In the case of one of the strangest rumors that has come out of wrestling in quite a long time, it’s hard to believe there is even some semblance of truth to it. Daniel Bryan has dealt with injury after injury over the past two years and hardly been in the ring at all. That said, everyone thought that he would be coming back some day, but that may not happen. Rumor has it that WWE is planning on releasing Daniel Bryan next week before the Royal Rumble .
Again, this is nothing but a rumor and should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Still, it’s out there, and stranger things have happened.
Cageside Seats is reporting that there is a “weird” rumor going around, and honestly, it really is weird.
“There’s a weird rumor going around, apparently from Scott Keith’s Blog of Doom, that WWE will be releasing Daniel Bryan next week.”
Oddly enough, this rumor comes out just one day after Daniel Bryan got on his Instagram account and once again teased the fans about an in-ring return . It showed him working out, lifting, and always hoping that the answer to his question would be “YES! YES! YES!”
Bryan has been doing whatever he can to try and get back into ring shape, but he likely was never out of it. After suffering serious neck injuries each of the past two years, he was cleared by outside doctors, but couldn’t be cleared by WWE doctors.
The primary reason for that isn’t so much due to his neck issues, but more because of the concussions he has suffered. Bryan was actually even sent home from a European tour early in 2015 and then ended up relinquishing the Intercontinental Title he had won about a month-and-a-half before.
Looking into things further, the report on Scott Keith’s Blog of Doom comes from an anonymous tipster who was right on the late 2015 hiatus of John Cena. That same tipster was wrong about the Daniel Bryan supermarket meeting so he’s one-for-two in his tips so far.
Apparently, this tipster states to work in WWE HR, and according to the report, the date of the improbable deal is Jan. 18, 2016.
“This is going to be hard to believe and you probably get a lot of nutjobs writing every day – but I work in WWE HR. I’m not high up the totem pole by any means though.
So on Friday one of my co-workers had to process a release – and that release was for Daniel Bryan.
Monday, January 18th is the date that is listed for when the deal is processed. Not sure exactly why – my coworker was very quiet about the whole thing other than letting a few people know.”
Honestly, that is extremely hard to believe, but it is something that people have to at least consider and see if it comes true.
Should Daniel Bryan actually get released on that date, it will be the day of the last Monday Night Raw before the Royal Rumble . That means he will be released from WWE less than a week before the Pay-Per-View, when many believed he might make his surprise return.
If Bryan is released and is cleared by doctors, he has a lot of options such as TNA , New Japan Pro Wrestling, Global Force Wrestling , Ring of Honor, or the Indies.
As to WWE not clearing him for wrestling ever, well, they would want to keep him around as an ambassador, but he may not want that. If other doctors will clear him, he would want to continue his in-ring career and maybe request his release to continue it elsewhere.
The company may be willing to grant him that, but likely not in a thrilled way.
This has got to be one of the strangest, yet biggest, rumors that has come out of the wrestling mill in a long time. Not only is WWE releasing Daniel Bryan one of the most absurd things to think about, but the timing just seems all wrong. For now though, everyone will know more within a week.
[Image via WWE]