to obtain. And seriously? You can't understand why some of these guys fail?
The fact that Michael Cole, who did everything he could to discredit Bryan when he first started out, made it a Surreal moment when he hugged him and told him he loved him on this weeks Raw. After his retirement speech, the love that the Superstars and ring announcers showed him weather Heel or Face, shows just how much this man meant to the business. I could give you a boring recap of his career but lets face it if you are reading this you are a fan and probably already know the stories.
Instead I just want to say that once in a generation you get a talent that transcends the sport. Sure there are popular wrestlers, guys that no matter how long it's been will get a great reaction from the crowd. But this is the first time I have seen a man since Dusty Rhodes capture the fans the way he did. Daniel Bryan accomplished something that no one else ever has. He connected so well with the crowd that the fans forced the WWE to alter plans, forced them to re book matches and to change there course.
There are plenty of wrestlers that the fans get behind that never go anywhere, Cesaro, CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler are just a few of these guys. As loud as they cheer and as critical as they are on the internet, They were never as passionate about their hero as the Daniel Bryan fans were. The Fans got behind their every man in a way that over took shows. Batista was made a heel because the fans turned on him when they thought he took Bryan's spot. They truly shaped the way the WWE was going and all for their hero.
Daniel Bryan was a man who could give us a 5 star match with a broom, he worked incredibly hard at his craft and despite his size he was extremely talented and very deserving of everything he got. Selfishly I didn't want him to go out like this, I wanted to see him one on one against Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. I know I will never get those matches and it does sadden me to a point, but Daniel Bryan has left behind a legacy of matches throughout every promotion he has ever been a part of that will define the way we look at wrestling in the future.
It's been almost a full year since we've seen Bryan wrestle a match and it has seemed like there was a void on my TV. Daniel as a fan I want to say thank you for all that you have given us. Thank you for the dedication to your craft and making it a joy twatch wrestling. Thank you for delivering what may have been the greatest Wrestlemania moment when you won the championship at Wrestlemania 30. And thank you for changing the business for the better.
In the weeks ahead I will be taking some time to reflect on various moments in the career of Daniel Bryan including what I feel are his best matches and moments. I will also be doing a piece on what the WWE would be like had Daniel Bryan never gotten hurt. In the meantime check out my Articles on TheSportster.com and also listen to Shane and I as we discuss pop culture on a weekly basis here.
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