Daniel Bryan was "banished" from SmackDown at the end of April, and we haven't seen him in a WWE ring since. At the time, it was reported that his contract with the company had reached its end, and in recent weeks, it's become clear that the Leader of the Yes Movement is heading to All Elite Wrestling.
It's been claimed that Bryan has already signed with AEW, but Dave Meltzer has now revealed that the former WWE Champion has been in talks with the company longer than expected. As we already know, Bryan was waiting to see whether WWE reached a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling before making a decision, and their inability to do so is what led him to the rival promotion.
"I had no idea because I didn’t know how the Nick Khan talks would turn out. Nobody had an idea. Danielson didn’t have an idea. I had a very good idea that whoever got the NJPW deal would get him, but even then, it’s not like I knew 100%," Meltzer says. "This is one I’ve explained over and over in detail from the start. It’s not a percentage thing. It was 90% whoever got the NJPW deal and 10% maybe he’d decide regardless."
He concluded by noting that in regards to Bryan, "serious discussions had been going on for months."
In other words, this isn't a knee jerk reaction on Bryan's part, and he's clearly been giving his in-ring future some thought. This was evident around WrestleMania when he admitted in an interview that he felt "detached" heading into that main event match alongside Roman Reigns and Edge.
If Bryan has indeed signed with AEW, then he's likely going to make his debut in New York this September.