Daniel Bryan Admits He Has "Lesser Spring In His Step"

Former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan appeared on Saturday's edition of Talking Smack to discuss his comeback to Friday Night SmackDown.

Bryan, who returned to WWE TV for the first time since losing the Intercontinental Championship to AJ Styles in June, admitted that he has "lesser spring in his step" and is no longer the performer he once was.

"I am at a point now, in my life and career, where I want to test myself against the best performers in WWE," said Bryan. "Whether that's against people I haven't faced yet, and even people I have faced, since we've all evolved.

"I noticeably have lesser spring in my step as the match goes on, something I realized during my match against AJ Styles," added Bryan.

The leader of 'The Yes Movement' revealed he's no longer able to jump as high despite "training his butt off" to prepare for his matches.

"I never had a problem with endurance before. [Although] I still don't get tired but later in a match, I can't jump as high anymore, and AJ still can.

"And its funny because he's older than me. How is this fair? I train my butt off," joked Bryan.

Bryan, who has reportedly been on SmackDown's writing team in recent months, said he plans to evolve in other ways even if he loses his athleticism.

"As we evolve, I look at wrestling a bit differently. This is my martial art with a focus on the artistic side. This is a test of myself. When I go out there for an interview or match, its a test of me, and my opponents are giving me examples on what I need to work on as a human, an athlete, and a wrestler," he said.

As noted before, Bryan could be starting a new rivalry with Seth Rollins, who moved over to SmackDown from Raw during the WWE Draft.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talking Smack with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.