Daniel Bryan spoke with The Daily World following an appearance at the Central Elementary School in Hoquiam, WA about his retirement from pro wrestling.
“It has been good, but it is weird because my life had been so busy before retirement,” Bryan said. “Now, you have all of this extra space and time. Because I was forced into retirement and not wanting to retire, I have to keep my mind away from wrestling. It is borderline painful. OK, so how do you fill your mind when you have filled it with this one thing for so long? I’ve experimented with gardening. I love it, but you don’t love it like that.”
When asked if he has accepted his retirement after suffering multiple concussions during his career, “A part of my mind hasn’t accepted it,” he added. “I wake up sometimes with dreams of wrestling. This literally happened to me (the night before the speech). I was in Las Vegas, and I flew in. I woke up this morning from a dream where I was going to wrestle, and I’m not. I have to remind myself at times.”
Bryan revealed that Vince McMahon called him and told him that he should retire. McMahon wanted him to give a retirement speech on Monday Night RAW, which Bryan had to think about and ultimately decided to do so after talking to his family.
“On a Saturday, Vince (McMahon, the CEO of WWE) calls up and tells me he wants me to retire in Seattle on Monday,” Bryan said, adding a shocked exhale for effect. “I told him I didn’t know if I was ready. Then, I went to the gym, and I talked to my wife (Bree) and we realized the WWE is never going to allow me to wrestle again, even if I get a million doctors to clear me. So, if I was going to do it, my Mom would get to see it, as well as my family and friends.”
You can read the entire interview here.
