Bryan Danielson Gives An Update on His Neck, Explains Why He Didn’t Want To Say ‘Retirement’

During an appearance on The Nikki and Brie Show (via Fightful), Bryan Danielson gave an update on the condition of his neck after ending his full-time wrestling career at AEW WrestleDream. He noted that he was very careful not to say ‘retirement’. Brie noted that Danielson still needed neck surgery. She added she wanted to do “a big post” after WrestleDream but was asked not to. Here are highlights:

On his neck: “I was very cautious to not say ‘retirement,’ except for the match where if I lost (against Swerve), I would retire. After that, it was all, ‘the end of my full-time wrestling career.’ We don’t know what’s going to happen with my neck, but it honestly feels like I have a bobblehead.”

On not saying retirement: “To me, at the end of the day, I realized this with my last retirement, which was forced. I didn’t want to retire, but they wouldn’t let me wrestle again. What I found is people are sad for a bit. Then, everybody just moves on and it doesn’t matter. The hardest part for it is probably for the person who does it.”