WWE News: Daniel Bryan Attempting To Get Out Of WWE Contract, NJPW Interested In Signing Him

Recently retired WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan has been in a bit of a problem as of late. He needs time away from WWE as the wound is fresh for him. Retirement is tough for any wrestler to face as most do not want to do it, even if they have plenty of money in the bank. Some like Shawn Michaels have stuck to it, but have always found ways to get involved in something here and there. Edge has even found ways to perform with WWE without actually going into a full match.

When it comes to Daniel Bryan, WWE clearly wants to keep him around and would love to have him stay with them for years to come in a non-wrestling role. The fact is, Bryan doesn’t want that and needs time away from the WWE to evaluate what he truly wants to do with his life. According to Daily Wrestling News, Daniel Bryan has attempted to get out of his WWE deal lately. This goes with other reports from a while back that claimed Bryan was asking to be released from his deal before he retired.

At that point, according to The Wrestling Observer, he actually had deals in place with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, CMLL, and ROH. He was going to have a full-time schedule yet again and work for all three. WWE would never let him back in the ring, but the thought was that all of them would. Then Bryan retired in one of the most emotional send-offs you could ask for. Bryan asked for time off from the WWE, which the company did grant him, but they do not plan to let him go.

Despite this, Daniel Bryan is hopeful he can get out of his deal. DWN reports that Bryan has refused to make anymore appearances until he is let out of his contract. Bryan has been telling the WWE that he doesn’t want to return to the ring and simply wants to be free of any obligations to WWE. He just wants to be free to do what he wants, when he wants to do it. With a WWE contract over his head, he cannot do this. All of this makes sense for anyone who cannot wrestle again.

The problem on WWE’s end is that they do not feel Bryan is being truthful with them regarding not getting back in the ring. NJPW reportedly offered a huge contract to Bryan to work with them a while back, which was in response to WWE taking four of NJPW’s top stars from them recently. That deal is still open for Bryan if he wants it. WWE is quite aware of NJPW’s intentions with Bryan and do not want to take any chances with it. Everyone knows if Bryan goes there that all eyes will be on NJPW. Bryan very well could be a huge help with getting them into the United States, which is a region that NJPW has been wanting to break into for a while.

Knowing all of this, WWE does not want to just let Daniel Bryan out of his deal. While they are very worried he will return to the ring once they let him go, they are also worried that he will go to another company and help them compete with them too.

While Bryan has insisted he does not want to get back in the ring, and his wife Brie Bella has also been very adamant about not seeing him return to the ring, WWE just does not want to take the chance. That said, Daniel Bryan may never be released from his contract. It will have to run out before he can do. It is said that he has around two years left on the deal and WWE will continue to freeze it until he works with them in some capacity.

Edge, for example, could not return to WWE as a talent, but did do other things for the company away from the ring while under his contract. The company was also not worried he would get back in the ring when his deal was up because he was planning to retire around the time it was up anyway. Edge had a year remaining on his deal when he was forced to retire.

WWE does not want to take a chance with Daniel Bryan for multiple reasons, but his safety is a big part of it. Whether Daniel Bryan is truthful with everyone about not getting back in the ring or not, you cannot know this if you’re WWE. So Bryan getting his release from WWE seems doubtful.

[Image via WWE]