WWE might be seeing an influx of talented competitors to the main roster, but the majority of wrestling fans still miss Daniel Bryan inside the ring. He might be an authority figure on SmackDown, but his portrayal of the Ultimate Underdog was the most over act in the WWE in a long time.
Bryan’s career would wind down after his Intercontinental title victory at Wrestlemania 31 and his final WWE match would be alongside John Cena in a tag tam bout. This edition of ‘This day..’ takes a look at Daniel Bryan’s retirement from in-ring action and the reasons for the same.
Also on this edition, a WCW legend gets taken to wrestling school and the first ever Triple threat Wrestlemania main event takes shape.
#1 William Regal vs Goldberg – 9th Feb 1998
If the rampant rumours about Raw are to be believed, Kevin Owens is scheduled to drop his Universal title to Bill Goldberg at Fastlane. Not only would it undermine the great work Owens has done over the past months as Champion, but it would also justify the criticism concerning the WWE not truly embracing their young talent save Roman Reigns.
Goldberg did have a solid run in the company for a year in 2003-04 but has worked less than 10 minutes in the ring on his return. It is a guarantee that his match with Owens at Fastlane will not be a wrestling classic. In fact, Goldberg was not known for the quality of his matches even when he was in his prime.
Never was it more apparent than on an episode of WCW Nitro on February 9th, 1998, when Goldberg faced William Regal. Based on which source you believe, Goldberg was supposed to win the match by squashing Regal. He was supposed to win after a technical bout.
Anyways, Regal outwrestled the much bigger Goldberg and it was embarrassing to see WCW’s new poster boy getting owned in the ring. The former football player was no match for Regal’s technical prowess and the Blackpool native wrestled circles around Goldberg.
Goldberg would somehow win the horrible match and the episode would only be a minor blip to his aura, but Regal did remind the fans about the technical aspects of wrestling that night.
Regal was fired immediately after the match, though.
#2 Chris Benoit vs Ric Flair – 9th Feb 2004
Chris Benoit would win the 2004 Royal Rumble and earn an opportunity at the World’s title. The No. 1 contender was expected to challenge his Champion on SmackDown – the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, but Benoit decided to jump ship to Raw and challenge the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H.
This put Benoit right in the middle of the ongoing feud between Triple H and Shawn Michaels and also at loggerheads with Triple H’s Evolution stablemate Ric Flair. On 9th February 2004, the new Raw Superstar Benoit would face Flair just before he was expected to sign his World title contract with the Game.
Flair and Benoit would have a classic match, which ended with the Nature Boy tapping out to Benoit’s signature Crippler Cross face, but the aftermath of the match would be even more interesting.
Shawn Michaels would interrupt Benoit’s contract signing and deliver a Sweet Chin Music to the Canadian. Michaels would sign the contract himself, planting the seeds for the first ever Triple threat World title match at Wrestlemania against Benoit and Triple H.
#3 Daniel Bryan explains his retirement on ESPN – 9th Feb 2016
Daniel Bryan would produce yet another stellar performance at Wrestlemania 31 – winning the Intercontinental title after an entertaining ladder match in the opener. But the ensuing weeks would not be too good for Bryan. Just as the WWE Universe was salivating at the possibility of a fresh feud between Bryan and Dolph Ziggler for the IC title, tragedy struck.
Bryan was deemed ‘medically unfit to compete’ and had to relinquish his title. Further scans determined that Bryan had concussion-related health issues and that it would be a risk for him to wrestle again. Despite suggesting that he had been cleared by external doctors, Bryan announced his retirement from the ring via Twitter on February 8th.
The following day on ESPN, Bryan gave a full account of his injuries. He admitted that he had suffered 10 documented concussions and that it was a possibility that several more might have been misdiagnosed. A recent EEG reflex test also revealed slowing reflexes.
He also said that he had been suffering from post-concussion seizures and doctors attributed it to a chronic lesion in his brain’s temporoparietal region. All of this contributed to his decision to step away from the ring.
Bryan would settle down with his wife Brie Bella with the latter semi-retiring from in-ring action at Wrestlemania 32. The couple is expected to have a girl child in April this year.
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