And I’m Like… (Reviewing Raw February 8th 2016, The one with Daniel Bryan Retiring)

11:42 pm February 8, 2016

This is a date which will live in wrestling infamy… The saddest day of my wrestling fandom this decade… Daniel Bryan is retiring.. It is past 7 o’clock and I am not pushing play on my DVR just yet. Until I hear him say it, it isn’t official, and if I can delay life A.B. (after Bryan) for a bit longer I will. I don’t know how to review this with a happy heart. Daniel was my all time favorite active competitor. He and Bret Hart are my top twos!

Daniel struck a chord with me more than any wrestler has in my life. I don’t know if it was the underdogginess, the perseverance, the passion showed, the love of life, or what it was, but he brought out emotions. I get chills thinking about that cage match against the Wyatt’s with him being Daniel Wyatt. I remember the sheer disappointment after “18 Seconds” and sitting blankly staring at the rest of the show. The feeling I got when I was illegally streaming Summerslam and the feed paused but the audio still played as he was the 7th man for Team WWE. His rise to Wrestlemania stardom was happening at a point in my life when I wanted to give up and throw everything I worked for away. His defiance to the Authority, his willing the fans to fight what they believe in. That was real to me damnit. I swear to God that there were days I only got out of bed because I knew Bryan was fighting for his dreams and he fought through all the adversary. He is my inspiration, honest to everything. I feel like a part of me is missing now, I know it isn’t, but still… I will never be able to put into words how much Daniel has influence my life. Hell, I even got married in a YES! shirt. My YES! YES! YES! shirt was ripped or I would have worn that. I can ramble on for thousands of words about how this man inspired the way I watch and appreciate wrestling, and inspired the way I live life. I am just going to end it on a conversation I had with an former WWF Tag Team Champion today. He said “At least he got to retire a millionaire at 34, most of the guys I know are broke or still working jobs and conventions.” Daniel lived more in his 16 year career than some of us will in a lifetime, he influenced a generation of fans and created a legit sports chant. He is going out on top, whether it’s his terms or not. At least he can be financially comfortable to follow his future dreams. God speed Daniel Bryan, nothing ever lasts, thank you.

Monday Night Raw opening-

The show opens up with a video package on Daniel Bryan….
Emotions you guys…. I am losing it….
I’m sorry if this reads cheesy but this is my emotions on my sleeves…
I am glad the video was only a few minutes because I don’t know if I can handle a full blown WWE video package on Bryan’s career…
Cole welcomes us to Raw and says he is sure it will be an emotional night.

Stephanie McMahon comes out

She is already in the ring with a smile on her face. She is trying to get us hyped, Seattle seems hyped, but… we are all waiting in the wings.
“Daniel Bryan” chant fills the arena and Stephanie looks on compassionately. She is holding in tears…. Cole reminds us of the retirement.
Stephanie turns the chant into boo’s by saying Seattle always gets it wrong “the winner of Fastlane will not face Daniel Bryan, they will face HHH.” SHE IS A MASTER!! Get our minds off this Steph!

Dean Ambrose comes out

Deans music hits and girls scream. He gets many a cheers from Ambrose. Because D-Bry is legit on his way out, there is room in our hearts for new active wrestlers.
Ambrose calls out “that over grown ape Brock Lesnar”
Steph reminds Ambrose she tells him what to do and makes the introductions.

Roman Reigns enters

Steph is upset she is interrupted again.
Roman asks what is the hold up. Then he tries to sound cool.. emphasis on tries.
Steph points out how Roman steals Ambrose’s spotlight and then introduces.

Brock Lesnar

Brock has Paul Heyman in tow and I am reminded that Lesnar and Bryan never get to have a match…
I am excited to see if there will be an alignment shift to The Authority. Brock can’t do it because mercenaries. Ambrose seems most fitting given the foreshadowing.
Heyman tries to do his introduction which the crowd loves but Steph cuts him off cause heel heat.
Ambrose signs the contract first then Roman signs it and this is moving quickly.
Brock signs the contract and gives it to Steph. I hope they read that damn thing.
Steph takes off and we got the three contenders in the ring.
Heyman tells little brother ‘Dean’ to ask big brother the difference between “the beatdown of the Authority, to the authoritative beatdown of Brock Lesnar” “Suplex City chants”
How many hospitals are in Suplex City?
Ambrose walked around and went right at Lesnar. Brock threw Dean at Roman and threw a table at Roman too. Then an F5 on Dean and he is headed out.

HHH comes out

Heyman holds Brock back like he is some ropes around the ring. As Ambrose lays in the ring and Roman stands tall, HHH looks on to his future opponents as Steph claps. They smile while holding the contract.

And I’m Like… That was precise and to the point. Love it, it hits all the bulletpoints and gets out of the way. Please have every Raw open in these type of ways.

We see Daniels retirement tweet and then what WWE Superstars have to say about it….. UGH!!!!

We are greeted with clips of Bryan’s career. He started in the first season of NXT, they show the first main event of the first episode and it is Jericho vs. Bryan. Daniel tapped out but he made his mark on the Universe that night.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Owens walks out and makes fun of us for being sad over Bryan because heels are mean.
Ziggler comes out and Cole puts over how much Ziggler respects Bryan.
Ziggler also has brown hair…..
Owens attacks very quickly and hits a cannonball for two and we are already deep into this thing.
A quality “bring back Dog Ziggler” sign
Owens was in control until he taunted to the fans, then he got rolled up for two. Owens kicked out and after a back elbow Kevin is back in control.
I get pulled out of the match completely as tweets scroll across the screen thanking Daniel Bryan.. I think if I ever met him I would cry. I usually do not get starstruck but damn, he helped me through some tough times by just doing him.
We come back to the patented headlock from commercial break.
As the screen splits to show a replay, I see a Tapout ad. Is Tapout still only for douchebags? Are wrestling fans the douchebags now?
Ziggler screamed really loud but his joy did not last long because he got superkicked to the face.
Ziggler hit his suspended DDT on Owens and the match slows down. Owens crawls until his body is halfway out of the ring. JBL points out that “Owens gets to the spot where he can’t get pinned” to further cement that Owens is a smart fighter.
As Owens hung halfway out of the ring, Ziggler hit a fameasser and they were able to both get in the ring by 9.
“Fight Owens Fight” from the crowd as both men try and get to their feet.
Ziggler went for a splash in the corner but he screamed so loud that Owens knew he was coming and got out of the way.
Owens sets up a cannonball but misses, Ziggler takes the pin as Owens is rolled up, Dolph also uses the ropes for leverage to win. JBL is pissed.

And I’m Like… Owens is throwing a tantrum, he is aiming his hatred at Michael Cole. He destroy’s the announce table. I like how that match ended, I want more reasons to cheer Owens and that helps. I can’t think about the match for too long though because there are more Daniel Bryan clips.

We are in 2010 when Daniel Bryan beat the Miz for the United States Championship. The next month he would defend the belt in Minnesota against Dolph Ziggler in one of my favorite live matches ever. I remember screaming “YOUR THE BEST IN THE WORLD DANIEL!!!” Throughout the match and getting the strangest looks…

The Uso’s are in the back conspiring with The Dudleyz about putting The New Day through tables. Dudleyz make a joke about how everyone confuses them just like The Uso’s. When the Uso’s talk I feel like the stewardess .

We get a video package for Ryback. I am thinking many a casual viewers are watching right now and they need to be acquainted with the Superstars. I know my cousin watches wrestling weekly, Raw, Smackdown, NXT, TNA, and ROH. I told him that Bull Dempsey was released and he had no idea who I was talking about. I was like “Bull-fit, you know the workout guy who eats chips and is overweight and the crowd chants BULL BULL” He couldn’t think of who I was talking about. If there are people like that in the world, I know some people will need The Ryback video packages.

Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox

As these two wrestle, Cole brings up how sad Brie is about her husband losing his dream. I am happy he got to live his dream. It takes a lot to achieve ones dreams. The determination and motivation to chase it. The confidence in yourself to continue it through the struggle. The hard work when no one is watching. Daniel deserves every bit of praise.
“We Want Sasha” from the crowd. Me too Seattle. She is now my favorite active wrestler hands down. My last favorite was Daniel Bryan and before that was (redacted) and before that was Bret Hart. Not one of their careers ended happy. I hope Sasha can dodge a similar fate.
Seahawks are getting cheers during this match.
Charlotte is doing her best 1952 Freddie Blassie impression and pounding Alicia’s head into the mat while applying a leg scissors.
More Daniel Bryan tweets going across the screen and damn just bring him out and get this over with. This is like the break-up you’ve been dreading for two years and you are waiting for the significant other to get over to your house.
These girls are really putting a pounding on each other. I am not sure if they are having a good match because tweets and Daniel Bryan and sadness.
Charlotte puts the Figure-8 on and Alicia taps out lethargicly.

And I’m Like… Cole hypes Charlotte’s match with Brie Bella at Fastlane, let’s hope Brie doesn’t get Rey Mysterio’d when Eddie died. I don’t have much to say for that match, even though nothing happened anyways.

Miz TV

Ugh! Every week with this shit.
I mean I like that this is a different style platform to get characters over, it’s just… It’s like if you’ve seen every episode of The Simpsons and then the replays are on. You’ll watch for sure, you’ll be entertained mostly, but this song and dance has been done before and the excitement is gone.
Jericho comes out with loads of fireworks.
If Jericho mowed his own lawn, I bet he would do it in blue jeans and no shirt.
Jericho gets in his Rock and Roll voice and the crowd chants his catchphrases with him.
Jericho lowers the Jeritron down and turns MizTV into the Highlight Reel.

The Highlight Reel

Ugh! Every week with this shit.
I mean I like that they are switching up how the show is done and showing aesthetic differences. IT’S THE SAME THING THOUGH!!!
Jericho makes sure that the ring crew bring in a potted plant on top of a stool.
As I am watching this, I bet you can guess what I am thinking… “Daniel Bryan”
“You look stupid” by the crowd. Miz said “I couldn’t possibly look stupid, I am not Sheamus.”
Mis brings up the fact that his face is “the moneymaker”. Thank Goodness they are bringing that up. If he cares so much about his face, this should turn into Disfigured Cody Rhodes territory.
Miz asks if anyone thinks this is funny because Jericho got a mild “all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” chant. The crowd did a “Yes” chant.
Miz brought up that Jericho got beat by AJ Styles just like he did. They both reference clips on The Jeritron. Funny how Miz has clip control over that too.
This is WWE putting over AJ Styles with two great talkers because AJ be Southern fried. WWE hates southern accents.
“AJ Styles” chant from the crowd.
Do you think this night will have Daniel Bryan shaking AJ’s hand?
AJ’s organ hits and “yep yep yep” They don’t want none! Miz attacks Jericho from behind as Styles was making an entrance.
Styles and Jericho throw Miz out the ring and have a staredown. Guess who is shirts, guess who is skins.
The crowd had about three chants going at once during the staredown.
Jericho got pulled by Miz and beat up Miz one more time. Jericho dropped his “best in the world at what I do” line earlier in the night so I think he is gonna be a baddie up against the “redneck rookie”. JBL and his nicknames lol.

And I’m Like… Miz seems to always be in triple threat feuds. I am not mad at it though. AJ needs all the help he can get becoming a star at the moment. WWE tends to push guys for a little bit then do the sink or swim thing. Happened with any guy you can name really. Ziggler, Ryback, Ambrose, Reigns. Have them win and look good a bunch, beat some legends and former champions, get put over vocally by WWE staff.

Cole throws us to another career celebration for Daniel Bryan….

This is the video where Daniel wins the Money In The Bank. Wade Barrett was so close but Bryan was able to kick him off. We jump to 5 months later when Bryan beat the Big Show in his “sooner or later, everyone taps” I am wearing that shirt right now and am just realizing how prophetic the shirt is. We are at the point in time where it is later and in the fight with his career, Daniel tapped. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Medical issues is medical issues.

As Bray comes out we get video footage of The Wyatt’s beating up and picking on The Big Show.

Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback

Based on the previous video package Big Show will be getting involved.
Ryback missed his pyro cue, he is also wearing his new trunks. He won’t be able to do the strap thing anymore. The “Goldberg” chants are back too….. boo.
Ryback’s placement on the card and reaction reminds me of the late 80’s, when Big Bossman would come out. Hogan was the reason everyone was there, you also had Savage and Warrior. Bossman would get cheers but there was no genuine emotion behind those cheers.
Ryback was in control until he got distracted by the presence of The Wyatts. Bray beat up on Ryback and someone was screaming “show your face, take off the mask, show your face.”
We return, not with a headlock, but with Wyatt doing a crazy looking face and getting his running attack reversed.
Ryback is doing running high knee’s now. He does a criss cross with a flying cross body. HE IS THE MOST 80’s in 2016 guy. Well Ziggler prolly is but Ryback wrestles like he is in the 80’s. Not that there is anything wrong with that. They should be a team though.
Ryback went for the Meathook Clothesline but Bray caught him with Sister Abigail.
The Buzzards circle The Ryback and Ryback takes the fight to the monsters. The crowd is unresponsive. The Wyatts do their respective finishers to Ryback. Sister Abby again on the outside.

And I’m Like… I don’t know where this is headed, but Wyatt and family always beat up their opponents until they lose the match at the pay per view. The may also win, but nothing will change. Wyatt cuts a promo that only the camera can pick up on. He says things like “can you feel it, and the violence has only just begun.”

Another Daniel Bryan video, this time its Team Hell-No. Oh God remember that? THEY SHOULDA BEEN TEAM FRIENDSHIP. They were each THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! Goodness gracious that was fun stuff. With that and the New Day I feel the tag belts should be put on whoever the most entertaining people are. Not wrestling entertaining, but cross over and overall entertaining.

More Daniel Bryan stuff.

We see The New Day, cleaning a table and figuring calculations on where to put the Dudleyz through a table. I believe Xavier gave Renee an upside down calculator. I believe the numbers were 5318008. New Day is crazy, they also need a fourth tag team member for this table war.

Roman and Dean are talking in the back. Ambrose makes Roman look like the dumb jock that can’t properly put 2 and 2 together but can say cool stuff and beat people up. Roman looks confused a lot. Ambrose says no to the offer of help from Reigns. Roman was confused by this because of course. “you still mad from Smackdown.” because miscommunication is the best way to think friends don’t like each other.

Titus O’Neil vs. Adam Rose

Socail Outcasts are using weird Internet terms like “Viral” because they are net savvy…
Adam Rose calls himself “the radical mongoose”. Axel says it is a stupid name and Adam Rose said the internet gave him that name. Bo Dallas says “The internet gave me three best friends, and best friends, are best trends.” Heath Slater then said “trending now”.
I wonder how long the Outcasts will last. They are not getting much crowd support and prove it’s harder to be top quality on the mic on a weekly basis than it seems. New Day are a treasure.
If your in a match, is it worse for the crowd to chant “Randy Savage” or “Seahawks”? I mean one is a guy that has nothing to do with the match, but was so entertaining his name is more enjoyable than some matches. The other is a team of a completely different sport.
Titus is beating the poop out of Rose by the way. Backbreakers and such. The crowd was SO BEHIND Titus like he was the JYD or something. We get the Titus Bark also.
Titus got distracted by Heath Slater and Adam Rose gout a roll-up victory. JBL is freaking out over THE MONGOOSE!!!

And I’m Like… TV time is nice, good way to present your character. I think that was achieved here. Social Outcasts are dweeby nuts but can win a match. Titus is crazy strong but was outnumbered.

We get a video package of Bryan vs. Cena at Summerslam, which is my Screensaver. I remember this match distinctly. Everyone at my house was so excited and asking me why I wasn’t celebrating. We all remember that HHH never got out of the ring, and if you have watched wrestling for a few years, you knew something was up. Then Orton came out and cashed in his Money In The Bank. That moment kicked off the storyline of the B+ player that turned into the Yes! Movement. Those were the greatest few months I ever had as a true fan. I had watched wrestling weekly my whole life, well since I was four. That was the first time though, I openly appreciated wrestling and would talk about it to anyone who would listen. A few years later it became such an obsession that I decided I had to do something to contribute somehow. Daniel Bryan made my heart for wrestling grow like The Grinch’s.

Dean Ambrose comes out

Ambrose calls out Lesnar, says he got hit with an F2 because “it couldn’t be an F5, I heard those things are supposed to hurt.”
Ambrose keeps calling out Brock Lesnar. I like the fact that we are learning Ambrose is cool as hell with pain. That means when he calls out Lesnar it still makes Lesnar seem like a beast and Ambrose seem tough as nails.
Dean then has to resort to name calling because Brock is not coming out. He is probably waiting for the top of the hour. Ambrose says Brock has a limp dick in so many words. Also says Paul Heyman is a scrotum that holds Lesnar’s balls.

Brock enters the Ambrose Asylum

That is scary… Brock is laughing. He underestimates Ambrose to the N’th degree.
Brock’s Seattle Suplex City shirt is Seahawk colors… Smart.
Ambrose bumrushed Lesnar, it didn’t work though. So Lesnar decided to DESTROY Ambrose.
We need Roman out to help and that will piss Dean off cause he wants to prove his worth.
You know this show is peppered with Daniel Bryan all over, yet sometimes throughout the night I wasn’t thinking of that at all. That shows you how great wrestling can be as escapism. Even when the thing your watching makes you sad, there is more to the thing your watching to make you forget about it.
Ambrose took a beating and an F5, Lesnar hit a second. He started walking away, as Ambrose was crawling to his feet he called out Lesnar again.
Brock was about to do more damage but Roman cam out to save him. Roman looks like the most video game character that ever video gamed their way down a wrestling ramp.
As Roman was walking out Ambrose hit a Chyna/Undertaker style low blow. Guess we all know his achilles testicle now.
Ambrose acted all strong until the top of the ramp when he fell over due to pain.
That segment kind of reminded me when The Authority was beating on Dean in the back a while ago and Ambrose looked up at Orton after a vicious beating saying “is that all you got?”

And I’m Like… We got a week or two until Fastlane so we can continue with this ‘Roman saving little brother’ business until Ambrose f’n loses it and gets all lunatic fringy on his best friend.

Lucha Dragons vs. Del Rio and Rusev

Did I miss something happening to Sheamus?
Cole points out how he remembers that Kalisto beat Del Rio “like 3 times now” but hey let’s get excited for their match at Fastlane.
The anticipation for me is building for Daniel Bryan. I can’t seem to enjoy this match because we are in that 3 hour lull. Plus Del Rio is in the ring and I can never get that into his performances.
Kalisto picks up the pace with his signature high flying stuff. Sin Cara does a dive to the outside and I fear for his limbs.
Kalisto and Del Rio TAKE FOREVER to set up Del Rio’s finisher.

And I’m Like… League of Nations win thanks to that damned numbers game. Cole says “I guess that win puts some doubt in the mind of Kalisto.” Cole can’t even fake it hard enough to get us to care. How is that still an accepted finish?

Goldust is dressed up like Jimi Hendrix because Seattle. R-Truth sees him. What’s weird is there is guitar music in the background for a little bit. We know Goldust is crazy if he actually wants R-Truth to be his teammate. I almost expected Goldust to light his guitar on fire. R-Truth makes a joke about Purple Haze being on the guitar because LSD.

Sasha Banks!!! Comes out for commentary.

We see more Daniel Bryan stuff, like Occupy Raw. It was very cheesy but goodness sakes I was at home freaking out. Elated!! Just emotions running through me like I can’t describe. Now sitting here and watching it, it just brings tears to my eyes. Having a favorite wrestler is like getting a pet. “Here is this thing you will love for a few years before it get’s taken away from you.” In other words, here is some sunshine to make you more upset when it rains.

We get a video of Becky and Sasha beating up Tamina and Naomi last week.

Becky Lynch vs. Tamina

Sasha said her and Becky tagged in NXT. Sasha is just here to see if Becky knows more than arm drag. She probably knows 1,003 other moves.
Sasha says she doesn’t have any friends so of course she would accept Becky’s help.
Tamina comes out to this weird tribal chanting music.
Sasha calls herself the Beyonce of WWE. I’m sorry but her hair is TOOO PINK. I guess it is cause I am used to her old hairstyle. It just seems like more neon colored than it should.
Becky is fighting Tamina and doing a fine job until Naomi shows up on the apron. Sasha is pointing out how the numbers game affects Becky. Cole tells Sasha that she can help. Sasha wants to know if Becky is tough enough to do it on her own.
Sasha’s answers are all on point and Byron and Cole are becoming more quiet, I think they are nervous trying not to look dumb in front of Sasha.
Tamina is doing better in the ring than I have ever seen. She is showing so much charisma. Tamina yells at Sasha, Sasha walks over to Tamina. Naomi ROCKS Sasha and throws her into the stairs.
Becky comes to Sasha’s rescue, even though Sasha wasn’t gonna help Becky. Once Lynch disposed of Naomi she jumped back in the ring only to get superkicked by Tamina. Becky loses because she cares about people.

And I’m Like…. That match happened for story purposes. It was more character development too. Becky is a friend to the end like Tom and Jerry. Sasha is in it for herself and is using Becky so it can be a fair fight. I like these baby steps. Sasha hair too pink doe.

The New Day get a fourth member in Mark Henry, who dons the unicorn horn and makes Xavier give him Francesca II so he can play it a bit. Xavier makes sad faces and is scared to play the trombone cause Mark put his mouth on it. Big E is teaching Henry how to do booty and hip giggles. Xavier is grossed out having to play a already been used Francesca.

Big E looks tiny next to Mark Henry.

New Day and Mark Henry vs. Dudleyz and Uso’s

New Day bring out “The World’s Strongest Unicorn” Mark Henry who likes to dance with the New Day.
Cole drops the line “good thing you don’t have to put all the team member through a table.”
Them Jive Talkin’ Uso’s come out… I think the good guys are gonna win because Daniel Bryan is gonna speak sadness.
Lillian Garcia emphasizes “Slammy award winner” because Grammy.
The Uso’s and Dudleyz pick on Mark Henry.
The good guys stand tall in the ring as the crowd chants “tables”
We get your typical Dudley spots. The Whassup, and the table stuff. Then The Uso’s do their superkick thing to the New Day.
The Dudley’s get in the ring and the crowd goes “3D” but Big E rolled to the outside. Then Big E comes back in and we get a 3D through the table.
Now an Uso is injured again…

And I’m Like…. An Uso is injured for real? I don’t know because The Dudleyz turned heel and are starting a feud with Uso’s. Unless an Uso is injured… Then this is the end of the feud. I am glad they are feuding with each other since I am bored to tears by both teams. Might as well mix the teams together. We get a powerbomb through a table Mae Young style.

And it is now about time for… what we don’t want to hear. You know the denial in me is like someone will come out and challenge him or something.

You guys… this video package.. Daniel Bryan put so many smiles on so many faces. We will be crying for you man, an these are not crocodile tears.

As the commercials play and I await Daniel’s entrance, I am texting my 15 year old cousin Nick. This was one of his first wrestlers he liked. We are bonding over our appreciation of a man that is loved by millions and lives his passion. He was so small but had so much determination it didn’t matter.

Daniel Bryan’s Retirement….(fuck)

Here he comes… there goes my stomach. Anxiety..
He is looking dapper as hell though.
See the tears in his eyes? I do.. Plain clothes Daniel Bryan is the saddest.
The crowd yes’ing in unison is a visual I am not ready to not see anymore.
We are all crying with you Daniel…
This is a moment. You don’t want it to end, you don’t want it to continue. Daniel just don’t say it and always give us the chance to believe.
He is trying to get his composure but damn it won’t happen.
“Daniel Bryan” fills the arena. I am so fucking MOVED!! This is wrestling you guys. Sure it is men in tights fake fighting BUT THIS IS REAL. This emotion this appreciation. We are all sharing it and it sucks and is fucking awesome at the same time. This is what unites us. Characters we all can get behind.
This man doesn’t need to say a word and WE will chant all night…
He tells us he literally gets to feel the chants. Oh God some lady in New Day shirt is crying like lady during Wrestlemania VII during Warrior/Savage. She got me…
I imagine us being Daniels children and he is being a parent that is telling us something we don’t want to hear, but we need to.
It is gonna be so hard to have conversations like this with my daughter. Daniel Bryan legit teaches me so many lessons. He doesn’t even try to and he does. This is a wonderful human being you guys.
This man makes it so…. so… so easy to love and hate life.
The concussion speech starts and the wind is swept out of the crowd. He talks about how many concussions he has had. He says “they tell you you can’t wrestle” anymore.
He is talking about how he fought that. He said all the doctor reports said he is fine. He tells us he was training all the time so he could be ready at any time.
I am fucking shaking… UGH!!
“I have loved this in a way that I have never loved anything else” ME TOO!! Ugh tears on the keyboard….
Bryan I know you love wrestling and you did it for yourself, but thank you for every sacrifice.. Thank you for making everything better for the little while you did.
He said he has a family to think about, he needs to care about his head. The crowd chants yes to the prospect of kids. After the “Yes” chants he says “that’s what Brie says all the time”
Then he announced his retirement officially. He also says BUT!!
He is talking about his complex emotions. DABDA. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
He talks about how he gets to do what he gets to love for 16 years….
He is gonna tell us what he loves. He loves “the Seahawks” which elicits a huge chant. He loves right before his entrance music hits and everyone cheers. He loves suicide diving and feeling like Superman while he is in the air. He loves wrestling, in front of people at gas stations and in front of 70,000 people.
He talks about all the people he got to meet along the way. Kane and William Regal. He is coping me through this very well. He said he got to meet children stronger than anyone should possibly be. He brings up Connor which brought up a Connor chant. Daniel says he is grateful. Wrestling doesn’t owe us anything. He says “we do this because we love to do this”.
His voice cracks and he breaks down on the fact that we all got behind him in a way that made him feel he was more than himself. I don’t know what to say, he is doing fantastic. He is bringing my emotions up and down and up and down.
He brings up hijacking Raw. He tells the story and you can see a spark in his eye. You can tell he will tell this story forever, this is one of his favorites. The championship coronation.
He brings up the fact that his dad got to hear and see that. That is a fucking proud son talking right now.
He is grateful that wrestling shaped his life and brought special moments in his life. He references his family at ringside..
He keeps talking and I keep saying “quit being so fucking amazing” He makes it so hard NOT to be a good person.
Tomorrow morning is A.B. After Bryan. He wants to live it up.
He asks us a to do a “Yes!” chant. It is thunderous. Brie comes out and Raw goes off the air as he tells his wife he loves her and hugs his family.
I shoot over to the live feed and The roster is out there clapping for him. He is shaking the fans hands.
I wanted to YES! at the end of the segment but I legit was a wreck. My wife came out and saw tears streaming down my face and snot running down my nose like that news reporter lady.

And I’m Like… I am soaking this moment in as long as I can. Please believe me when I tell you this does not happen too often. Daniel Bryan is a special person, a special talent, a special human being. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives, to have gone through the moments he was a part of, and to be connected to a performer in a way that I don’t know will ever be duplicated. Vince hugged him and said something. Bryan walked to the back, Vince fake threw punches at Titus O’Neil..

I don’t know what else to say, I am wiped out you guys. I gotta get up in 3 hours to go to the restaurant, but I don’t want to go to bed. I know we already live in a world where Daniel Bryan is retired, but I don’t want to wake up to it. I have had many losses in life. I used wrestling to grieve through those losses and struggles. That’s why times like these are the hardest for me. I can’t go to the thing that makes me happy because at this moment it is also what makes me sad. Nothin ever lasts though, there will be new stars, new moments, new connections. It will never be like this though. To all of you who took part in Daniel Bryan’s 16 year journey, thanks for riding with on that journey. To all of you who took part in any journey of your favorite wrestlers, thank you for riding with. Wrestling is a community unlike any other. We are a team, all of us.