The big talk in wrestling this week is the debut of TNA on POP, Vince McMahon making the Royal Rumble match for the WWE Title, and rumors of NJPW stars heading to WWE. The third topic is, of course, the biggest one, and it has everyone hopeful and anxious. Numerous wrestling stars have already responded to the rumors, and now Daniel Bryan has said his piece too, but is WWE finally going to clear him to return?
Bryan is still awaiting total clearance from WWE doctors so that he can return to in-ring action, but no one quite knows when that will happen. As WrestleZone pointed out, though, Bryan is getting a bit antsy while waiting.
Can @WWE clear me already?!!! Article courtesy of https://t.co/NB94CXGrT5 https://t.co/x2MUYRWbc0
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) January 7, 2016
His link went to a front page article on WWE.com that had the company actually reporting about the rumors that Shinsuke Nakamura and Bullet Club members were heading to WWE. It isn’t often that WWE ever comments on rumors, but it appears that the report was ordered by Triple H .
When word got around the AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Karl Anderson would be heading to WWE, some huge stars in the company decided to welcome them. As Fansided wrote, NXT champion Finn Balor actually decided to troll the wrestling fans of the world.
— Finn Bálor (@wwebalor) January 6, 2016
Balor also posted a picture of himself in his Bullet Club shirt and holding the door open to WWE offices.
The caption simply read, “They should have been here by now.”
He wasn’t the only one, though. Sasha Banks and a host of others got on social media to deliver some welcome messages or teasers of their own. Samoa Joe was another who thought the rumors were some of the best things he had ever heard.
#Yeaoh @ShinsukeN pic.twitter.com/ipPGXptFJT
— Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) January 6, 2016
As of Thursday afternoon, none of the four wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling have officially signed a contract with WWE. Factually speaking, only two of them could even possibly leave NJPW within the next month.
AJ Styles and Luke Gallows are without a contract anywhere right now, and PW Insider states that both are in talks with WWE. Karl Anderson and Shinsuke Nakamura both will see their NJPW contracts up late in January and have said they plan to leave at that time.
It appears as if there is no chance that Gallows and Styles are going anywhere but WWE and the deals simply need to be finalized. While Anderson and Nakamura can’t negotiate with anyone until their deals are up, it’s still expected they are heading to WWE as well.
Now, these signings could be a huge way for WWE to get past their incredibly serious and growing injury situation as WrestleMania 32 draws near.
Immediately, AJ Styles could jump into the main event scene and be matched up with numerous stars on the roster. If Daniel Bryan does end up being cleared (or if he already is and WWE is keeping it secret until his return), then there is one of your top three matches at WrestleMania 32.
Bryan also said in 2015 that he would love an inter-promotional match with Nakamura one day. Well, if the NJPW stars ends up in WWE as expected, there wouldn’t need to be a lot done to have that dream match happen.
The possibilities for new faces on WWE television and new feuds is absolutely insurmountable. Here are just some of the names that could easily be pushed now, due to all the injuries.
- AJ Styles
- Samoa Joe
- Dolph Ziggler
- Kevin Owens
- Dean Ambrose
- Finn Balor
- Sami Zayn
- Hideo Itami – His return is getting closer
Even with John Cena’s injury and countless others out right now, there are plenty of options that WWE has to move forward and push new names. If Daniel Bryan is healthy and the company is simply waiting on him making a big-time return, they need to do it soon, and that’s especially true if AJ Styles and others from the Bullet Club are on the way.
[Image via WWE]