Daniel Bryan was forced to retire from in-ring competition last year, but due to the fact he's still under contract with WWE, he's been moved to a non-wrestling role as the General Manager of SmackDown Live. His contract does come to an end at some point in the next year or two, though, and the one-time American Dragon remains determined to wrestle again.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Bryan explained that he's doing everything within his power to return to wrestling as soon as he possibly can.
"I’m working on [an in-ring return]. 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.
"I always think of it in terms of music. You’re not always going to be a huge rock star in music, but musicians can play until the day they die. With sports, it’s different. You can’t always do it until the very end, and that’s a hard reality of sports. The blessings wrestling has given me have allowed me to find some new passions, but it’s really hard when you’ve got that first love and nothing really replaces it."
Whether or not Bryan will wrestle again in WWE, return to the independent scene, or even head overseas to New Japan remains to be seen, but it definitely sounds like he intends to wrestle again no matter what the doctors have told him. Whether or not that's good for his health is hard to say, but it was only WWE doctors who refused to approve him.
What do you think the future holds in store for the leader of the Yes Movement? Feel free to share your theories in the comments section down below.