SEATTLE – Daniel Bryan, an Aberdeen, Wash., native who rose to the top of the WWE as a four-time champion, announced his retirement Monday in Seattle.
Bryan, whose real name is Bryan Danielson. addressed the crowd during WWE's live RAW event at KeyArena. The crowd chanted Bryan's signature "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and "Thank you, Daniel" as Bryan tried to fight back the tears.
Bryan, 34, explained that he's suffered multiple concussions over his career, which started at age 18, and that tests have shown his brain has taken too many shots.
"Within the first five months of my wrestling career, I had already had three concussions and, for years after that, I would get a concussion here or there or here or there. And it gets to a point to when you've been wresting for 16 years, that adds up to a lot of concussions. And it gets to a point where they tell you that you can't wrestle anymore," said Bryan.
Bryan has become a bit of an icon, not only among wrestling circles, but across the sports world. Many athletes and fans outside of wrestling have mimicked his "Yes!" chant.
"I have loved this in a way that I have never loved anything else," said Bryan, who met wife Brie Bella through the WWE.
