Daniel Bryan Discusses Timeline For Potential WWE In-Ring Return

On Wednesday. Sports Illustrated published an interview with current SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan, who discussed a timetable for his potential WWE in-ring return.

In February of 2016, Bryan chose to officially retire from in-ring action due to concussion-related issues. Before he decided to hang it up, he did everything he could to get WWE to clear him, but Dr. Joseph Maroon, who is WWE’s head of medical, wouldn’t give him the green light.

Bryan, who is 36, has expressed interest in wrestling again in recent months, and during the aforementioned interview with Sports Illustrated, the ex-WWE World Heavyweight Champion said that if he doesn’t return to the ring by this year’s WrestleMania, then he probably won’t wrestle another match in WWE.

WWE's Daniel Bryan Reveals Whether He Will Wrestle Again.

“I assume that if I don’t wrestle by WrestleMania, I probably won’t be wrestling with WWE at all,” said Bryan. “That’s my assumption.”

“It’s not a black and white answer,” Bryan continued. “There are a lot of issues with me getting cleared by WWE. They have a very strict protocol, which is a good thing, but the timeline of all that happening was not the best for me. It’s an interesting situation that will develop.”

When asked about a potential Daniel Bryan vs. Shane McMahon match at WrestleMania, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that Bryan still hasn’t been cleared by WWE.