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WWE News: ‘Door Is Not Shut’ On Daniel Bryan Resuming In-Ring WWE Career

By Mark Suleymanov
Published on: 11:47 PST, Aug 25, 2016

A plethora of concussion-related issues ended Daniel Bryan’s in-ring career with WWE earlier this year, but the door for the “YES!” man to compete in the future remains open, according to Anthony DiMoro of Forbes.

After The Miz tore Daniel Bryan to shreds with his scathing promo on Talking Smack after SmackDown Live on Tuesday, speculation about Bryan possibly resuming his in-ring career was rampant. The 35-year-old has stated on numerous occasions that he wants to wrestle but it’s WWE’s reluctance to clear him that is holding him back.

Bryan said as much during Miz’s tirade — in which the current Intercontinental Champion mentioned Bryan promising to return but not doing so.

“I would come back if they let me,” Bryan said about the WWE’s reluctance to clear him.

The Miz quickly shot back, telling Bryan — if he loves wrestling so much — to quit WWE and go back to the independent circuit to wrestle in bingo halls. That prompted Bryan to drop his microphone and walk off the set.

As DiMoro writes, the heated exchange was done as a litmus test to see if there’s still an interest for a Bryan in-ring return.

“The exchange between Miz an Bryan went better that expected and also was purposely done to generate buzz about Bryan and fans’ desire for him to return to the ring and compete.”

An inside source added that the WWE has “not completely shut the door on a Daniel Bryan return to the ring.” Therefore, the current plan is for other wrestlers — not just Miz — to get on Bryan for not being able to wrestle anymore to continue the storyline.

Bryan’s last match came on the April 16, 2015, edition of SmackDown, a tag team match in which Bryan — the reigning Intercontinental Champion — teamed with then-United States Champion John Cena to face WWE Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Tyson Kidd. However, after he was taken off the road and saw multiple doctors receive clearance, the situation became complicated.

“The whole problem with this process is getting cleared by the doctors,” Bryan said on the Cheap Heat podcast last year. “I’ve been cleared by one doctor in Phoenix, but the WWE doctor is hesitant to clear me. It’s a very complicated situation, that I guess they don’t really want me talking about.”

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer last January, Bryan had “a whole bunch of tests done at UCLA with their concussion specialists, and they deemed him OK.” However, less than two months later, Bryan appeared on RAW to bid an emotional farewell to the WWE Universe.

For a while, Bryan even teased continuing his wrestling career outside the WWE — where he initially made his name in professional wrestling.

“I told [WWE], regardless of them, if they won’t clear me… we’re independent contractors, in theory… and I will wrestle again,” Bryan said on Busted Open last year.

However, Bryan softened that stance and has returned to WWE television as the general manager of SmackDown Live. He also took on the role of an announcer for the WWE Network special Cruiserweight Classic. Yet, the dream of stepping into the ring is healthy, unlike Bryan’s brain from all of his concussion issues.

“A part of my mind hasn’t accepted it. I wake up sometimes with dreams of wrestling,” Bryan said to The Daily World in June. “This literally happened to me (the night before the speech). I was in Las Vegas and I flew in. I woke up this morning from a dream where I was going to wrestle and I’m not. I have to remind myself at times.”

[Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images]

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