Kemo
07-23-2015, 11:01 PM
WWE superstar Daniel Bryan fully expects to resume wrestling after a stretch of injuries that derailed the meteoric rise he waited so long to receive. The fan favorite just doesn't know when his return will happen as he awaits full clearance from doctors.
Bryan, who's doing a media tour to promote his new autobiography, provided the update on his status during an appearance on The Buzz with Jimmy Traina (via Fox Sports). He talked about the reason fans haven't seen him in action since April, saying: "I feel great. And it's just a matter of getting cleared by doctors. Their whole clearance process is more difficult than people would think. ... That's the biggest issue. I will wrestle again. But it'll be interesting to see when."
He hoped his return would come in time for SummerSlam, one of the marquee events on the WWE calendar, which is scheduled for Aug. 23. That's now looking like a long shot, and he mentioned possibly waiting until the build for the 2016 Royal Rumble to come back.
Bryan said during a separate interview on ESPN's Cheap Heat podcast that a doctor in Phoenix cleared him to compete, but he hasn't been able to receive a go-ahead from WWE doctors as of yet.
One other noteworthy moment from his conversation with Fox Sports came when he discussed receiving a call from the legendary "Stone Cold" Steve Austin about wrestling after neck problems:
"Steve Austin is actually an amazing human being and he reached out to me. Imagine how weird that is for somebody like me who grew up in that era where it's like he's the biggest superstar on the planet Earth. Yeah, he reached out to me and talked to me about it. He was actually giving me some very good advice as far as like, 'Hey, when you come back, if you come back, you need to do more of this and you need to be doing this.'"
Bryan spent most of the early portion of his WWE career working in the mid-card. But he rode a wave of incredible fan support, which started with his now trademark "Yes!" chant, to the main event of last year's WrestleMania.
He defeated Triple H that night to earn a place in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, where he knocked off Randy Orton and Batista to become the company's top champion. His reign quickly fell apart due to the injury issues, and he hasn't been consistently active since.
It's a good sign that he's trending back toward full strength and should return relatively soon. It's hard to imagine him reaching the peak he did leading up to that unforgettable night at WrestleMania, however. Those moments—winning the title and the remarkable fan support—don't happen often.
Bryan is an outstanding in-ring worker, but WWE will be hesitant to go all-in on him again until it's proven he can stay healthy for an extended period of time.
Bryan, who's doing a media tour to promote his new autobiography, provided the update on his status during an appearance on The Buzz with Jimmy Traina (via Fox Sports). He talked about the reason fans haven't seen him in action since April, saying: "I feel great. And it's just a matter of getting cleared by doctors. Their whole clearance process is more difficult than people would think. ... That's the biggest issue. I will wrestle again. But it'll be interesting to see when."
He hoped his return would come in time for SummerSlam, one of the marquee events on the WWE calendar, which is scheduled for Aug. 23. That's now looking like a long shot, and he mentioned possibly waiting until the build for the 2016 Royal Rumble to come back.
Bryan said during a separate interview on ESPN's Cheap Heat podcast that a doctor in Phoenix cleared him to compete, but he hasn't been able to receive a go-ahead from WWE doctors as of yet.
One other noteworthy moment from his conversation with Fox Sports came when he discussed receiving a call from the legendary "Stone Cold" Steve Austin about wrestling after neck problems:
"Steve Austin is actually an amazing human being and he reached out to me. Imagine how weird that is for somebody like me who grew up in that era where it's like he's the biggest superstar on the planet Earth. Yeah, he reached out to me and talked to me about it. He was actually giving me some very good advice as far as like, 'Hey, when you come back, if you come back, you need to do more of this and you need to be doing this.'"
Bryan spent most of the early portion of his WWE career working in the mid-card. But he rode a wave of incredible fan support, which started with his now trademark "Yes!" chant, to the main event of last year's WrestleMania.
He defeated Triple H that night to earn a place in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, where he knocked off Randy Orton and Batista to become the company's top champion. His reign quickly fell apart due to the injury issues, and he hasn't been consistently active since.
It's a good sign that he's trending back toward full strength and should return relatively soon. It's hard to imagine him reaching the peak he did leading up to that unforgettable night at WrestleMania, however. Those moments—winning the title and the remarkable fan support—don't happen often.
Bryan is an outstanding in-ring worker, but WWE will be hesitant to go all-in on him again until it's proven he can stay healthy for an extended period of time.