WWE Still Reluctant To Clear Daniel Bryan
Earlier this week, a rumor that WWE was planning on releasing Daniel Bryan from his WWE contract picked up a lot of steam. However, that rumor appears to be just that – a rumor, as multiple sources who have connections with WWE have said that the company has no plans to release Daniel Bryan.
Following WWE signing New Japan stars Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson, Daniel Bryan expressed some frustration over the fact that WWE still hasn’t cleared him, as he wants to wrestle all four men, especially Nakamura.
Bryan also somewhat teased a return to the ring several days later, saying that he’s training with the idea that he’s going to be returning to the ring in the near-future.
Unfortunately, as of right now, WWE still isn’t planning on clearing Bryan. Their head of medical — Dr. Joseph Maroon — is still advising the company to not allow the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to return due to the amount of concussions that he’s suffered throughout his career.
Some WWE fans have come up with their own conspiracy theories regarding WWE not clearing Bryan – most of them involve the company not wanting Bryan to ruin their WrestleMania plans for the third year in a row, so to avoid that, they’re going to keep him out of the ring. But, of course, there’s no evidence backing up that theory.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter talked about the Daniel Bryan situation on Thursday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, and he was adamant that WWE hasn’t cleared Bryan for medical reasons, and not because they’re trying to make sure that he won’t ruin WrestleMania for them for the third year in a row.
“So here’s the deal with Daniel Bryan – it’s completely logical what’s happening. He’s not getting released. Him not being cleared is not a conspiracy theory, it’s not about Roman Reigns. If you really like (Daniel Bryan), you shouldn’t be happy that he’ll never wrestle again, but you should at least realize that (the WWE medical team) are smart people. I’m not saying that they’re right. I know he wants to wrestle, but they gotta do what they gotta do. They’re not looking at clearing him.”
Meltzer went on to say that Bryan may end up getting cleared, but, he was sure that Bryan wouldn’t end up being a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble on January 24.
When the rumor of Daniel Bryan’s release first began to pick up some steam, there was some speculation that, since WWE signed four of New Japan’s top stars, they were going to release Bryan from his contract, and let him go to New Japan in exchange for AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson. But obviously that’s not the case.
Bryan has said in the past that he hasn’t wrestled his last match, and that if WWE doesn’t clear him, he’ll go wrestle somewhere else when his contract comes to an end.
Most assume that, if Bryan were to leave WWE, he’d most likely end up returning to Ring of Honor, which is where he had his most successful non-WWE run of his professional wrestling career.
If Bryan’s WWE contract ends before he’s cleared to wrestle and WWE makes an attempt to re-sign him, it’s likely that he’ll tell them that he’ll only re-sign if they allow him to wrestle.
Since Bryan has been out-of-action, WWE has offered him a job as a commentator and a job as a coach in NXT, both of which he turned down because he wants to return to the ring.
(Featured image via WWE)
