Doctor advised Daniel Bryan to get back in the ring for his good health
Daniel Bryan had to retire from WWE because of his concussion issues in 2016. The former WWE Champion was at his best at that time but was forced to step away from the ring.
He worked with WWE for some time despite being away from the ring and was the General Manager of SmackDown as well. However, his mind was still set on making a comeback to the ring, and so he did.
Two years after being forced to retire, Daniel Bryan made his big return after getting cleared to wrestle again. WWE sent him to the best neurologists in the United States, and every single one of them cleared him to make his in-ring return.
Talking about it on WWE Backstage, Daniel Bryan revealed that he was only determined to make a comeback if it was not going to result in long term issues. He did not want to make a comeback just for the sake of it and then suffer the repercussions. [H/T Fightful for the Daniel Bryan quotes]
"Concussions are no joke, as we know. If there were long-term repercussions if I came back, I didn't want that for me, my wife, our child. I met with enough doctors and did enough different things. One doctor in Detroit said, 'When you talk about wrestling, you get a weird excitement.' People now are like, 'How are you still so excited about wrestling?' I don't know. I just really like it.
[The doctor] said, 'When you talk about wrestling, you light up. Is there anything else in your life that makes that happen?' 'Yeah, when I talk about my daughter and my wife.' 'Anything else?' 'I like gardening' 'You get passionate like that about gardening?' 'Not really. It's interesting to me intellectually and I like doing it, but I don't get worked up about different stuff.'
He goes on to recall one doctor advising him to make that comeback as it would be good for his health. Daniel Bryan claims that the doctor said it had a positive effect on his mental stimulation, and thus, it was best for him to make that return to the ring.
He said, 'As opposed to it being negative, I think it will be good for your health. You want things that you're passionate about. If you're not passionate about stuff, you lack mental stimulation.' Brie talked to doctors and she became gung-ho about me coming back and was supportive. It's good to have someone behind you who is like, 'If they won't clear you, go somewhere else!' That's empowering."
Daniel Bryan makes his comeback
Daniel Bryan eventually did make the comeback in 2018 and has been with the company ever since. He has made it clear that he will be taking a break soon as Brie is pregnant with their second child.
Daniel Bryan is now competing for the Intercontinental Champion and will face AJ Styles in the finals of the tournament. WWE held a tournament to determine the next champion after they took the title away from Sami Zayn as he was unable to defend it.