In 2003, I was a Senior at Pitt and working during the school year as a Resident Assistant – which is part scout leader, babysitter, older sibling and (sorta) adult in the room. I decided to take a few of my residents along with some of my best friends to see some wrestling in West Mifflin, Pa – and this time not involving the insanity of…well that’s a story for another time.
Anyways, I took my friends and some of my residents to West Mifflin to see Ring of Honor, at that point a burgeoning indy that was challenging the locals to come out and maybe, just maybe they could come back.
It was that night I became familiar with Bryan Danielson, aka American Dragon aka Daniel Bryan. He was up against Samoa Joe, at the time someone I’d only heard about as well – and let me tell you, seeing Samoa Joe vs Daniel Bryan was probably one of the craziest matches I’ve seen live. Wrestling a mix between high flying, technical wrestling, brutal Japanese strong style and just…viciousness, Bryan and Joe beat the bejeezus out of each other and the fans, in a stunned silence similar to the tapes I saw of matches in Japan, ate it up. We were in awe – and we applauded and stomped our way through the match in appreciation.
I liked Danielson because I had read he was trained by Shawn Michaels, an old favorite wrestler of mine who had his career stopped by a back injury years before. So to me, Bryan, Spanky and that whole crew were extensions of Shawn, wrestling when he could not, though later he did, which is another story entirely….
Fast forward 7 years and several times seeing him on tape wrestling around the world and lo and behold Daniel is wrestling on NXT as the Miz’s protege. I was heated – not that Daniel was on WWE tv, but that he was being put as the “rookie” to the Miz, a guy whose schtick I loved, but was relatively a WWE creation that was…meh. And right when I thought he was going to have that chance, he went a *bit* too far with a choke out during a brawl and off he popped back to the indies.
Eventually, Daniel returned – and kicked off one of the craziest sequences I’ve seen in wrestling. A guy who wasn’t seen as much by management, worked his way to the main event of WrestleMania 30 and beat Triple H to get the right to fight in a triple threat for the WWE World Heavyweight Title against Batista and Randy Orton.
He was able to get to those heights because no matter what stupid gimmick he had – virgin that Bellas were fighting over, sub 10 second heavyweight title loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania 29, being teamed with Kane in “Team Hell No”, Wyatt Family stooge/victim, “B+ player” by Steph and Trips – the fans were undying in their support. Whether it was “Occupy RAW” where the fans GOT IN THE RING (kayfabe bro) and refused to let the show continue without Daniel getting his shot, or constantly chanting “Yes!” not only in WWE arenas, but in NFL arenas, and getting the chant on SportsCenter the Yes Movement carried a “5’8, 180 pound guy from Aberdeen” as he said last night to becoming one of the biggest WWE stars ever.
The guy I saw back in 2003, beat some of the biggest names in the WWE to get the biggest title in wrestling! Insanity!
But then tragedy struck – in the form of his dad’s passing and concussions, which have ultimately claimed his career. I’m writing today, not as a fan that wants him to get out of his WWE contract and finagle last (first) matches with some of his favorite opponents, but to thank him for using himself as a human pinata for our benefit.
I never liked the B+ player stuff because it hit too close to home for how 1. Triple H should have been viewed, NXT or not; 2. It didn’t fit you, Daniel. But now, I’m comforted in knowing like an A+ player like HBK did with you, your seal of approval has allowed guys like Rollins, Zayn, Owens, Hideo, Shinsuke, etc. to get a shot in a company that has had a cookie cutter frame for all of their guys since 85 or so.
With all of the issues of CTE in the NFL, you have to consider the same precautions, if not moreso for Pro Wrestlers. They take the hits, they take the pain and do so in an environment where if you are hurt you might lose your spot. Dave Meltzer’s been on point with his thought that the WWE needs to be ahead of the curve with the concussion research and I think in this case they have been. In the future, while it may hurt the bottom line, the same newer testing should be used as a base-level assessment for all incoming talent to ensure that they are being put in the best position to protect not only their bodies, but the brand.
I’d love for this to be a big swerve and Daniel’s okay – but I doubt it is. And I don’t want to hear, like Benoit and his horrors outside of the ring or Perro Aguayo Jr or Mitsuhara Misawa that Daniel dies in a ring down the road just to keep wrestling. If you’re looking for a wrestler that hits you in the same feels – look at up and comers like Zack Sabre Jr, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Tim Thatcher, or some of the folks killing it in NXT and in (real) indies world-wide. There’s more to life – there’s more to do in your life – than to wrestle. So while I’m sad I won’t see one of my favorite wrestlers wrestle any more, I take solace in the fact that he’s thinking of himself and his family first.
To that, I’d glady shout,”Yes! Yes! Yes!”
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