Daniel Bryan's Raw retirement was a closely guarded secret, with the locker room only finding out when he made his tweet on Monday. PWInsider report that no one knew of Bryan's status other than a few higher ups. When the news came out, f4wonline report that the mood backstage became very sombre. The sudden development also resulted in a bit of a scramble, with the production people having to quickly put together the video packages that played on Raw. For Bryan, it was an intensely emotional night. In addition to receiving the respect of his peers, he also had his family on hand for the occasion. He looked happy, telling one family member "I'm good, I'm okay, I'm surviving." Meanwhile, his WWE peers used social media to express how they felt about his retirement. Stephanie McMahon said "#ThankYouDanielBryan for making a difference & for showing the world dreams can come true. #YesYesYes #WeAreGrateful." He'll be a genuine loss to the locker room, not just in terms of improving guys in the ring, but also in terms of the person who he was backstage. He was well liked and a fun personality. The retirement should also come as a lesson to the rest of the locker room, that in-ring style doesn't always need to be on full blast. Daniel Bryan was always on-game with his career, but that 100% drive has cost him longevity in the business.
