It was expected, but nothing could prepare us for the moment when Daniel Bryan officially announced his retirement from wrestling. Citing his well-documented struggles with concussions and neck injuries as the cause, Bryan rallied his home crowd one last time with the ‘Yes’ chants before hanging up his boots.
Bryan’s future was in doubt from May last year, when a serious concussion forced him out of the ring. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion was determined to return to wrestle in the WWE and got the green light from a number of specialists, except WWE’s official doctor who refused to clear him, reportedly under duress from Vince McMahon.
Now we know why. While it is not uncommon for wrestlers to have a thorn in the flesh but still brave through it and continue to wrestle, the thorn is much bigger, sharper and poisonous in Bryan’s case.
In an interview with former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman on his ESPN SportCenter show ‘Off The Top Rope’, Bryan revealed that at least 10 concussions had been recorded through his 16-year wrestling career, though the number of undocumented ones is unknown.
Bryan had an even more alarming confession to make. He said that he had suffered post-concussion seizures that he kept secret for a long time, presumably to continue performing and that recent tests evinced the presence of swelling and a lesion on a portion of the brain that causes seizures. He also stressed the importance of being able to predetermine concussions and how he’s discussed with a neurologist the possibility of doing concussion awareness work.
