SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Hey, I get it.
Shinsuke Nakumura is debuting at the WrestleMania weekend NXT Takeover show. A.J. Styles is already on Raw. Hideo Itami will be back from injury soon enough. Kevin Owens is a Raw regular, too. Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, and even Samoa Joe will be there soon enough. Hell, Dean Ambrose, Neville…
Can you imagine the match ups, the rub that all this this talent, so much like their role model in their WWE newness, their superlative ability, and their independent experience would get?
And then there’s this year’s WrestleMania. What is it missing, well, besides a main event or two? A WrestleMania moment, that’s what. We haven’t had one of those since, well, you know…
So, I get the disappointment that Daniel Bryan, the best, most influential professional of his generation, stepped up Monday night and retired from the sport he loved. Concussions? He seems fine to me. Aren’t there doctors who say it’s okay for him to get back in the ring?
If WWE doctors (and who trusts them?) won’t let Bryan back in the ring, then what’s stopping him from leaving and going to any of the several good-working independent promotions, jump-starting their businesses while metaphorically tearing their houses down? What’s stopping him is the nature of his WWE contract, that they can freeze the time left from the moment he was injured.
Still, Nakamura and A.J. Styles for Daniel Bryan? Seems fair, or at least more fair…
So, like I said, I get it. There’s a lot of sports and entertainment left on the table if Daniel Bryan retires. This is an era where NXT wrestling is upstaging the boys on the main stage, and Daniel Bryan is the first, and greatest, of the NXT wrestlers. It’s a shame he won’t be in the ring to enjoy NXT’s continued rise.
The truth is, there are higher stakes involved here than even ones involving great entertainment for fans and money for rich promoters.
Before there was Daniel Bryan, there was…
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As a medical professional based on what Bryan said about a test from less then two weeks ago it sounds like he had a PET scan done which is what they’ve been using now to show indications of CTE which are missed and unable to show on MRIs or CT scans. PET scans have been able to show suspect areas that match results of those who have confirmed cases of CTE post mortem. If true it explains why he walked away. He may look fine and act fine but inside his head itself may not be soo fine. 16 yrs and multiple concussions later has shown to be detrimental to many NFL players among others. It’s not always easy to walk away from what you love but if it means being able to have a life after wrestling of some meaning it’s totally understandable.