Daniel Bryan’s Emotional Retirement Speech Is What Makes Wrestling Great

Grateful.

Here it is. The thing we never wanted to see.

When news broke early Monday morning about Daniel Bryan appearing on Raw, many of us hoped it would be a return to in-ring action. Bryan had trimmed his beard and cut his hair, so we thought it could go either way. That cautious optimism turned to sadness when Bryan announced his retirement, and the wrestling world made their voices heard: losing Bryan is a massive loss for both the company and the sport, and the work he’s put in and moments he’s created will never be forgotten.

Here are two big ones:

Bryan explained his haircut — he didn’t want to trim his beard, but he cut his hair for charity and thought he looked silly with short hair and a long beard — and began his goodbyes. He talked about getting concussions, the lengths he’s gone to get back into the ring, and loving pro wrestling more than he’s ever loved anything else. There’s a moment where he keeps his eyes closed so he can feel the reaction from the crowd.

Here’s a list of things we love: Daniel Bryan.

Here is the part that aired on the WWE Network.

https://youtu.be/y-z0NuXSO-Y?t=41m13s

Now Watch: Relive All Of Daniel Bryan’s Greatest Moments