Day 5: YES!

Tonight on WWE (formerly known as the WWF) Raw, now former wrestler/sports entertainer Daniel Bryan announced his retirement due to too many concussions. I am sure there are a lot of people who do not care for this post. Many people do not enjoy the WWE because it is seen as “fake.” With the rise in popularity that the UFC has gotten over the years, people might not understand why you would choose to watch the WWE as well or instead.

I have been watching the WWE since I was 3. My mom always told me that whenever she would go to work and I would cry, the only thing that made me stop was her changing the channel to wrestling. As a child, I thought there was no greater thing than to see a build up between two or more people who hated each other, and then to see them beat each other up. I also consider myself lucky to have grown up during the Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars.

For me, Stone Cold Steve Austin will always be the greatest sports entertainer in Wrestling of all time, followed closely by The Rock. What separated them from others is how unique they were. Neither of them were the greatest at actually wrestling, but they knew how to cater to an audience. Both of them had so much energy in the ring and made everything they did seem believable, even “The People’s Elbow.” They could literally make any promo great and sell out arenas just on their passion and charisma alone. Even when I realized it was scripted, I still got a joy out of watching.

Nowadays I do not watch the WWE nearly as much as I did back then. When I do watch though, I am able to revert to the child in me and be entertained. Since Stone Cold and The Rock, one of the few people I thought to be as influential to the audience is Daniel Bryan.

Daniel Bryan had a lot of talent as a wrestler. He could also hold his own with a mic in his hand. What made him unique is that he was not the biggest, strongest, or most athletic wrestler, but his energy was unmatched. At a moment’s notice he would do something you did not expect to turn a match around. He exemplified what it meant to be an underdog. His performance at Wrestlemania 30 still gives me chills. He beat Triple H in route to defeating both Bautista and Randy Orton in a triple threat to become champion. What impressed me the most is he maintained his energy throughout both matches. “Fake” or not being able to perform at the highest level you can despite two exhausting matches is special.

The thing Daniel Bryan is best known for, even by non-WWE fans is The “YES!” movement. The irony of it is it started through turning heel (bad guy). After winning the WWE title the first time and arrogantly yelling/chanting “YES!” to the audience, they mocked him by repeating “NO!” As the years went by through the ups and downs of being a WWE Superstar, he got back into the graces of the WWE faithful. Thus, the “YES!” movement was born.

If you were to youtube “YES! Chants” I can almost guarantee you will get chills from any video you watch. The combination of the chant and the motion of pointing to the sky with both hands seems so gratifying, especially when a sold out stadium is doing it with you in unison. There is a lot more too it than that though.

I have always seen the “YES!” movement as the greatest motivational tool for anyone persevering through anything. When you really take in what you’re seeing when it's happening, you truly feel like you can do anything. Even professional sports teams adopted it as their mantra like the San Fransisco Giants did when they won the World Series in 2014.

The saddest part of Daniel Bryan’s retirement is that it came way too soon. He is only 34 and if healthy probably could have wrestled for another 10–12 years. Being a huge sports fan, especially of Basketball, I have seen too many great talents have their career end early due to injury. The difference here is that Bryan had such an enormous impact on the WWE fans that his legacy has already been cemented through the “YES!” movement.

Daniel Bryan’s story has taught me that when you are truly passionate about something, you continue to pursue it no matter how many obstacles may be in your way. So when the day comes when life tells you its time to move on, you can look back knowing you did all you could to leave the legacy you want and not the one that was defaulted for you.