Daniel Bryan on the Warrior Award, WrestleMania, His Diet

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan has his hands full with a shot at the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania ahead in a ladder match. However, he took time to talk with Crave Online about various topics regarding his wrestling career. Below are some highlights.

Bryan discussed what it means to give out the Warrior Award to the late-Connor Michelak:

“I think that’s a great award to give out because it’s people that inspire us. What we do is entertainment. We entertain people. Sometimes we inspire people but sometimes we are just a way to fill their time. Connor is somebody who truly inspired me. He’s somebody who throughout all the pain always had a smile on his face. You have to keep in mind too that I wasn’t there for the really hard stuff. His dad was there for the really hard stuff. He would come to our shows and he would be in pain and his dad would be like “Okay, Connor. I think you need to go rest” but he was just so happy and had a smile on his face and somebody being that strong at such a young age is really inspirational to the rest of us. It also, makes you feel bad about yourself in a sense that “Oh man, I’m complaining cause I didn’t get my sandwich or whatever.” [Laughs] He’s got cancer and he’s as happy as can be. That kind of stuff helps you put life in perspective.”

He was asked about “kicking it up a notch” with WrestleMania around the corner:

“Well, when people say ‘kick it up a notch’ it’s really just increasing your training and being a little stricter on your diet and all that kind of stuff. As far as trying to do anything differently, it’s difficult because our lives are so busy, right? The entire week before WrestleMania we’re doing media throughout the week and trying to get stuff in during the week. This weekend we will have Pre-Show, then do RAW on Monday, we will start doing media stuff on Tuesday. It’s a busy week so a lot of it is trying to just keep yourself healthy. Keep yourself in good shape. Trying, when your busy, to get enough sleep and rest so when Sunday comes, you’re in your best possible shape.”

The former-vegan also gave insight to how his diet helps him prepare for the ring:

“The thing that I have to stay away from is sweets. I have a horrible sweet tooth. It’s just the worst. I have to stay away from that a lot but my diet is predominantly plant-based. I used to be a vegan. So for example, on Monday we were in Des Moines, Iowa and I was able to find a vegan restaurant and got a really nice healthy meal. There was quinoa. There were all sorts of vegetables and that sort of thing and a lot of people aren’t necessarily into it. That’s not necessarily good if you want to look like a bodybuilder but that’s what makes me feel the best. I occasionally will eat meat and stuff now and I’ll eat eggs and that kind of stuff but I like to predominantly eat plant-based.”