WWE’s 10 Worst Moments of 2016
WWE.com
1. Daniel Bryan’s Retirement
Earlier I mentioned WWE has few transcendent stars on the roster. When 2014 began, they had three fulltime top regular stars: John Cena, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan. By the dawn of 2015, they were down to two. Then, on February 8th, 2016, arguably their biggest star announced his retirement from active professional wrestling.
Bryan had been dealing with serious injuries and concussion-related issues for months, if not longer. Though he was, and still is, immensely popular, he had spent a long time away from the ring due to his health issues. Then he announced that he could no longer wrestle and had to give up the craft he loved so much.
This was a devastating day for both WWE and its fans. Bryan was a genuinely likable wrestling character and person. He was quite possibly the best technical wrestler on the entire planet for almost an entire decade. He was so popular he forced WWE to place him in the main event of WrestleMania XXX. His ‘Yes’ chants have crossed into other areas of pop culture, being used by other athletes and in arenas around the world.
He had achieved what few wrestlers could ever dream of, and on February 8th, that rollercoaster ride ended.
Had Bryan been in good health, he would’ve kept wrestling for many years. We could’ve had several insane dream matches, most notably Bryan vs. Nakamura. He could’ve fit into any role and flourished. Instead, he finds himself acting as an on-screen authority figure on SmackDown alongside a McMahon.
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While it does allow him to stay close to the wrestling business, you can tell that he misses wrestling as much as we miss him.