Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella Comment on Retirement on 'Good Morning America'

Recently retired WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan and his wife, WWE Diva Brie Bella, made an appearance on Tuesday's Good Morning America to discuss his decision to walk away from the ring and her choice to follow him in the near future.  

Bryan announced his retirement Feb. 8 and proceeded to give an impassioned speech on Raw, WWE's flagship program, that night about all of the ways the wrestling business made him grateful. On GMA, he discussed the concussion issues that forced him to call it quits:

The 34-year-old fan favorite, who rode an amazing wave of crowd support to become WWE World Heavyweight champion at WrestleMania XXX in 2014, also discussed how there's nothing fake about the physical nature of wrestling, despite the predetermined match outcomes:

As for Brie, she didn't provide an official date for when her run with WWE is going to end, but she described it to GMA as "very close":

She's talked about leaving the wrestling business for quite awhile—even before Bryan was forced into the same decision. PWMania.com passed along comments she made last May in an interview with E! Online about wanting to settle down and start a family: "I'm fighting my baby fever so bad. My boots aren't ready to be hung up quite yet in the wrestling ring but they're getting pretty close. All my friends and cousins are having babies and it’s hard not to want to join in on that."

Now, it sounds like that day is on the horizon.

Although the circumstances aren't ideal from Bryan's perspective, he sounded at peace with the decision when talking about it on Raw last week. In the end, his long-term health took precedence over trying to make one more magical run.

The retirements represent two major losses from WWE's standpoint. Bryan developed into one of the company's top babyfaces over the past couple of years and earned support from young and old fans alike, which is a difficult task in the current era.

Meanwhile, Brie, along with her sister, Nikki Bella, have been involved in several high-profile Divas storylines over the past handful of years. Nikki has been sidelined as of late with a neck injury.

Although the voids always get filled by the next wave of superstars, it's hard to imagine anybody replicating the type of run Bryan enjoyed leading up to WrestleMania XXX. The special bond he created with the fans, highlighted by the "Yes!" chants, was a sight to behold.