WWE News: Daniel Bryan talks Finn Balor's call-up being too late, facing Brock Lesnar
WWE has posted an interview with WWE SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan. In the interview, Bryan gave himself a grade on how he’s done so far as SmackDown GM, talked about the Cruiserweight Classic, Total Bellas filming after his retirement and more. Here are some highlights courtesy of Uproxx:
On wanting to face Brock Lesnar:
“One of the things that appealed me to the fans was that I’ve always been an underdog, and what bigger underdog match is there than Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan. That’s like David vs. Goliath. I also think he’s never wrestled or fought anybody like me before.
“Especially I was working on this new style before they told me I couldn’t wrestle anymore that’s really unlike anything else, just with the way that I move, and I don’t really think Brock would know how to handle it.”
On Finn Balor:
“That kind of stuff happens. The most tragic thing is it happened as soon as he gets up here. The thing that really upsets me about the whole situation is that Finn Bálor should have been up here a year and a half ago.
“I understand that NXT is very important part of our programming and a very important part of the network. But he was a superstar when we signed him. Some people have to adjust to the WWE style, and for a guy like Finn Bálor, that takes no more than six months.
“He’s in the prime of his career right now, he just turned 35 the day he debuted on Raw. He should have been here a year and a half ago. Samoa Joe should already be here. Shinsuke Nakamura should already be here. Those are guys in their primes, and they’re down on NXT right now and they should be here either on Smackdown Live or on Raw.
“The longer we wait, the more bumps they take, the more bruises they get, the more susceptible they are to injuries. Everybody knows there’s a finite amount of hits you can take in your career. You don’t know what that number is. And the more time you take those hits down on NXT, the less hits you’re going to be able to take when you’re here.”