Daniel Bryan returning to the ring and what it means for his WWE career
As you should have heard by now, WWE Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan is ready to return to in-ring action, after being forced into retirement this time two years ago. The Internet has since exploded after the news was revealed and many are wondering, what is next?
Several top WWE stars, such as Shinsuke Nakamura and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle have commented on the news, hinting towards possibly stepping in the ring with Bryan, so could this actually happen?
Bryan is apparently been cleared enough to wrestle as much as WWE wants to use him and as much as he wants to work. I think a full-time schedule is out of the question, but if he were to wrestle strictly on TV three or so times every month, then we could potentially get a few more years out of him as an active performer.
It was recently noted that Bryan had already rejected a big-money deal from the WWE to sick around as a TV character and that he fully intended on wrestling elsewhere, should the company have not medically cleared him. With that in mind, the very real threat of Daniel leaving when his contract expires in September was a significant influence on them being able to clear him for competition once more.
More dream matches to come?
I believe this new revelation will see Daniel sign a new contract with WWE. How many matches he will wrestle remains to be seen, but it's almost certain they will look to take it easy on him whilst being aware of how many big-money match ideas they now have.
We may very well finally see the "dream Daniel Bryan matches" that fans have been talking about for years, such as Bryan vs Angle, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Finn Bálor and Nakamura and more.
Even matches that he has previously had in the past are wanted again today, including Seth Rollins and The Miz for instances. Shinsuke Nakamura himself had actually said shortly after signing his first WWE contract that the idea of an encounter with Bryan was among the reasons why he decided to join the company.
Author's take
For now, I think it's highly possible that his return to the ring may occur at WrestleMania in just under three weeks' time in New Orleans. He may be added into the mix, alongside Shane McMahon, in the Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn match. A tag-team match of Bryan and Shane seems like the smartest move on such short notice, as he'd still see in-ring time, would provoke a huge reaction when tagged into the match and will not have to take too many bumps on his return either.