What’s the story?
One of the most heart-wrenching things to have come in 2016 from the WWE was the news of the retirement of one its most promising talents.
Daniel Bryan retired at the start of last year citing a build-up of head injuries as the reason. No-one thought he would ever wrestle for the WWE again.
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In case you didn’t know
Before WWE, Daniel Bryan wrestled in a plethora of Wrestling Promotions across the world, from Ring of Honour to New Japan Pro Wrestling, garnering him much of the support that would eventually lead to the famous Yes! chants from the WWE Universe.
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The WWE Universe fell in love with Bryan, and he rewarded their support with reigns as Intercontinental, United States, World Heavyweight and WWE Championships alongside a memorable run as Tag Team Champions, teaming with Kane in Team Hell No!
Also read: WWE Rumors: Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar could happen in 2018
However, Bryan (real name Bryan Danielson) wrestled a very high-paced and often dangerous style, which caught up to him in 2016 when he was forced to retire. Bryan explained that WWE doctors had failed to clear him, with him having suffered post-concussion seizures and lesions on the brain.
The suddenness of the news and the clear state of sadness Bryan was obviously feeling made this an even more bitter pill to swallow for fans, as dreams of last matches were dashed.
He has since been made SmackDown Live General Manager, but fans are desperate to see him wrestle just one more time.
The heart of the matter
In an interview with Whig last year, Bryan had explained that he had a burning desire to face the Beast Incarnate – Brock Lesnar.
This has now been confirmed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer newsletter who took to Twitter to explain that this match had indeed been in the works, but had been scrapped either because of a change of storyline or, more likely, Bryan’s health.
The Tweets are as follows:
Bryan himself had previously explained that he wanted to take on Brock but was unsure whether facing the Beast so soon after his return from neck surgery would have been wise.
Here’s what Bryan had been quoted as saying:
‘ What I really wanted was a match with Brock Lesnar, that was my thing. But I didn’t want to go into the match with Brock Lesnar [having] that be the first time I ever take a German suplex [following] my neck surgery.
Many believe that this situation would have played out at Summerslam 2014, with Bryan replacing John Cena in the main event and having Lesnar bludgeon him in the way he did Cena in order to garner even more heat, due to the WWE Universe’s adoration for Bryan.
What next?
Bryan's contract with the WWE runs out in 2018 and he is then going to be free to explore other avenues, which could include him returning to the ring for other promotions, all of which will be queuing up for his signature.
Author's take
Daniel Bryan finds himself in somewhat of a quandary: the WWE obviously still think very highly of him, as shown by their gesture of offering him the role of SmackDown GM.
However, it has become clear over the past 10 months that Bryan misses in-ring work and that could prove to be the catalyst to him leaving the WWE come 2018 and the expiration of his contract.
However, his wife, Brie Bella, is heavily pregnant with their first child, and the role of GM could suit his new responsibilities as a father more, with the danger of injury significantly diminished.
Whatever he eventually chooses, we as fans just hope that the choice makes him and his family happy, as they absolutely deserve to be.
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