BY RYAN FRYE
Professional wrestling is a physical form of art. It is the very way wrestlers express themselves, just like a musician through song or a writer through words. But what happens when you take away the canvas from an artist and no longer allow them to express themselves? Sounds cruel, doesn't it?
A monster is caged within you, and you can't unleash it. You can't express how you feel, or do what you love, any longer.
Professional wrestling is a physical form of art. It is the very way wrestlers express themselves, just like a musician through song or a writer through words. But what happens when you take away the canvas from an artist and no longer allow them to express themselves? Sounds cruel, doesn't it?
A monster is caged within you, and you can't unleash it. You can't express how you feel, or do what you love, any longer.
For most, this isn't something that they are ever faced with. Musicians can sing their entire lives. A writer can write until their heart is content. This isn't true for all, though.
In professional wrestling, the end result may be predetermined, but the toll wrestling takes on the human anatomy is real. Thus, we've seen wrestlers have to call it quits long before they were ready because their body wouldn't hold up. Or perhaps they don't call it quits, hang on far too long, and live (or worse, don't) to suffer the consequences later in life. Hell, there was a movie about that.
One of the most popular wrestlers of this generation is the latest victim of the former, and his name is Daniel Bryan.
Bryan has been wrestling his entire adult life. From the moment he graduated high school, he knew he wanted to wrestle for a living. His small stature be damned.
He began with Shawn Michaels' wrestling school in San Antonio, Texas, learning the craft he grew up loving. Through the connection with Michaels, Bryan was quickly signed by the WWE, just two years after he begun training.
He would be assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), and work with William Regal to improve his skill. After 18 months in the developmental territory, though, he would be released when WWE severed its ties to MCW. For some, that would be it. But not for Bryan. It just increased the fire that was inside him to become one of the best in the world, and that's precisely what he did.
He would tour Japan for three years with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), under the moniker of American Dragon, and capture IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship gold with Curry Man.
Meanwhile, he had become a marquee player in the upstart company of Ring of Honor, headlining their first show. As the company's legend grew, so did his.
They were the proverbial match made in heaven; Ring of Honor prides themselves on having the best wrestling on the planet, and the man then known as Bryan Danielson inched towards becoming the best technical wrestler on the planet with each passing match. His opponents, too, now read as a laundry list of the most accomplished wrestlers in the business today.
But after seven years in Ring of Honor, Bryan had accomplished everything he could there. He needed a new obstacle to overcome, and that obstacle was the WWE.
Once he made his debut on the original version of NXT, it seemed like the fans' worst nightmares about his WWE career were coming true.
He was immediately on a losing streak and ridiculed for being a nerd, a vegan, and was even suggested to have still been a virgin. And just months into his second WWE stint, he was released after choking Justin Roberts with his own tie during The Nexus' debut.
Bryan would get a third chance with the WWE after a few months back on the independent scene, and this wasn't a chance he would let slip through his fingers.
In the next three years, he would become United States Champion, Mr. Money In the Bank, World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion.
His new heel persona once becoming world champion unlocked a personality and charisma that many hadn't seen from him previously, and it was losing that title that made his popularity with the fans surge. And from there, he was undeniable.
His pops grew by the show. The "YES!" chant, intended to be an obnoxious heel tendency, caught on like wildfire. His merchandise was flying off the shelves. All the critics he once had, he had proven wrong. But the WWE wouldn't give him the WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign the fans craved so very much. Instead, the fans forced their hand. They hijacked every show until the WWE gave in to their undying wish.
In professional wrestling, the end result may be predetermined, but the toll wrestling takes on the human anatomy is real. Thus, we've seen wrestlers have to call it quits long before they were ready because their body wouldn't hold up. Or perhaps they don't call it quits, hang on far too long, and live (or worse, don't) to suffer the consequences later in life. Hell, there was a movie about that.
One of the most popular wrestlers of this generation is the latest victim of the former, and his name is Daniel Bryan.
Bryan has been wrestling his entire adult life. From the moment he graduated high school, he knew he wanted to wrestle for a living. His small stature be damned.
He began with Shawn Michaels' wrestling school in San Antonio, Texas, learning the craft he grew up loving. Through the connection with Michaels, Bryan was quickly signed by the WWE, just two years after he begun training.
He would be assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), and work with William Regal to improve his skill. After 18 months in the developmental territory, though, he would be released when WWE severed its ties to MCW. For some, that would be it. But not for Bryan. It just increased the fire that was inside him to become one of the best in the world, and that's precisely what he did.
He would tour Japan for three years with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), under the moniker of American Dragon, and capture IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship gold with Curry Man.
Meanwhile, he had become a marquee player in the upstart company of Ring of Honor, headlining their first show. As the company's legend grew, so did his.
They were the proverbial match made in heaven; Ring of Honor prides themselves on having the best wrestling on the planet, and the man then known as Bryan Danielson inched towards becoming the best technical wrestler on the planet with each passing match. His opponents, too, now read as a laundry list of the most accomplished wrestlers in the business today.
But after seven years in Ring of Honor, Bryan had accomplished everything he could there. He needed a new obstacle to overcome, and that obstacle was the WWE.
Once he made his debut on the original version of NXT, it seemed like the fans' worst nightmares about his WWE career were coming true.
He was immediately on a losing streak and ridiculed for being a nerd, a vegan, and was even suggested to have still been a virgin. And just months into his second WWE stint, he was released after choking Justin Roberts with his own tie during The Nexus' debut.
Bryan would get a third chance with the WWE after a few months back on the independent scene, and this wasn't a chance he would let slip through his fingers.
In the next three years, he would become United States Champion, Mr. Money In the Bank, World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion.
His new heel persona once becoming world champion unlocked a personality and charisma that many hadn't seen from him previously, and it was losing that title that made his popularity with the fans surge. And from there, he was undeniable.
His pops grew by the show. The "YES!" chant, intended to be an obnoxious heel tendency, caught on like wildfire. His merchandise was flying off the shelves. All the critics he once had, he had proven wrong. But the WWE wouldn't give him the WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign the fans craved so very much. Instead, the fans forced their hand. They hijacked every show until the WWE gave in to their undying wish.
At WrestleMania 30, after wrestling two matches, Daniel Bryan became the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He chanted "YES!" in unison with over 75,000 people to end the show. And just days later, Bryan would get married.
WHEN IT COMES CRASHING DOWN, IT HURTS INSIDE
In the next several weeks, Daniel Bryan would have to endure the abrupt loss of his father, along with his biggest fan Connor Michalek, an eight year old with cancer. And just over a month into his title reign, he announced that he had lost all strength in his right arm, and would eventually vacate his championship.
He would be sidelined until late December, where he returned to announce his entry in the Royal Rumble. His elimination caused Roman Reigns' victory to be smothered with boos from the Philadelphia faithful, which even The Rock couldn't reverse.
Following a fantastic Number One Contendership match at Fast Lane with Roman Reigns, caused by the brutal fan reaction, Bryan would be placed in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31. He would win the title, only to have to vacate that too due to injury.
Since this point, Bryan hasn't been medically cleared to wrestle by the WWE, and he might never be.
He had worked fourteen years to scratch and claw to the top of his profession—overcome everything from being paid with a hot dog and a handshake to a detached retina—and the moment he reached it, everything was snatched away from him. Now, Daniel Bryan waits to see if he'll ever wrestle again, or if he'll forever be the artist without a canvas.
WHEN IT COMES CRASHING DOWN, IT HURTS INSIDE
In the next several weeks, Daniel Bryan would have to endure the abrupt loss of his father, along with his biggest fan Connor Michalek, an eight year old with cancer. And just over a month into his title reign, he announced that he had lost all strength in his right arm, and would eventually vacate his championship.
He would be sidelined until late December, where he returned to announce his entry in the Royal Rumble. His elimination caused Roman Reigns' victory to be smothered with boos from the Philadelphia faithful, which even The Rock couldn't reverse.
Following a fantastic Number One Contendership match at Fast Lane with Roman Reigns, caused by the brutal fan reaction, Bryan would be placed in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31. He would win the title, only to have to vacate that too due to injury.
Since this point, Bryan hasn't been medically cleared to wrestle by the WWE, and he might never be.
He had worked fourteen years to scratch and claw to the top of his profession—overcome everything from being paid with a hot dog and a handshake to a detached retina—and the moment he reached it, everything was snatched away from him. Now, Daniel Bryan waits to see if he'll ever wrestle again, or if he'll forever be the artist without a canvas.
