On Monday Night Raw last night, Daniel Bryan finally made an appearance to relinquish his hold on the WWE Intercontinental championship, won by him at Wrestlemania 31.
Clad in blue flannel with eyes shrinkwrapped in tears, this is of course a familiar scene. In 2014, Daniel Bryan had to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight championship after winning it at Wrestlemania 30.
For this to happen for two straight years (and around the same time of the year) is disheartening but also the biggest red alarm ringing for the career of Daniel Bryan. The subject was already discussed by Adam Contant here on if this was Daniel Bryan’s breaking point and what else he could do in his career.
It should be noted he’s not the first wrestler to have to vacate the Intercontinental championship and WWF World championship in a short period of time. One of the men who helped train Bryan was Shawn Michaels. In October of 1995, Michaels got in a fight outside of a bar. It’s always been exaggerated as to how many were in the fight, from four sailors to the brawl allegedly resembling the pirate fight in the original Final Fantasy. Either way, Michaels vacated the WWF Intercontinental title with tears in his eyes. Michaels soon returned and set his sights instead on the WWF World championship, winning it at Wrestlemania XII before losing it to Sycho Sid at the 1996 Survivor Series. Michaels soon regained the title, only to drop it on a “Thursday Raw Thursday” in early February 1997 claiming he had to retire due to a knee injury. He stated he had to, “find his smile again” as he had lost it somewhere down the line. It was believed this was all to merely avoid having to drop the title to Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Michaels retirement lasted less time than a Terry Funk retirement and was back to wrestling, beating Hart for the WWF World Title in the controversial Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997.
Talking about Michaels is also important because while the knee injury retirement was shortlived and possibly bogus, Michaels did seem to end his career after Wrestlemania XIV. At 33 years old, Michaels was gone from in-ring competition due to a back injury suffered back at the Royal Rumble in 1998. It was in his time away from the ring he opened up the “Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy” in 1999. While the students were mostly trained by co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez, Michaels still helped participate at times in the development of the students. One of those students? Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan is currently 33 years old.
Aside from one fluff match in Texas, Michaels stayed away from in-ring competition from March of 1998 until August of 2002. His return to the ring ended up being the best thing for his career. While Michaels was arguably a Hall of Famer in his first run, his second run eclipsed it with better wrestling feuds, better wrestling opponents and less prima donna antics. The time away meant the end of “The Heartbreak Kid” and the formation of “Mr. Wrestlemania”, cementing his name as one of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history.
Daniel Bryan is 33 years old (34 later this month) and just found himself having to relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight championship and WWE Intercontinental championship in less than a year. He clearly returned too early, as his singles matches have saw him moving slower and getting up hesitant from big bumps, since Bryan refuses to change up his style. Even at Wrestlemania 31 in the Intercontinental ladder match, it felt like the entire match was designed to ensure Bryan didn’t have to do any big bumps, which he decided to get around by throwing headbutts at Dolph Ziggler. Even when the match was designed around Bryan’s health and limitations, he couldn’t help himself and tossed head smashing butts to his opponents. He tried to be a “fighting champion” following Wrestlemania and after taking a big suplex from Luke Harper, it was clear we were getting a repeat of the year before. Bryan wasn’t going to last long.
In his time away from the ring, HBK played commissioner and opened up a wrestling school. Daniel Bryan could also work an authority figure but doesn’t have to leave and open a school. He can become the new head trainer at NXT and the WWE Performance Centre. His time away from the road but staying in a teacher role would allow him to know when he’s 100% healed and ready to come back to the ring.
Shawn Michaels took four years off and returned to have one of the best “second wind” careers in wrestling history. There’s nothing saying Daniel Bryan couldn’t do the same. The WWE Universe loves him for more than his intensity in the ring. They love him for the character he is. It’s time for Daniel Bryan to look at his long-term longevity instead of his short-term desires. It’s time to follow in the footsteps of one of his trainers and say goodbye not to the WWE, but to the WWE ring. Not forever, just right now.
