Daniel Bryan Talks About His Return, The Royal Rumble, And His Desire To See WWE Resurrect The King Of The Ring Tournament

WWE superstar Daniel Bryan recently sat down for an interview with the Miami Herald to discuss his current status in WWE, his injury and recovery, his thoughts on SmackDown moving to Thursday nights, and his desire to see WWE resurrect the King of the Ring tournament.

Daniel Bryan talks about the night he announced he was going to participate in the 2015 Royal Rumble:

“The day I announced I was coming back for the Royal Rumble is actually the day I got cleared to wrestle. I started healing in November, as far as thinking, ‘Wait a second. Things are starting to turn around for the better.’ It was that December episode of RAW I went on to say I was finally able to be cleared by WWE where they said, ‘You’re ready to go.'”

Daniel Bryan talks about trying to stay positive, even when his wrestling future was in doubt:

“I just had to get into this mental frame of mind and not thinking about the negative. When you are sitting at home and all you do is physical therapy and all this stuff and nothing seems to be getting better, it’s very frustrating. If you get into that deep hole of thinking you are never going to come back. That’s a hard mental place to escape from. I dealt with that for a little bit, but then I realized I couldn’t have this type of negativity. If I was going to get better, I had to be positive that I can come back and come back better than ever.”

Daniel Bryan on giving the WWE fans something to look forward to at the Royal Rumble:

“Had I just come out during the Royal Rumble, I don’t know if it would be as impactful. To me it’s more impactful to give fans something to look forward to. If it happened at the Royal Rumble and that night, it would have been great. Though I like the idea of building toward something, so I’m happy with the way we’ve done it.”

Daniel Bryan on getting his first taste of physicality in nearly 8 months:

“It felt so good. It’s funny because there is nothing that gets you in wrestling shape quite like wrestling. One of my big concerns was if I was going to get really tired. It’s funny because one of the things that can get me more tired than anything, especially at the end of matches, is when they want me to keep yes-ing.”

Daniel Bryan on changing his in-ring style:

“I’m not going to be apprehensive about it. If you go in scared and you don’t do things the best you can, you’re actually more likely to get hurt. For example, if you do a suicide dive at half-speed and worry about getting hurt, you’re actually more likely to get hurt. Will my style change? Yes, but that is not because of my injury. It’s because I’ve been sitting back and watching WWE. For me, that’s a creative process. It’s the creative process and the evolution of my own style. Things will change, but will it be because of my neck or anything else? Absolutely not.”

“They’ve told me, ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t be doing the diving headbutt or this or that.’ I have always marched to the beat of my own drum. We are all individual entities. Not to say I ignore their advice, but you also have to know your own body and where you’re at physically. Part of the thing about coming back is it’s a trial-and-error. If I started doing the top-rope dropkick and notice it jarred me, then it may be something I stay away from. I won’t know until I try. I’m not afraid to go out there and give it my all.”

Daniel Bryan talks about SmackDown’s move to Thursday nights:

“I actually requested for my return to be on this particular night. I wanted it to be in the main event of SmackDown when it moved. There is nobody better for me to wrestle in this type of situation than Kane. He is the one who put me out of action. He is the one I’m coming for retribution against. It should be a pretty awesome match and an awesome show and a pretty awesome way to get people to watch on Thursday nights.”

Daniel Bryan on his desire to be the face of SmackDown on Thursday nights:

“I’ve been very open about that with management, and told them, ‘Let me be the face of SmackDown, give me the opportunity to show what I can do, and by the end of the year SmackDown will be getting just as many viewers as RAW, if not more.'”

Daniel Bryan on his desire to see WWE bring back the King of the Ring tournament:

“I would like to have the King of the Ring tournament on SmackDown. The King of the Ring tournament is something that the WWE used to do on a usual basis, and they’ve gotten away from it. One, I love tournaments. Two, I think if you do the tournament exclusively on SmackDown the fans will get really excited about it and they’ll get geared up for it. Then crowning a King of the Ring champion on SmackDown, I think that would be awesome. That’s one of the many ideas I have for SmackDown in 2015.”

[Image via WWE]