After his loss to Roman Reigns during Friday's episode of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan has been "banished" from the blue brand, and what comes next for him in WWE is now a mystery to us.
It's no secret that the Leader of the Yes Movement is considering winding down his career, and there have been a lot of conflicting reports online about when his contract ends. Now, in an interview with TV Line, Bryan has debunked claims that he'll be a free agent by the time September rolls around.
"It’s funny that people gravitate towards the date ‘September,’ and I think it’s because that’s when my last contract ended, but it doesn’t end in September," Bryan confirmed. "I’m still trying to figure out what that looks like."
He also commented on his health. "I had a tag team match on SmackDown (recently) and it was a lot of fun. But my neck was just wrecked. I’m going to be 40 in May and my daughter likes to get on my shoulders to pick leaves from a Japanese maple in front of our house. You get to that point where it’s like, how long can I do this full-time and still be able to do those kinds of things with my daughter? What’s the right balance between part-time and that sort of thing? It may be that it’s just every once in a while when the urge strikes, or maybe like a schedule where it’s like eight months on, these months off."
Bryan did, however, hint that he could take on a part-time role in the company. "One of the coolest things about wrestling, and just be being an independent contractor in general, is that you can say, ‘Well, I really only want to do this amount of work.’ What that amount of work is, I have no idea yet. I still have to figure it out," he admitted.
"But I also need to be respectful of the people who are relying on me to go to work. I have to give them an answer sooner rather than later. I’m trying to figure that out, trying to be responsible as an employee of somebody who’s taken care of our family very well. But then also, trying to take the time to figure it out."
It sounds like Bryan is still weighing up his in-ring future, and whether that's going to involve WWE...well, we're obviously just going to have to wait and see for now.
Keep checking back here for updates.