Daniel Bryan: “I Have to Look at My Career As ‘It Was What It Was'”

It is amazing how Daniel Bryan has been officially retired for almost two months, but his presence is still felt in WWE and there are still rumors about him potentially going to other promotions.

Recently, Bryan spoke with Esquire Middle East to help promote WWE’s upcoming tour of Dubai. During the interview, he discussed his recent retirement, how much more he has left in the tank, and what he’s doing with his retirement.

You can read the full interview right here. Below are the highlights:

Do you feel that you have more to give in the wrestling industry?

I have to look at my career as ‘it was what it was’, but I do wish there was more of it. I really didn’t want to do the retirement speech. I wasn’t ready for it. [WWE’s live Monday night TV show] RAW just happened to be in my home city of Seattle, and two days earlier I had heard from doctors that for the sake of my health, I probably shouldn’t wrestle again. I didn’t want to retire, but, if I had to, at least all my friends and family could be there to see it, so I just sucked it up and did it.

Ultimately, I think that it helped me focus on the reality of my situation, and helped me move on. I got injured in April 2015 and was solely focused on returning to the action, but then all of a sudden it dawned upon me that I couldn’t do it anymore, and that I had to move on from the thing that has been the entire focus of my adult life.

What are your plans for after wrestling? 

Part of me wants to stay involved in wrestling, because I love it. But the thing I loved most about it was the wrestling part of it. I didn’t get into it to be famous, or to be a TV star, I got into it because I loved the act of wrestling.

I do love the travel and the interaction with the fans, but if I can’t wrestle any more then it will be tough. There are so many amazing things you can do in this life, so why not try and do something else that I’m interested in? I’m into environmental and ecological issues, so maybe that is an avenue to go down. That’s what I’m trying to figure out right now.

Do you want Daniel Bryan to continue being involved with WWE or other promotions even if he doesn’t wrestle?