When Daniel Bryan earned his miraculous medical clearance, fans hope his next endeavor would be claiming the WWE Championship. However that’s not exactly how it’s gone—and apparently, Bryan won’t be pursuing main event spotlight for the foreseeable future.
Since his return, Bryan has been a bankable mid-card act. Now that Team Hell No is back, it looks like Bryan and Kane will pursue the SmackDown Tag Team title the rest of the summer putting any fantasy of Bryan vs. AJ Styles or even Bryan vs. The Miz on ice. And according to PWInsider Elite Audio, that’s not without reason.
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“They are going to let him wrestle but put him in scenarios where he is protected and if you’re looking for those long drawn out 45-minute American Dragon style matches with the hard physical style — that’s not where they feel he should be.
That’s not where they want him to be. It’s one thing to perform at that level, that’s not where they trust him physically to be and they are going to use him as a character more than the guy that’s the nucleus of the glue of the athletic aspect of the business
I feel like they’re like, ‘You know what, we’ll give fans just enough, and we’ll protect him physically at the same time by having him in tag matches.’”
Given Bryan missed nearly three years, it’s understandable for WWE to be reluctant to insert him in their title picture. But it’s not just Bryan’s prolonged absence that justifies WWE’s strategy—it’s his health.
This is believed to be the reason why Bryan missed out on Money in the Bank. Afterall, what could truly be gained by sending someone with well-documented concussion issues into a match that height the risk of head injuries?
But there is one more reason why WWE has chosen to slow play Bryan. His contract.
Bryan will officially be a free agent on September 1. While all expectations have him signing a long contract with WWE, it still has yet to be done. So with his departure possible, WWE has little incentive in making someone who may leave the company WWE Champion.
There’s plenty of room for theories surrounding Bryan’s future, but it’s best to keep in mind that he and WWE are both happy to play the long game. Bryan has been open about his humility when it comes to his placement on that card. We’d be willing to guess he’s just thrilled to be wrestling in WWE’s ring once again.
However, by the time we turn our calendar to 2019 both Bryan and WWE may be ready to re-boot the Yes Movement.
[H/T Ringside News]
