Daniel Bryan Tells ESPN He Wants To Wrestle Into His 70s

The American Dragon is only a few hours away from getting his hands on longtime rival, the Miz, this evening in Brooklyn. A major theme of this saga has been the difference in fight styles between the two former world champions, with Bryan being the more aggressive athlete and putting his body at higher risk, while the Miz has been somewhat conservative over the years, but has proven that his longevity leads to greater opportunities. Bryan addresses this in a recent interview with ESPN, and reveals that he hopes to continue working well into his 70s.

Realistically, I want to wrestle until I’m 70. That’s a goal to people that sounds insane, but there’s a MMA trainer, Firas Zahabi, he trains Georges St-Pierre and he was on Joe Rogan’s podcast and I love what he said because this is how I envision my life. He said, ‘I want to be grappling and doing jiu-jitsu the day before I die.’ He wants to live to be 90 years old, but he loves doing this so much he wants to physically be capable of doing it until the day before he dies because it brings him joy and that’s how I feel about wrestling. For me, my goal is to enjoy this moment that I have in the WWE spotlight because that doesn’t last forever. That really has taken hold since I was forced to retire. You have to appreciate every moment of this, but I also have to transition my style in a way that I could still be wrestling when I’m 70 years old. I want to transition my style slowly to something that’s a little bit easier on my body.

I think a 70 year old Bryan triumphing at WrestleMania 65 sounds like a plan to me. Check out the full interview here.