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Earlier this week, on the latest edition of WWE’s Monday Night Raw, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan (real name Bryan Danielson) officially announced his retirement from the WWE and the world of professional wrestling.
He broke the news on Twitter, then elaborated on the decision later on Raw. He’d suffered a few too many concussions, had been suffering from related seizures and sadly, a myriad of other brain and medical issues. It all ended up being too much for him, thus essentially forcing him to retire.
WWE and pro wrestling fans worldwide were disappointed and saddened about this news, yet, we all choose to be thankful and grateful (as Daniel Bryan is) that he can ride off into the sunset and live a safer life at home and start a new chapter.
To commemorate this news, our ACBA image of the week emulates a personal, touching moment of embrace between Bryan, his wife Brie Bella and a few of his fellow now former, WWE Superstars.
The beautifully brilliant shot comes to us from wrestling figure photographer Michael Amtsberg, we’ve featured his WWE shots in the past, it’s only appropriate that we feature him again this week.
We reached out to Michael for his words on what Daniel Bryan meant to him, this is what he had to say:
“The story of Daniel Bryan is the true underdog story in professional wrestling. Whether it is being too small or not having the look, or any other reason that was thrown his way, he found a way to overcome the obstacles and make his way to the top of the mountain. Daniel worked his ass off to gain a cult following and demand the respect of the professional wrestling community world wide. Unfortunately no one is indestructible and time, the wear and tear of a gruelling travel schedule, the many bumps, bruises and multiple concussions in his 16 year career all caught up to him and he was forced to retire prematurely from in-ring competition.
“It sucks when anyone has to give up something that they love and are passionate about. I wanted to capture the moment and say thank you Daniel Bryan for sacrificing your body each and every single time you laced up your boots purely to entertain us wrestling fans.”
“The Yes Movement will live on. Will your contributions to the industry last forever? Yes! Yes! Yes!”
We’d love to thank Michael Amtsberg for letting us feature his shot and his sentimental words on the life and career of Daniel Bryan.
You can follow Michael’s work on his Instagram @Mamtsberg_Figures_4Life and his Squared Circle Photography page here: http://on.fb.me/1Kj7Ijp
Thanks for reading!