WWE News: Daniel Bryan had a ‘horrible mental breakdown’ before coming to terms with his retirement
On February 8th, 2016, Daniel Bryan shocked the world when he gave his retirement speech, thus ending an otherwise fairytale career that saw him main event Wrestlemania 30, thanks to the help of the WWE Universe demanding it.
However, it would be nicer to remember that night as a singular moment, because it was not long after that Bryan had to vacate the title due to a neck injury. Then, the next year, Bryan made a triumphant return, winning the Intercontinental Championship, but even that was cut short by a concussion-related injury. Bryan missed the remaining 2015, and during the period he had mentioned that he had been cleared by not one, but two doctors to compete. However, it was WWE’s official doctor who refused to clear him. This turned out to be the correct decision as testing done with advanced facilities showed that the leader of the Yes! movement would no longer be safe competing in the ring, and would thus have to retire.
It was, and still is a very sad moment given just how popular Daniel Bryan was and is, and how great a wrestler he was. He announced shortly thereafter that he was not interested in taking up non-wrestling roles for WWE as he didn’t want to be near his first love, professional wrestling.
Daniel Bryan did return to WWE television recently, first as a commentator with Mauro Ranallo for the Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Network. Then, he returned as the General Manager for Smackdown Live. In both roles, Bryan has gotten critical acclaim.
Bryan spoke with The Recorder in promotion for Summerslam. He said:
“I had to go out to Florida (to shoot Total Divas) and we’re in John Cena’s house for four weeks or whatever and there’s cameras just on you all the time,” Bryan said, adding that it was there that the toll that the stress and uncertainty around his livelihood came boiling to the surface.
“I just had this horrible mental breakdown,” he said. A lifelong outdoorsman and environmentalist, Bryan did what came most natural to him, he found nature to help him cope with his extreme sadness.
“That’s what I needed. I needed to get away from all of that and just get out to be by some trees,” Bryan said, emotion bubbling to the surface. “It’s hard for me. I don’t do really well in cities, which is crazy given that we’re flying in and out of these major cities every week. Brie (Bella, his wife) describes it as anxiety. And she would be accurate. I get this anxiety in cities and places like that. When you grow up in kind of a small town and when you grow up around a lot of green and trees and nature and that sort of thing, sometimes I think it’s a little mentally disconcerting to be around this concrete.”
Even now, Bryan admits that the hardest part of his current role is watching all the action without being in it himself. However, he had to put family first. Nonetheless, it can be agreed that it is great to see Bryan back on WWE Television