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WWE has announced that Daniel Bryan will be returning on this week's episode of SmackDown, which is the season premiere for the show on FOX. His last appearance on WWE TV came in June as Bryan locked horns with AJ Styles in the final of the Intercontinental Championship tournament. The Leader Of The Yes Movement went on an extended break from wrestling.
Bryan spent time with his family as he and his wife, Brie Bella, welcomed their second child at the start of August. Now, after almost four months after his last appearance on SmackDown, Daniel Bryan will make his WWE ThunderDome debut.
This will be a much-needed injection of star power to the Blue brand, which has seen some massive improvements in the past few months.
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Daniel Bryan would fit right in, with the ability to tell incredible stories inside the ring and on the microphone. Bryan is one of the greatest performers in WWE history and he has the ability to improve the stock of the Superstars he feuds with.
Here are five things Daniel Bryan could do upon his return to WWE SmackDown this week.
#5 Daniel Bryan could elevate and re-transform Shorty G
One of the many things in pro wrestling that Daniel Bryan is best at is elevating everybody around him. His quality of work rubs off on others. Bryan has helped countless Superstars improve their positions in WWE, with Erick Rowan and Drew Gulak being recent examples.
Gulak's match and subsequent partnership with Bryan made him a much bigger deal on SmackDown. WWE could use the Grand Slam Champion in a similar way once he returns on SmackDown.
One SmackDown Superstar who desperately needs a change is Shorty G, who has to revert back to his old persona of Chad Gable as soon as possible. Daniel Bryan could facilitate that and bring out the best in the former Olympian. A match between the two of them might single-handedly rejuvenate Gable's career.
They could form a partnership and become a part of SmackDown's tag team division. Chad Gable has the potential to become a major star in WWE and Daniel Bryan could help him in achieving that goal.
#4 Daniel Bryan could begin a feud with Aleister Black
The SmackDown roster is stacked at the moment, with some Superstars primed to be in the main event scene, However, there are a few performers who are in desperate need of a new direction. Daniel Bryan has a lot of opponents he could work with when he returns on the Blue brand. One of them could be Aleister Black, who will want to make a name for himself after what happened on RAW.
Black lost a No Disqualification Match to Kevin Owens, before being the No.29 pick in Night Two of the WWE Draft. Provided his feud with Owens has concluded, Black could interrupt Bryan's return with a swift Black Mass.
Every Superstar who works with Daniel Bryan is instantly elevated and this something that the former NXT Champion needs right now. The matches between Black and Bryan could be fantastic, with the two of them capable of creating magic in the ring together.
A program with Bryan is guaranteed to elevate Aleister Black and put him in contention for some championship gold. It will also be a perfect return feud for the Leader Of The Yes Movement.
#3 Daniel Bryan could become a temporary co-host on Talking Smack
Unless Daniel Bryan is immediately thrust into an intense rivalry on SmackDown, he should be Kayla Braxton's co-host on Talking Smack. The Blue brand's WWE Network talk show was incredibly popular when it first started in 2016, thanks to the charming dynamic between Bryan and Renee Young.
While not quite at that level yet, Talking Smack has been pretty entertaining since its recent revival in the WWE ThunderDome. There is no fixed co-host alongside Braxton, with various Superstars like Xavier Woods, The Miz, and Sami Zayn filling in the past few weeks.
Daniel Bryan should ideally take up that role for as long as he can, purely because he is tried and tested on Talking Smack. Bryan's presence would raise the importance of the show.
He can be the co-host of Talking Smack every week until he is in a serious feud near the top of the card. It would only further improve the stories on SmackDown.
#2 Daniel Bryan could challenge Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan's last appearance inside a WWE ring was in the Intercontinental Championship tournament final against AJ Styles. The two in-ring legends put on an instant classic on SmackDown.
The current Intercontinental Champion is Sami Zayn, whose first reign ended when he was stripped off the title as The Great Liberator opted to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zayn needs a new challenger for the IC Title as both Styles and Jeff Hardy have moved to RAW during the WWE Draft. Daniel Bryan could go back into the IC Title picture and revive his feud with Zayn.
They had a match at this year's WrestleMania with the title on the line. Zay emerged on top at the Showcase Of The Immortals. Many fans felt that there should have been another chapter in this rivalry and we could see this feud between the two reignited on this week's SmackDown.
This is the perfect opportunity for Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan to finally have a proper feud which could become one of the main attractions on the Blue brand. A feud between the two these two gifted athletes could also elevate the IC title as well.
#1 Daniel Bryan could establish himself as Roman Reigns' next challenger
A performer as versatile as Daniel Bryan could work effectively in any position on the brand. Bryan could work in a secondary program against a midcard Superstar or in the biggest feud on the Blue brand.
After working in the midcard for a good portion of the past year, it might be time for Bryan to return to the main event scene on SmackDown.
He is one of the biggest babyfaces on the Blue brand and could be the perfect opponent for the current Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief is currently engaged in a feud with his cousin Jey Uso and both of them are set to face each other in an 'I Quit' Match inside Hell in a Cell on 25th October.
However, WWE will look to Tribal Chief's momentum with another top-level Universal Championship feud and Daniel Bryan would be a perfect choice.
It would be the ultimate clash between good and evil. There is history between the two Superstars, with the fans' support for Bryan ultimately causing Reigns to lose his popularity as a babyface upon winning the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. While the story writes itself, the match would also be brilliant.
It will likely eclipse their stellar effort from Fastlane 2015, thanks to Roman Reigns' immense character work since returning to WWE at SummerSlam.
Once Reigns wraps up his rivalry with Jey Uso at Hell In A Cell, a feud with Daniel Bryan over the Universal Title would help in cementing his position as the top heel in WWE at the moment.
