Thank You, Daniel Bryan

Last night, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan announced his retirement, following the results of a medical examination. The results declared that the YES! man’s retirement would be vital in saving his life.

Bryan would appear on Raw, live from his hometown, to make the announcement. It was a great retirement speech, but it left millions of fans like me, disappointed and dejected.

I’m born and brought up in the U.A.E, and have lived for four years in my home country of India. Never once have I visited the USA, nor have I been to any wrestling shows in India or the U.A.E. I have, however, had the opportunity to meet Sheamus and Daniel Bryan when they visited Dubai for 2 different, 3 day promotional tours.

Meeting Bryan was a surreal experience for me. Here I was, surrounded by hundreds of other fans, doing the Yes! chant as he walks on stage, to promote WWE 2k16, the video game. As I neared the stage to get my complimentary autographs and picture, I decided that I would participate in yet another Yes! chant, but it would be at SummerSlam 2017, when I’d have (hopefully) saved enough money to visit the USA and my favorite event of the summer, to watch Bryan wrestle another exciting match.

Watching the retirement speech put that dream in a Yes! Lock and made it tap out. (Yep, had to use that analogy, didn’t I?)

I’m pretty sure all of what I’ve written up to this point sounds a little selfish, and it should. It was something I’ve always wanted to do, and it broke my heart to see a future memory get erased right in front of my eyes.

But I am thankful. Thankful for the fact that Daniel Bryan has the opportunity to quit before it becomes a major hassle later on in his life. Thankful, that he revolutionized how many people viewed pro-wrestling and sports entertainment.

And above all, and this needs to be said, I don’t think I could ever respect an entertainer as much as I respect Bryan.

He was a man, who lost his father, and his favorite fan, Connor Michalek in a span of four days, and still showed up to work, doing his Yes! chants as he walked towards the ring. He was a man, who was given potentially garbage story-lines to work with, and turned them into memorable segments that all the fans enjoyed. He was a man, whose talent was repeatedly ignored for the look of others in his profession, yet still remained loyal to his fans and his employers. And he is a man, who will forever be immortalized in pro-wrestling history, as Daniel Bryan, one of the greatest of all time.