Bryan returning to ring?
Daniel Bryan did an interview earlier this week with Sports Illustrated that has opened some eyes about his future.
Bryan has been out of the ring for almost three years after WWE蘑菇视频 medical staff said that he has suffered too many concussions, and there have always been whispers about whether he would ever return to the ring.
However, Bryan has been cleared by every non-WWE doctors he has seen and to his credit, Bryan has continued in his role in WWE as the Smackdown Live General Manager.
As of late, Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon have been at odds in dealing with the feud between WWE champion A.J. Styles and both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
During the last two episodes of Smackdown, Styles has been pinned in non-title matches against both Owens, two weeks ago, and this past Tuesday by Zayn.
After Styles complained Tuesday, Bryan set up a handicapped match at the Royal Rumble for the WWE title with Owens and Zayn facing Styles.
As soon as Smackdown ended, California Area Athletic Director Chris Minerd, a diehard WWE fan, emailed asking where I thought the storyline was going.
Is WWE trying to turn Bryan into a 鈥渂ad guy,鈥� and if so, why?
There are two thoughts of logic here.
One is that WWE is going to allow Bryan to wrestle at WrestleMania, and if so, it would probably be against Styles in what fans would look at as a dream match.
鈥淚 assume that if I don鈥檛 wrestle by WrestleMania, I probably won鈥檛 be wrestling with WWE at all,鈥� Bryan said in the interview. 鈥淭hat蘑菇视频 my assumption.鈥�
But if WWE is going to let Bryan wrestle now, why not over the last three years?
So has Bryan passed WWE protocol to be released and the company is keeping it quiet, or has he still not passed?
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 not a black and white answer,鈥� he said in the piece. 鈥淭here are a lot of issues with me getting cleared by WWE.
鈥淭hey have a very strict protocol, which is a good thing鈥t蘑菇视频 an interesting situation that will develop.鈥�
Several times since WWE decided that it was not worth the risk to have him wrestle, there have been talks about what Bryan would do once his WWE deal expired.
Well, his deal is up later this year and Bryan has started several times that he will wrestle again whether in WWE or elsewhere.
The second thought I have is that WWE realizes that Bryan will not sign a new deal unless he is permitted to wrestle and since he will wrestle elsewhere once his WWE deal is up, by turning him into a 鈥渂ad guy,鈥� the interest in him will wane.
But if WWE really thinks wrestling fans will not want to see Bryan because he is a 鈥渂ad guy,鈥� then the higher ups may a bigger opinion of their writing abilities than most believe them to already have.
The full interview can be found at https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/01/03/wwe-news-daniel-bryan-wwe-future.
WWE announces Mixed Tag Team Challenge teams
WWE began announcing teams for the Mixed Tag Team Challenge that will take place on Facebook Live starting later this month.
The first team announced was Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman, and other teams announced this past week includes Charlotte and Bobby Roode, Sasha Banks and Finn Balor, Nia Jax and Apollo Crews, and a pair of married couples in Rusev and Lana as well as Jimmy Uso and Naomi.
More teams will be announced and the winning team will get to donate $100,000 to a foundation of their choosing.
Smackdown Live in Pittsburgh just before Mania
WWE presents Smackdown Live at the PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, March 27, as part of the 鈥淩oad to WrestleMania.鈥�
Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday but look online for advance ticket sale codes that will probably be active Tuesday.
Battleground comes to town on July 15, so WWE may put tickets on sale for the PPV on March 27.
On this date:
In 2002, Triple H returned to WWE on Monday Night Raw from Madison Square Garden after missing almost eight months with a torn quad.
He announced that he would take part in the Royal Rumble later that month, and Triple H later admitted that the ovation he received in MSG was so overwhelming that he had to fight back emotions.
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