Daniel Bryan: There’s an 85% Chance I Wrestle Again But Only a 20% Chance WWE Clears Me

Daniel Bryan thinks he’ll be back in the ring, just probably not for WWE. 
Daniel Bryan: There’s an 85% Chance I Wrestle Again But Only a 20% Chance WWE Clears Me
Daniel Bryan: There’s an 85% Chance I Wrestle Again But Only a 20% Chance WWE Clears Me /

Daniel Bryan is fairly confident he’ll be in a wrestling ring again at some point, just probably not working for WWE

Bryan told SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio on Monday that he sees an 85% chance he wrestles again but only a 20% chance WWE clears him to do so. 

“I think there’s an 85% chance that I’ll wrestle again,” Bryan said. “My wife [Brie Bella] says like, ‘100% percent he’s gonna wrestle again.’ But that’s not the case. If I get a test that says, hey, you shouldn’t wrestle again, I’m not gonna wrestle again. So I say there’s an 85% chance that I’m going to wrestle again. I would say that there’s about a 20% chance that WWE will clear me. It’s a small chance but it’s not, like, an impossible chance. I know that they want me to wrestle. They just—there’s a lot of stuff that has to happen for me to be able to wrestle.”

Bryan retired in February 2016 as a result of his history of concussions. He hadn’t wrestled in the 10 months before his retirement due to a concussion suffered on a European tour. He had been hopeful of a return, seeking multiple opinions from doctors but WWE’s doctors, who have the final say, refused to clear him and he was forced to retire. 

Bryan is currently under contract with WWE, acting as commissioner of SmackDown, but also alluded in his radio appearance to the possibility of working the independent circuit if WWE doesn’t clear him. An independent schedule, Bryan explained, would be less grueling than the daily grind of wrestling for WWE. 


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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).