WWE: Daniel Bryan’s Injury Kills Royal Rumble 2015, But Is WrestleMania 31 Possible?

Daniel Bryan’s injury has generated yet another “No! No! No!” moment for the WWE Universe since it’s now claimed he will not be capable of making Royal Rumble 2015 and it’s even possible that WrestleMania 31 is a question mark.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Royal Rumble 2015 will feature 40 wrestlers, so it’s a good guess that some of the new WWE NXT superstars will be stepping into the ring.

A recent episode of Total Divas suggested Daniel Bryan was relying on alternative medicine instead of surgery, but that may have just been kayfabe news created by the WWE creative writers team, which scripts the supposed “reality” TV show. Unfortunately, the latest reports have Bryan’s WWE future in doubt because it’s believed he may need to have Tommy John Surgery, which involves UCL reconstruction for his arm.

Bryan has lost much of his arm strength due to limb injuries, although it’s believed the primary reason he’s been absent so long is due to the neck injuries. It was hoped that he did not need a second injury for the arm, but now Wrestling Inc. is reporting it’s possible he may miss both Royal Rumble 2015 and WrestleMania 31.

“It does not look like Daniel Bryan will be returning at the 2015 WWE Royal Rumble after all. Dave Meltzer noted on last night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Bryan is still not regaining strength in his arm and word once again is that he will likely need surgery. Bryan was trying to have the other surgery back in August but doctors said that he might not need it. Bryan wanted to go ahead and get surgery out of the way so he could return. Meltzer added that it’s no longer looking like Bryan will be back for the Rumble, but he might be back in time for WrestleMania 31.”

That’s a fairly big “might” considering the recovery time for Tommy John Surgery is usually considered to be at least six to 12 months. The WrestleMania 31 date is March 29, 2015, so even if Daniel Bryan’s injury were to receive surgery today it’s very likely the Yes Movement won’t have their leader back until April of next year at the earliest. While the WWE management wants their fan favorite back in the ring pronto, they’re not going to risk harming in the long term.

But let us assume Daniel Bryan’s surgery does not keep him away that long. Even then, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is justifiably worried that Bryan’s injury to his neck is bad enough to require changing his wrestling style. If this occurs, it would make it harder to please the fans since Bryan will no longer be capable of doing high flying moves like the suicide dive or the flying goat. In the worst case scenario, Bryan may end up hearing a lot more chants of “no” than his favorite “yes.”