More On Daniel Bryan Possibly Wrestling Again, Recent Testing, When His WWE Contract Expires
As noted, Daniel Bryan recently spoke to Sports Illustrated and said he was "working on it" in response to being asked if he's planning to return to the ring.
"I'm working on it," Daniel Bryan told Sports Illustrated. "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."
Bryan, who hasn't wrestled since since 2015, retired from in-ring competition in February 2016 due to medical reasons. Bryan's retirement was due to an EEG reflex test that revealed a lesion in his brain's temporoparietal region. The lesion is believed to be responsible for seizures Bryan suffered after concussions that he hid from WWE.
"He wants to wrestle, I mean that's the thing," Dave Meltzer remarked on Wednesday's episode of Wrestling Observer Live. The unanswered question as Meltzer astutely pointed out is, should he wrestle? Meltzer noted that Bryan had testing done this past April.
"I don't think it's 100 percent. I mean it wasn't 100 percent as of a couple months ago," Meltzer said. "He [Bryan] had some tests done in April and I don't know how the tests went. Maybe that encouraged him, based on that."
Meltzer stated that Daniel Bryan's contract with WWE is up a little over a year from now and he doesn't believe if Bryan wrestles again that it will be in WWE. Dave pointed to open concussion lawsuits against the company, lawsuits WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt is working to get thrown out.
"The one thing I don't see is Vince going against [Dr.] Maroon," Meltzer said. "So the question is, you know again, as long as Maroon is there, Joseph Maroon, I don't see Maroon changing his tune on this. It's possible he will but I don't think so. And if he doesn't, I don't see Vince because for Vince to go against the advice of his lead doctor, that would be disastrous potentially. It's a horrible idea so I don't think that's going to happen."
Joseph C. Maroon, MD, is the Medical Director for WWE. He's an American neurosurgeon that used to be the team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maroon became known in the mainstream when he was portrayed in the 2015 film "Concussion" starring Will Smith by Arliss Howard.
Dave Meltzer noted the negative way Maroon was portrayed in "Concussion" made him cautious because the movie coincided with Daniel Bryan's health issues. Meltzer said Wednesday that Maroon had the reputation ? fair or not ? for doing what the Steelers wanted him to do. For example, if they wanted a player cleared, he would clear them.
Ultimately, the EEG reflex test Daniel Bryan had done in early 2016 was bad enough to cause Vince to have him announce his retirement in Seattle. The lesion was a serious cause for concern and the question now, over a year later, is has he healed and will he continue to heal?
Meltzer believes Daniel Bryan doesn't want to wrestle if it's the wrong thing to do and that he wants to do the right thing for himself. For the time being, Daniel Bryan is still under WWE contract and returned to television this week after taking time off on paternity leave.