Opinion: What if Daniel Bryan had never retired in 2016?

In early 2016, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan retired from in-ring competition, after a series of injuries left him on the shelf for most of the past two years, including two championship vacations.

Obviously, at the time, it was the right thing for Bryan to do, no-one wanted to see him in a wheelchair or worse. And whilst the WWE Universe are elated that Bryan is back in the ring now, one has to wonder: what would have happened if Bryan was able to return and not retire in 2016?

As Bryan announced his retirement in 2016, we'll put that as our starting point. Instead of Bryan retiring, he would've entered the Royal Rumble, which was for the WWE Championship, Bryan would've lasted until the final few, even eliminating Brock Lesnar.

Irate, Lesnar would've returned and eliminated Bryan, setting up a promised feud between the two at WrestleMania, which Bryan would've lost, though in a strong showing.

Afterward, Bryan could have entered the WWE World Championship picture, against new champion Roman Reigns. Whilst this would've been awkward from a position of getting fans to cheer Roman, it would've been perfect for a Reigns heel turn, as in 2016 (and in 2018) no-one wants to boo the YES! man.

Whether Bryan would've been successful in dethroning the Big Dog is hard to decide. If not, Bryan would've been perfect for the Money In the Bank ladder match, which in reality was won by Dean Ambrose.

It's hard to say whether re-pushing Bryan would be worth cutting Dean's one (and so far only) WWE Championship reign, but from there, D-Bry could have feuded with the likes of AJ Styles and Baron Corbin, both of whom made big strides in their careers in the latter part of 2016.

Whilst none of this sadly occurred, it's still incredible to see Bryan back in a wrestling ring, doing what he does best: wrestling.