From The Rumor Mill: Update on when Daniel Bryan's WWE contract is expected to expire
What's the story?
Per PWInsider, Daniel Bryan seemingly still has another six months left on his current contract which means that he won't be able to take part in Cody Rhodes "All In" event later this year.
In case you didn't know...
Daniel Bryan was forced to retire from WWE back in February 2016 when it was revealed that he was struggling with a medical condition that would prevent him from being able to perform as an in-ring competitor for WWE moving forward.
Bryan has since been able to return to WWE as the General Manager of SmackDown Live in a non-physical capacity but it seems that the former World Champion was hoping that this would lead to a return to the ring at some point.
Bryan hoped to wrestle at this year's WrestleMania but since plans seem to have moved forward without him and the company has reiterated that Bryan won't be cleared to wrestle, the former Champion could be looking at projects outside of WWE as soon as his current deal expires.
The heart of the matter
Daniel Bryan's current contract has been the topic of a lot of speculation over the past few months after it was made clear that he wouldn't be part of the biggest event of the year for the third year in a row.
PWInsider's Mike Johnson recently talked about Bryan's contract expiration date and whether or not he would be able to compete at Cody Rhodes; "All-in" event. (transcript via Ringsidenews)
“Obviously the hope at one point was Daniel Bryan but given the date that Daniel Bryan’s current deal is scheduled to end in September, I believe — September 23rd was the date I had heard. If they were going to try to draw based on the idea of having Daniel Bryan there it would just make sense that they would wait until he is available. Maybe that’s a sign that they know Daniel Bryan isn’t going to be there.”
It seems that the former World Champion has another six months left on his contract which he will be forced to sit out. Bryan has been on the sidelines now for more than two years and it seems that he is now looking to move on to projects outside of WWE, something that he has mentioned he has wanted to do ever since he was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2016.
Bryan commented on his current position in the company during a Sports Illustrated interview last year.
“I assume that if I don’t wrestle by WrestleMania, I probably won’t be wrestling with WWE at all,that’s my assumption.”
What's next?
Shane McMahon announced this past week on SmackDown Live that Daniel Bryan would be returning to brand next week and will probably address the issues between his boss Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Author's take
There were many members of the WWE Universe who believed that Daniel Bryan would be cleared in time to compete at WrestleMania but it seems that this isn't going to happen. The former World Champion wants to return to in-ring competition and he has made it clear that if he can't do it with WWE then he will do it elsewhere.
Rhodes' "All-in" event happens on September 1st and if Bryan is able to negotiate an early release from his contract, then there is no reason why he wouldn't be another name added to the show.