Stone Cold Steve Austin Comments on Daniel Bryan's Retirement

Daniel Bryan's retirement announcement Monday on Raw sent shock waves through the wrestling world, and WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin expressed his thoughts on the news Wednesday night. 

In an interview with ABC27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com), the Texas Rattlesnake offered his take and some words of wisdom for the leader of the Yes Movement:

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It's a hard pill to swallow when you have to walk away from something that you truly love. That's a guy who worked his tail off and the system was against him, he wasn't the guy that was the chosen one. And because the fans believed so much in him, they had to make him the chosen one.

It's like Paul Orndorff, Mr. Wonderful, told me a long time ago when he had to retire. He said, 'Steve, there is life after wrestling,' and I said 'There is?' and he goes 'Yes, there is.'

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Here is video of the full interview, courtesy of ABC27:

As Bryan revealed Monday, his 16-year career in the ring has come to an end due to medical concerns.

At the age of 34, Bryan likely would have had several more peak years remaining if not for injuries, but he managed to accomplish a great deal despite being just 5'8" and 190 pounds.

Bryan was a four-time world champion in WWE, and due to the groundswell of crowd support behind him, he main-evented WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans, beating Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista in the same night.

Austin is similar in that regard, as he was forced to retire in 2003 at the age of 39 due to multiple ailments. His run in WWE from 1996-2003 was fairly short, but he managed to become arguably the most popular and recognizable Superstar in the history of the business.

Stone Cold has made the most of his situation through outside ventures, including appearing in movies and television shows as well as hosting The Steve Austin Show podcast.

He is a great example of how much wrestlers can accomplish following their in-ring careers, so it would behoove Bryan to take a page out of Austin's book by using his own fame to pursue other passions in retirement.

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