Over recent months, there has been a lot of speculation about Daniel Bryan’s WWE future. It has been said that WWE officials have been reevaluating his health for a potential in-ring return before WrestleMania 34 or SummerSlam later this year. In fact, Bryan himself has admitted that if he’s not cleared by the grandest stage of them all, it won’t happen at all and he will have to wait until his contract expires with the company.
It’s been rumored that Daniel Bryan could change his mind about re-signing with WWE. Apparently, WWE officials are doing everything in their power to keep him with the company, including offering him a major contract. It has been reported that Daniel Bryan was offered a big money deal to stay, but he turned it down because the contract wouldn’t allow him to wrestle. As a result, most WWE officials are furious with Bryan.
Since he’s made it crystal clear that wrestling again is more important than money, Daniel Bryan’s future in the industry won’t be with WWE. Unfortunately, his current deal with the company won’t expire until later this year. That means he’s at the mercy of WWE officials’ booking and the rumor is they will be turning him heel sooner rather than later to hurt Bryan’s popularity before he leaves to wrestle for another promotion.
On paper, a heel turn for Daniel Bryan could work. It would be a challenge to get the WWE Universe to boo him, but Bryan has been developing a rivalry with Shane McMahon on SmackDown Live for weeks. There’s a lot of potential for their feud to lead to a match at WrestleMania 34 . However, Bryan’s health and tension with WWE officials could keep him out of the ring, which raises questions about the payoff of his heel turn.
If the intention of the turn is simply to hurt Daniel Bryan’s popularity, then WWE officials most likely have given up trying to re-sign him. A move like that would drive most wrestlers away, but Bryan had the choice to sign a huge deal with WWE and stay or to take his chances wrestling again. Daniel Bryan’s future will be inside a wrestling ring no matter what happens between now and September. The WWE Universe just has to wait a few more months to see what the future holds for one of the most popular wrestlers in history.