WWE: Daniel Bryan May Not Be Strong Enough For WrestleMania 31 Due To Injury

Daniel Bryan’s return to the WWE will eventually happen, but it’s possible the injuries he has sustained may sap his strength to the point that his abilities in the ring may be severely limited. If doctors are unsuccessful in returning his strength, what will this mean for the upcoming WrestleMania 31?

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan are both scheduled to make public appearances soon alongside Brie and Nikki Bella. Bryan will also be participating in a Midnight Madness event for the WWE 2K15 PS4 and Xbox One video game release party at Gamestop on East 14th Street in New York City on Monday night. Both men are already being featured in WrestleMania 31 promotional materials, so it seems management expects them to have a clean bill of health come March 29, 2015.

Unfortunately, questions remain when it comes to the extent of Daniel Bryan’s injuries and if they will hold back his performance in the future. Originally, it was the neck injury that kept Bryan out of the ring, but now it’s the right arm injury that is becoming of long-lasting concern. The WWE superstar was trying to have the arm surgery back in August, but doctors said that he might not need it. Eventually, Bryan decided to go ahead and get surgery out of the way so he could return. But the recovery time for Tommy John Surgery required him to miss Royal Rumble 2015.

Everyone knows that Roman Reigns is the anointed one for taking on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, but it’s hoped that Daniel Bryan will not be stuck with a lackluster performance due to any physical limitations. The arm and neck injuries will limit him in different ways. For example, Bryan is known for moves like the suicide dive and the flying goat, but slamming head-on into your opponents in the high flying wrestling style is probably never a good idea with a major neck injury in the past. As a comparison, it would be like if Hulk Hogan was allowed to return for a career-ending match only to attempt the leg drop once again, which is what caused his back problems over the years.

Daniel Bryan is over 15 years into his wrestling career, and it’s unfortunate timing for him to lose his arm strength shortly after his career reached its peak. If his arm never returns to its previous strength, then any opponent would probably be leery of being listed on the match card with him for WrestleMania 31. Many moves require an opponent to put a lot of trust in Bryan since he needs to have the strength to lift and complete a move entirely. If he can’t perform up to expectations, or if his strength suddenly leaves him in the middle of a high strength move, then it’s possible Bryan could drop his opponent and cause a horrible injury on accident. Remember, these attacks are only supposed to look devastating… no one in the WWE wants the wrestlers to have a career-ending injury.

So what happens if Daniel Bryan’s injury to the arm never fully heals? The best case outcome would be that Bryan simply changes his fighting wrestling style to avoid high flying aerial maneuvers and strength-based moves. While his small stature would make him a poor brawler, his skills in the ring make him a great technical wrestler. If you do not believe it, check out this old video of Bryan and Cesaro wrestling in Ring of Honor.

The worst case scenario is that Daniel Bryan is forced to change so dramatically that even his character is altered by WWE Creative. Considered he just met his peak with the Yes Movement, it’s questionable whether he would be able to maintain his popularity if this change were to occur.

If he has his career nerfed that badly, you would have to wonder if he would pull a CM Punk. After all, they share a lot of similarities since both men are the only two to have won the WWE, World Heavyweight, and ROH World championships. Both have WWE Divas as wives. But let’s just hope it never reaches that point and his arm heals up good enough to put the smackdown on someone at WrestleMania 31.

Would you still love Daniel Bryan if he changed his WWE wrestling style?