WWE Denied Daniel Bryan’s Request For A Release From His Contract in January

A few weeks ago, there was a rumor that WWE was planning to release Daniel Bryan from his contract, and he would be free to wrestle in other promotions. That rumor was dismissed, but it may have just gotten the detail wrong because something like that did happen.

According to Wrestling Observer, it’s being reported by Dave Meltzer that Daniel Bryan gave his notice to WWE officials and had plans to leave the company and go wrestle for other promotions after he had been cleared by doctors at UCLA. 

However, Bryan’s contract doesn’t give him the right to give a notice, and it was denied because his contract has been frozen.

There is a provision in most superstar contracts that extends a contract’s time frame if he or she has been sidelined for an extended period. It’s very similar to the Rey Mysterio contract situation that saw Mysterio forced to stay with WWE for longer than he would have liked.

In Daniel Bryan’s situation, the only real way he would be able to get a release from the company is if he took WWE to court, which could take just as long depending on the contract extension.

So, it’s very likely that Daniel Bryan accepted his fate after learning that he can’t leave the company without taking them to court, and he’ll be officially announcing his retirement from wrestling tonight.