Daniel Bryan Discusses In-Ring Return, CM Punk and More

…..YEAH? Daniel Bryan has been away from the WWE spotlight for the last few weeks as his wife Brie Bella gave birth to the company’s first daughter. He made his return to the show tonight, but not before getting to sit down for a long interview with SI.com on a wide variety of topics.

In the wide ranging interview, Bryan spoke about a potential return to the ring, how he views wrestling even after retirement, his thoughts on CM Punk, his thoughts on the Miz and their rivalry which seems to be on and off and who he would like to see come from NXT up to the main roster, preferably on “Smackdown Live”. Here are a few highlights.

On a Potential Return to the Ring

“I’m working on it. Wrestling is more of a creative outlet, and especially for somebody like me, I view it as my creative outlet. Not all WWE superstars and not all wrestlers view it that way, but that’s how I view it and that’s one of the ways my mind works creatively.”

Daniel Bryan bids farewell to the WWE Universe: Raw, February 8, 2016

On His First Father’s Day

“Father’s Day was just a normal day, but our normal days are very nice, so I can’t complain. My wife and I are very blessed. I am very grateful for the life that we lead. WWE has been great about giving me paternity leave, and Brie and I are very fortunate that we’re both home to raise this baby.”

On the Miz

“I never once doubted how hard Miz works. I don’t think people need to take my route to have success in pro wrestling. My wife didn’t go through the indies, but she still worked very hard and was passionate about what she did. I don’t think there is a certain route you need to take. Like most of the WWE superstars, Miz is on the road 200-plus days a year, and he does a lot more media than a lot of the other guys, so he’s working all the time.

“My critiques of him have always been, ‘Hey, I would do this differently.’ We just have different views on wrestling. He wants to live in LA in a million dollar mansion, and I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. My wife and I live in an under 1,400 square foot house and we really enjoy that. It’s different takes on different styles of living, but I respect every WWE superstar. Everybody puts a lot on the line. We’re all gone from our families a lot, and wrestling takes a toll on our bodies, regardless of the style you wrestle.”

And on Why you Should Watch “Smackdown Live”

“If you traditionally just watch Raw and only sometimes tune into SmackDown, I think you should turn that around. You never know what is going to happen on Talking Smack, where we shoot from the hip, and SmackDown is a much more fun show, especially when Shane and I are involved.”

You can read the full interview here.

Opinion: Bryan always comes off like a nice guy who is getting to live his dream. The fact that he has a full career going on after having to leave the ring is a very nice story. Now that being said, it wouldn’t shock me to see him wrestle again somewhere in the world at some point. Bryan is only thirty six years old and if he can get medically cleared, I can easily see him wrestling again.

Do you think Bryan will wrestle again? Do you like his time as an on-screen boss? Let us know in the comments below.