WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently did an interview on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, where they discussed his return to the squared circle in WWE. Bryan first discussed working as the SmackDown Live General Manager when he was unable to compete, and how he grew to hate the job:

“Then they brought me back as GM, and I still have to do a bunch of traveling with that. I have to sit around for a bunch of matches It hurt and it also was like, ‘What am I doing?’ This is the part of me where I’m like, ‘What a sissy I am!’ Lots of people go to their jobs that they don’t like and make way less money than me being the GM of SmackDown, but I could not get out of this mental state where I hate being here,” Bryan said.

“I really disliked going to work every week, and there would be times where I would fly in and get the script to the show, I would try to get as many people as I could to get in the shoot so I can leave that night and just get out of there. That was when I really started to say that I wouldn’t accept this anymore, I’m going to come back.”

Bryan then had a serious conversation with Vince McMahon about coming back to the ring. It was there that he presented an interesting idea to The Chairman Of The Board that would allow him to wrestle again:

“I had a conversation with Vince McMahon. He was pushing the hard questions about what would happen if I would get another concussion? I had answers for him and laid it out. I would have different concussion protocols than everyone else, and one of my pitches to him is that this happens in every sport, when guys get a concussion and a trainer goes over to him and they are asked if they are okay, and the guy would say that he is fine.

“They would ask if he has a concussion, and the guy would say no, he’s fine. Myself included would say that. So, stop that because that has been an issue with me before. In the past, when I would have a concussion I would just walk it off,” Bryan said. “My proposal would be that after every match I have to go to the trainer’s room and they have to do their checks, and if I don’t do it maybe I get a fine, or something like that. After every match now I get checked.

“Not even thanking my opponents, after WrestleMania, I walked to Gorilla. No thank you’s to anybody, just walked straight to the Doctor’s and then I get checked. They do basic neurological stuff, and we are revising that as we go because it is new to them too.”

McMahon then told him to send his proposal to WWE’s medical director Dr. Maroon, and the rest is history:

“He told me to type it up and put it in an email to Doctor Maroon and say this. I give Doctor Maroon a lot of credit because it is hard to reverse your decision regarding clearing me. I have a lot of respect for him because he said, okay, my opinion might not be right for this. He sent me to three Neurologists that he thought were the best Neurologists. He could have easily sent me to Neurologists that backed his opinion.

“He sent me to people that had the latest, up to date research on concussion,” he said. “He wanted to get to the right answer. I have a lot of respect to him for that. If I get hurt, it goes to Doctor Maroon because he is the Head of Medical in WWE. That was the beginning of the process.

“He said that if we do clear you, what is your schedule going to look like? Turns out, we haven’t talked about the schedule much because they pretty much have thrown me in live events, so now, I am on that full European tour, so it’s back to the full-time stuff.”

You can listen to Bryan’s full interview on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWfIz6doP_E

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The story of Daniel Bryan’s in-ring return is something that will inspire wrestlers and non-wrestlers from around the world for a long time and it will give them strength to fight for their dreams.

However, during a recent interview on Why Not Now Podcast, Bryan revealed a moment which inspired him not to accept things as they were and keep struggling.

According to Daniel, he was cleared to return by several neurologists after 6 months of his retirement speech, but WWE still hadn’t cleared him to wrestle. After this, he had started making up his mind to accept the decision.

Though then one day he watched a match between Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles and seeing the crowd reaction for the bout, he decided to keep fighting:

“I was watching these guys wrestle and they were two of my friends that I had known for years, right? A guy named Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles. And I was sitting there and they’re both really good, and the crowd’s going crazy, and I was like, ‘I refuse to accept this! It took me another year-and-a-half before I got cleared, but I did it!”

Apart from this Daniel Bryan also talked about the support he received from his wife Brie Bella, whether he was nervous while making his in-ring return and more.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

Daniel Bryan being cleared for an in-ring was a very surprising news for fans and it appears that it was similarly surprising for Bryan himself as well.

Daniel recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast where he revealed the full story of him being cleared among other things.

The company made the announcement of him being cleared on Tuesday, March 20th and according to Bryan he was informed about the decision just the night before:

“They made the announcement on the Tuesday (and) I found out at 9:30 pm Monday Night, the night before, and apparently, it was still kind of being talked about Tuesday Morning as far as whether or not they are actually gonna (clear me).”

Later in the interview, Daniel revealed that he was under the impression that WWE will not clear him and believed that they were sending him to multiple doctors in hopes that someone will say no.

Then one day while he was in Abu Dhabi doing promotional work, he received a call, telling him to meet WWE Medical Director Doctor Joseph Maroon at Pittsburgh the next day.

When he hit Dr. Maroon’s office, he was given the news of his clearance by a note and according to the former SmackDown Live General Manager, it made him cry:

“(I was like) ‘ah ok’ (so I) go to Dallas, go to Pittsburgh, land at 7, go straight to Dr. Maroon’s office (there are) 4 doctors there waiting for me going through all these like tests and scans and talking to me and this kind of stuff and then at 9:30 at night, Dr. Maroon at that point had already left me, left me a sheet of paper and it said ‘it’s been a long time, finally you are cleared’ and I just, I cried.”

The Talk Is Jericho episode featuring Daniel Bryan is a memorable one and if you haven’t listened to it yet, then you should definitely give it a try.

If you use any of the quotes from above article please credit Talk Is Jericho with an h/t to SEScoops for transcription.

Daniel Bryan’s comments about returning to independent wrestling were probably one of the reasons why WWE turned their decision back in a surprising manner just a few weeks before WrestleMania and cleared him to return.

During his recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Bryan talked about how he hated his job of being the SmackDown General Manager as it meant staying close to the ring but not being able to wrestle.

Later in the episode, Daniel discussed how he aimed to return to NJPW and ROH if WWE had not cleared him and revealed that he was planning to have a long-term feud with the notorious Bullet Club:

“…so Bullet Club is very hot, but they need somebody to go against… something that would draw money and interest and bring independent wrestling to another level… so that’s what I was thinking, a long-term thing. We could do that for a couple years.”

Prior to being cleared, Daniel Bryan had talked openly about wanting to wrestle again and on multiple occasions, he had said that he would consider a return to Independent Circuit if the company does not clear him by WrestleMania 34.

Many consider this to be one of the reasons why the Officials agreed to evaluate the former SmackDown General Manager again just weeks before Mania which resulted in him being cleared for an in-ring return.

It’s worth mentioning here that during the same episode, the host Chris Jericho also revealed an interesting story about how he almost replaced Shane McMahon as Daniel Bryan’s partner at the Show of Shows which you can check out here.

Batista Improvised A Hilarious Line In Avengers: Infinity War

Yahoo recently did an interview with two screenwriters from Avengers: Infinity War, and they shared a very interesting story about how former WWE Champion Batista improvised one of the more hilarious lines of the film:

“Then there’s Dave Bautista, the giant of a man behind Drax, who is quickly emerging as one of the funniest Avengers/Guardians, thanks to laugh-landing lines like, “Why is Gamora?,” which perfectly breaks the tension during a heated standoff between Iron Man and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) on Titan.

““The script only said, ‘Where is Gamora?’ ‘I’ll do you even better: Who is Gamora?’ And then one day Bautista just goes, ‘I’ll do you one better: Why is Gamora?’” Markus recalled. “It’s like, ‘OK, you’re very good at your job.’””

The Miz Taunts Daniel Bryan

The Miz continues to tease Daniel Bryan now that they’re both on the same brand on SmackDown Live. He Tweeted out the following after Bryan lost his Money In The Bank Ladder Match qualifying bout to Rusev:

https://twitter.com/mikethemiz/status/994034603353571328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Lucha Underground Season 4 Trailer

You can check out the extended trailer for Lucha Underground Season 4 here below:

The new season debuts on June 13 at 8pm ET on the El Rey Network.

Seth Rollins On His Historic Intercontinental Title Feat

WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins recently took to Twitter to comment on himself completing a historic feat as Intercontinental Champ. Rollins noted that he was getting set to defend his title on a fourth continent in three weeks.

That doesn’t seem to be enough for The Architect, however, as he followed up by saying he wants even more:

Tonight I defend the IC Title on its 4th continent in 3 weeks. This is what we live for. #wwebournemouth #fightingchampion

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) May 9, 2018

But I want the whole damn thing.

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) May 9, 2018

Big Cass Takes Credit For Rusev’s SDL Win Over Daniel Bryan

On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Rusev defeated Daniel Bryan to qualify for the Money In The Bank Ladder Match in several weeks. Cass was not used on the show last night, but did do a post-show interview for WWE’s YouTube Channel to discuss his rival Bryan’s loss.

Cass took credit for Rusev defeating Bryan because of his assault on the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion after their match at Backlash. Check out what he had to say here:

– We are about a month removed from the WWE Superstar Shakeup, and former WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas has still yet to make his SmackDown Live debut.

Since it was announced that the sports entertainment company decided to call him up from the third WWE brand to the blue brand, WWE has aired video packages of his business manager, Zelina Vaga hyping the debut of the former champion.

It seems like it’s just a matter of time before he steps in between the blue ropes to make his in-ring SmackDown debut. Andrade sent out the following to tease his debut:

?????? pic.twitter.com/NNqS7hWQuD

— “EL IDOLO” ANDRADE (@AndradeElIdolo) May 8, 2018

– It’s already been announced that Rusev will take on Daniel Bryan in a Money in the Bank qualifying match on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Baltimore, MD at the Royal Farms Arena on the USA Network.

The winner of this match will compete in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at the upcoming pay-per-view event that takes place next month. To promote the match, the former United States champion sent out the following tweet:

Big test tonight for #RusevDay in Baltimore #SDLive

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) May 8, 2018

What do you want to see WWE do with Andrade Almas on the blue brand? Sound off in the comment section below.

Daniel Bryan took a shot at Big Cass’ wrestling ability in a recent social media post. Bryan and Big Cass will wrestle tonight at Backlash in New Jersey.

For Bryan, it will be his first PPV single’s match (not counting GRR) since being medically cleared to return. It will also be Big Cass’ first single’s match back since returning from a torn ACL suffered this summer.

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/993194632942145537?s=19

Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass

Big Cass’ first official match since returning from injury was the Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He entered the match at #49 and only lasted a little over seven minutes.

Big Cass would only eliminate one person from the Rumble and that person was Daniel Brian. As for Bryan, he entered the Rumble at number one and lasted for over an hour and 15 minutes until he was by eliminated by Big Cass.

While a rivalry between Big Cass and Daniel Bryan has been building, WWE has hinted that the Miz and Daniel Bryan rivalry we thought we’d never see is not far off either. In storyline, it was Bryan who arranged for Miz to be drafted to Smackdown after Bryan learned he had been medically cleared to compete.

Here is what the Miz said regarding Bryan being medically cleared to get back in the ring:

“Am I happy? No. Good for him that he is back. Congratulations. Bravo. The thing is he was the one that said, ‘fight for your dreams?’ He didn’t fight for his dreams when he walked away like a coward on Talking Smack now did he? That’s real. Fight for your dreams. His playbook goes something like this: go out there, get sympathy, talk about your wife, cry a little and get your ass kicked.”

WWE might want to hold off on the culmination of this feud until SummerSlam, so it could be a slow build.

New details have emerged about Daniel Bryan’s schedule with the WWE.

Bryan was forced to retire two years again due to his history with concussions. Despite that his run on top in WWE was short-lived, he no doubt made a mark on the history of the sports entertainment company.

Then it was revealed in March that Bryan had been medically cleared to return to in-ring competition and worked his first match back by teaming up with Shane McMahon to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34.

Since then, Bryan has been working matches on SmackDown Live and WWE’s latest pay-per-view event. 

Bryan made history at last Friday’s WWE Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on the WWE Network in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium by break an impressive record, which was beating Rey Mysterio’s previous 1:02:14 record for longest time in a Royal Rumble Match. 

He was in the Greatest Royal Rumble for an astounding 1:16:05.

There was some speculation that he would be working a part-time schedule following his return but by looking at advertisements for upcoming WWE events, he will be working a full-time schedule.

The sports entertainment company is advertising him for upcoming SmackDown live events, including the U.K. tour. The only events that he’s not advertised for the blue brand are in Tokyo on June 29th and Taipei on July 1st.

Bryan is slated to take on Big Cass in a singles match at this Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view event.

What are your thoughts on Bryan working a full-time schedule? Sound off in the comment section below.

WWE Champion AJ Styles has taken the WWE by storm since signing a few years ago.

Styles made his name known while in TNA Wrestling, now known as Impact Wrestling, from 2002–2013 well before he signed with the sports entertainment company.

Styles first appeared on WWE television in 2002 but turned down a developmental contract he was offered by the company. He signed a multi-year contract with WWE fourteen years later in January 2016 and made his re-debut at that month’s Royal Rumble.

After appearing at his first WrestleMania 32 that April against Chris Jericho, Styles headlined multiple pay-per-view events and won the WWE Championship twice.

Styles was recently a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast where he spoke about various topics including Daniel Bryan.

Ever since the former SmackDown General manager was recently cleared by WWE doctors, Styles, as well as other WWE Superstars, have gone on record by stating that they would like to wrestle the former WWE Champion.

“Selfishly, I was hoping he [Bryan] would have gotten cleared before. Did I expect him to be cleared? No, but the fact that he did is awesome. Reminded me of when Shawn Michaels came back. I remember just praying for him to not get hurt because you just never know, and then he goes out and becomes Shawn Michaels. I feel like I am in the best run of my career as well.”

What are your thoughts on Styles’ comments about Bryan? Sound off in the comment section below.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

WWE announced that Daniel Bryan is not medically cleared to compete at tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live by doctors in fear of a potential chest infection.

While in any other case, an announcement such as this would simply be seen as a part of the storyline, things are different for the former SmackDown Live General Manager.

It was revealed before that Bryan was cleared on the condition that he will have to go through medical examination after every bout.

So after wrestling for well over an hour at Greatest Rumble, many wondered if the company kept him away from the ring due to any medical complications.

Thankfully, this wasn’t the case and the whole thing turned out to be a storyline as Bryan ended up wrestling a big dark match after the show went off air.

Daniel faced Shinsuke Nakamura in a dark main event after the show went off air. Though their match ended in a disqualification after Nakamura delivered a low blow to the former World Champion. Below are some photos of their bout:

pic.twitter.com/M3nGbvIDIt

— samaha15 (@samaha15) May 2, 2018

pic.twitter.com/0YDGzz3jEY

— samaha15 (@samaha15) May 2, 2018

Another photo of @WWEDanielBryan facing @ShinsukeN after tonight's #205Live. Thanks to @brococks for the pics @WrestlingInc pic.twitter.com/rnky8t4aYb

— Raj Giri (@TheRajGiri) May 2, 2018

Daniel Bryan goes for the #oui kicks but Nakamura hits the shot to the balls and gets DQ'ed #WWEMontreal #sdlive pic.twitter.com/iXCVPB6jGd

— Steve Rockamaniac (@Rockamaniac00) May 2, 2018

Daniel Bryan was part of the 50 Men Battle Royal at Greatest Royal Rumble. He lasted in the match for about 76 minutes and broke Rey Mysterio’s record for spending the longest time in a Rumble match.

One of the highlights of his performance during the bout was the stiff chops delivered to Bryan by Roderick Strong which have left Daniel with several nasty looking chest welts.

The Miz has been an important part of the WWE over the last decade.

The biggest match of The Miz’s career was when defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship back at WrestleMania 27 in 2011 in the main event.

This marked the only time that WWE had booked The Miz in the main event of the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company.

Miz was recently interviewed on CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast to talk about various topics including beating Cena in the main event of WrestleMania.

“I have pinned John Cena at WrestleMania, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my WWE career. To go into WrestleMania as WWE Champion and to walk out of WrestleMania as WWE Champion as the bad guy that people boo, that doesn’t really happen ever and it did with me because I make people believe. “

Now that Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to in-ring action, it’s just a matter of time before the WWE books Miz and Bryan in a program on the blue brand. Miz gave an interesting response when asked if he was happy about Bryan being cleared.

“Am I happy? No. Good for him that he is back. Congratulations. Bravo. The thing is he was the one that said, ‘fight for your dreams?’ He didn’t fight for his dreams when he walked away like a coward on Talking Smack now did he? That’s real. Fight for your dreams. His playbook goes something like this: go out there, get sympathy, talk about your wife, cry a little and get your ass kicked.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

What are your thoughts on WWE holding off right away from booking Bryan vs. Miz in a feud? Sound off in the comment section below.

WWE hinted at this match last week and after the events on Tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live, the company has confirmed that Daniel Bryan will be facing Big Cass at the Backlash PPV.

Tonight’s episode of the Blue Branded Show was expected to feature a Miz TV segment with the former SmackDown General Manager being the special guest of the talk show.

However, Daniel didn’t come out during the segment when the A-Lister called him out and Big Cass made his way to the ring instead. Cass then proceeded to talk about his own road to recovery and ended the segment by mocking the Yes chants.

Shortly after this, we saw Bryan lying on the ground backstage and it was revealed that the former NXT Star had attacked him from behind before the show started.

Later in the episode, these events were followed by a backstage interview of Daniel Bryan who revealed that he asked for a match against Big Cass at Backlash and his wish was granted by the new GM Paige:

.@WWEDanielBryan will seek his RETRIBUTION when he goes one-on-one with @BigCassWWE at #WWEBacklash! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/mzxzT9sPH1

— WWE (@WWE) April 25, 2018

It’s interesting to note here that their upcoming bout will be the first singles PPV match of both these superstars since their return.

After this, the number of announced matches for the upcoming show has become 5. You can check out an updated match card for the Backlash PPV here.

Fans have been waiting to see a confrontation between the Miz and Daniel Bryan ever since Bryan got cleared to return to the ring and it appears that we’ll finally get to see a faceoff between the two at SmackDown tonight.

The Miz was drafted to SmackDown Live from Raw during Superstar Shakeup last week but the A-Lister only appeared on the show via a pre-taped video saying that he will make his return to the Blue Brand next week.

Now the company has revealed that the former Intercontinental Champion will be holding a Miz TV segment during his return at the Blue Branded Show this week and his guest will be none other than Daniel Bryan.

It’s worth mentioning here that this is not the only thing announced for tonight’s episode. WWE announced on their site that Jimmy Uso will take on Erick Rowan in a one on one match during the event.

They have also revealed that Charlotte will cash in her rematch clause against Carmella at the upcoming Backlash PPV and a contract signing segment between the two will take place on SmackDown tonight as well.

Now it’d be interesting to see if the Miz TV segment finally turns out to be the start of a physical rivalry between Bryan and Miz or if it ends up being just another verbal battle with another tease for the future.

Daniel Bryan and The Miz will square off at three shows during next month’s WWE UK Tour, which runs from May 9th-18th. Shows are scheduled for Bournemouth, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield – including RAW and SmackDown TV tapings (from London).

Bryan and The Miz will battle Liverpool, Newcastle & Sheffield on May 16th, 17th and 18th.

When WWE announced that Daniel Bryan was medically cleared to compete again, The Miz’s name kept coming up as one of the ‘dream match’ pairings waiting for him after a 3-year hiatus from the ring. Upon the news of The Miz moving to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up, Bryan quickly took notice and let the Miz know he’s waiting for him:

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/986048420036136961

https://twitter.com/mikethemiz/status/986163573079597056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

If we’re lucky, this feud will be one of the featured programs on SmackDown Live in the months ahead. This clip from Talking Smack (August 2016) is often cited as one of the breakout moments of The Miz’s career and is worth rewatching even if you’ve seen it before.

The Miz Fires A Shot At Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan is now back on WWE’s roster as a full-time in-ring competitor. While Bryan was out due to injury for the past several years, he took a lot of verbal abuse from The Miz. To add insult to injury, Miz began using a lot of Bryan’s moves inside the ring as well.

Now that Bryan is back to competing inside the ring, and Miz was swapped to SmackDown Live last night by way of the Superstar Shake-Up, Bryan says he can’t wait to punch Miz in the face.

The Miz fired back at Bryan via Twitter, telling the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to be careful when he punches his face because he could get hurt and sit out another three years.

Check it out below:

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/986048420036136961

https://twitter.com/mikethemiz/status/986163573079597056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Cody Rhodes Announces Press Conference For “All In”

Cody Rhodes recently took to his Instagram account to issue an announcement that a press conference will be held on May 13th for the “All In” event at Pro Wrestling Tees retail store in Chicago, Illinois.

The presser will begin at 1 P.M. CT and will be streamed via Facebook Live and Twitch. The first 50 fans who arrive will be allowed into the press conference:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhrdZEXHHcX/?utm_source=ig_embed

– Back in December Roman Reigns claimed in a WWE Network special interview with Corey Graves that he was the best in-ring performer in the world today. A month later, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega responded:

“It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product,” Omega said. “I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially, since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”

It seems The Cleaner has taken the time to respond to WWE’s Big Dog yet again. Reigns recently Tweeted out the following statement:

Any show.
Any city.
Any country.
Any opponent.

I’ll fight. #B2R pic.twitter.com/Skgobxjkva

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) April 10, 2018

Omega responded with one word and a smirky emoji:

Really?😏

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 11, 2018

If Reigns and Omega want any shot at having a match, it’d have to be in NJPW as The Cleaner has been very vocal about not wanting to leave his current promotion.

Discussion: Do you think this could lead to anything between Omega and Reigns in the future? What are the odds The Cleaner makes his way to WWE when his current deal in Japan is up? Do you even want to see Omega in WWE?

– WWE posted the following video of Daniel Bryan watching his first televised match with the company against Chris Jericho. The match happened on NXT, when the show was still a competition series, and Bryan wound up losing to Y2J via submission. Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXQ2pQ54HWw&feature=youtu.be

WWE color commentator Corey Graves had some interesting feelings about the news of former WWE SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan being medically cleared to return to in-ring action after a history of suffering concussions.

The reason for such feelings is due to his career as an active wrestler being cut short because of the same reason. In August of 2011, Graves signed a developmental contract with WWE and he was sent to WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

In the Spring of 2014, he was pulled from action in NXT after suffering a concussion, which caused him to be absent from television for several months. He announced his official in-ring retirement due to his concussion issues in December of that year. It was a bittersweet moment as the door on his wrestling career shut while his career as a commentator began.

Following the 2016 WWE draft, it was announced that Graves would be joining the RAW commentary team. Since then, Graves has brought his entertaining analysis to the main roster by breaking down the matches and storylines on both RAW and SmackDown Live. 

Graves was interviewed by Justin LaBar of Triblive to talk about various topics. During the interview, he revealed that he considered trying to get medically cleared to in-ring action after Bryan’s return was announced.

“That day was tough for me. I didn’t know about it. Nobody gave me a heads up. For Bryan, I was stoked. He’s a friend. He’s incredible in the ring. That’s where he belongs. It caught me off guard. I started asking questions to myself, Should I? What if? I had a few conversations with few people [in WWE] who put it out there. If you want to pursue this maybe we can look into it. So I spent about a week and a half weighing the options. It was, do I become a wrestler again and what happens?”

“Exactly. Again, this is all potential of would this work out, do I end up on the sidelines. I talked to my wife, talked to some friends. I think as much as I don’t believe in fate, this all kind of worked itself out so I think this is where I belong so why step out of it?”

Grave also talked about his first night as a color commentator on WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, and more. You can read the entire interview here.

What are your thoughts on Graves’ comments about a potential return? Sound off in the comment section below.

– Daniel Bryan is back where he belongs – inside a WWE ring. After years of battling concussions, seizures, and a blockade from WWE’s medical staff – Bryan finally returned to in-ring competition at last night’s WrestleMania in New Orleans.

Bryan was cleared to return to the ring several weeks ago after passing tests from numerous doctors referred to him by WWE’s Medical Director Joseph Maroon. He then entered into a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who attacked Bryan on SmackDown Live after firing the pair.

The former WWE World Heavyweight champion fired Owens and Zayn for their assault on SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon the previous week. Bryan then announced he would team with Shane O’Mac against Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania in a Tag Team match. Had Owens and Zayn won, they would’ve been reinstated on SmackDown.

Bryan and McMahon were attacked from behind early on in the bout, with Bryan being put on a stretcher after getting hit with a powerbomb on the ring apron. He later made his triumphant return into the match to bring his team back, and hooked the YES! Lock on Sami Zayn, who was forced to tap out.

WWE released the following video of Bryan reflecting on his WrestleMania return, and also his daughter getting to see him wrestle. Check it out here:

– New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega was asked on Twitter what he was doing during the biggest professional wrestling show in the world. It turns out The Cleaner was too busy playing video games instead of watching the New Orleans show:

Sitting in my hotel room playing #DBFZ

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 9, 2018

Michael Jordan probably doesn’t watch street ball in his spare time, regardless of what court they’re playing on.

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 9, 2018

– Speaking of WrestleMania, The Miz dropped his Intercontinental Title to Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match that featured Finn Balor in the opening bout of the main card. Just prior to this, however, The Miz got to meet the stars of “Impractical Jokers” Sal Vulcano and Brian Quinn.

Vulcano and Quinn said that Miz would cheat in his match, which upset Miz (who just so happened to be walking by) a bit. Check it out here:

WWE uploaded a video of Daniel Bryan arriving at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome before tonight’s WrestleMania. Bryan was asked if he was nervous about making his return to the ring tonight and Daniel answered with the following:

“I honestly have no nerves. Is it weird that I have no nerves? I am honestly just excited. I suppose it is strange that I don’t have nerves, right? Shouldn’t I be a little bit nervous that I haven’t performed in front of a live crowd in three years and here it is at the Superdome? But yeah, there is a little nerves, like I hope I don’t fall on my face or something like that.

But it is mostly just happy and it is also different too because I know that the crowd is going to be excited. I am excited to just be able to do what I love to do again. Even if it is the worst match of my entire career, it doesn’t necessarily matter because I get to do it again. So, that is where I am at.”

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon will team up tonight to face Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a tag match. If Bryan and Shane win the match, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will be fired from SmackDown Live. Owens and Zayn brutally attacked Daniel Bryan on the night he was medically cleared to return to the ring.

Roman Reigns is gearing up for the biggest match of his career as this is supposed to be his moment while under the WWE banner. He’s slated to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 34.

While promoting the event, he spoke with Planeta Wrestling to talk about various topics. It’s well known that Lesnar’s contract with WWE expires after tonight and he has already told UFC President Dana White that he’s interested in returning to the company.

Reigns gave his take on the current Universal Champion potentially returning to the MMA promotion.

“I like to say ‘never say never’ as soon as you think something is going to be one way, Vince McMahon and the WWE somehow turns it and surprises everybody,” Reigns said. “With his history, if he were to leave, I don’t think it will be the last time we see him. Before UFC he was with WWE. Regardless, he’s a great businessman and he can obviously juggle both and that deserves respect in its own right. At the end of the day, I know he has a high regard for WWE and he’ll do what’s best for him.”

Reigns was also asked about who he wants to wrestle next and it was quite the easy answer for the Big Dog. He wants to step into the squared circle against SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan, who was recently cleared to in-ring action. 

“I think the ‘Yes Man,’ I don’t get to see the guys from SmackDown all that often,” Reigns said. “I know Daniel Bryan has been cleared. I’d love to get back in their with Bryan. I’d love to get in there, kind of do what we did back at Fastlane and have that rivalry. Hell, what kind of match would that be, me and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania next year? Hopefully, his health continues to get better and better, the sky’s the limit for him. So, I think Daniel Bryan would be a cool opponent.”

https://youtu.be/GR-QFTvTQtk

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript.

SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan took part in a Q&A session during WrestleMania Axxess. Bryan was asked if he had his eyes set on any of the talent in NXT as SmackDown’s GM. The crowd briefly chanted “Johnny” before Bryan answered. Below is Daniel’s response:

“I have known one person specifically for a while. There is a ton of talent in NXT, I mean the tag match that you guys just saw with Jack Gallagher, Martin Stone (Danny Burch), Tony Nese and Oney Lorcan.. I mean those guys are just so talented. There are so many people on NXT who are extremely talented.

But there is one guy I want to lose tonight because I want to steal him and that is Johnny Gargano. I am making it public, I want Johnny Gargano on SmackDown Live!”

Johnny Gargano will battle Tommaso Ciampa tonight at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. Gargano and Ciampa were once a tag team in NXT, but Tommaso betrayed Johnny last year at NXT TakeOver: Chicago.

Ciampa then missed significant time due to an injury. During that time, Gargano became a star as a singles competitor and earned a shot at the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. Gargano came up just short in an excellent match against NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas. Ciampa returned after the match and stuck Gargano with a crutch on the entrance ramp. Gargano would get another shot at the NXT Championship on the February 21st episode of NXT. In order to be granted another shot at the title, Gargano had to put his NXT career on the line. Tommaso Ciampa interfered in the match, costing Gargano his opportunity at the NXT Championship and his career.

A month later, Johnny Gargano blended in with the crowd at Full Sail University and attacked Tommaso Ciampa while he was pacing around the ring. Ciampa asked NXT GM William Regal to do something about. Regal announced that Ciampa will face Gargano in an Unsanctioned match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. If Ciampa wins, Gargano is gone from NXT for good. If Gargano wins the match, he will be rejoin the NXT roster.

NXT TakeOver: New Orleans airs tonight on the WWE Network at 8 PM ET. There will also be an hour long Kickoff Show before the event starts. Join us here tonight on SEScoops for live coverage of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

The announcement of Daniel Bryan’s return to WWE in a competitive capacity has kicked the excitement of the road to WrestleMania into high gear. In previous years, the road to WrestleMania has been a mixed bag, but the late addition of Daniel Bryan to the card has all but guaranteed this year’s show will be one to remember.

The prospect of a healthy Daniel Bryan presents countless ‘dream match’ scenarios. Aside from “I can’t believe this is really happening” battles against likes of The Miz, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar – we’re taking a look at 3

Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy was once touted as the next big megastar in WWE, whilst his run as WWE Champion left a lot to be desired and his personal issues caused a massive rift between himself and the company he is now seemingly back (pending any fallout from his recent legal issues). Although Hardy is technically a RAW Superstar there is definitely sense in moving him over to the Blue brand potentially alongside his ‘Broken’ brother Matt.

Hardy’s experience and penchant for the extreme could mesh well with the more technical style of Bryan, assuming that Bryan will venture more into a mat based style to appease any looming doubts from WWE’s top brass. This could be an extremely intriguing bout between two veteran performers who stood near the top of the mountain in their own ‘eras’ and could be a perfect ‘left field’ bout to give Bryan between some of these mega dream matches.

Neville

Neville

We have not seen the ‘King of The Cruiserweights’ for a long time…but there is no reason to expect anything other than a return to a WWE ring for the UK Superstar in the near future. This could be great way to transition Neville into the ‘Heavyweight’ division, giving him the opportunity to over-power the beloved Bryan and continue to establish his villainous persona on the main roster shows of either Smackdown or RAW.

This could be a technical masterclass from two stars who have worked across the UK, Europe and Japan and could essentially elevate Neville to the ranks of upper mid carder…somewhere he could thrive.

Pete Dunne

The WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has a lot in common with NXT General Manager William Regal, a man who had some exceptional matches with Daniel Bryan in his career. Whilst the comparisons to Regal are well earned it is important to remember that the young UK Superstar has a huge amount of upside potential and has been crafting his ‘Bruiserweight’ persona across the United Kingdom for PROGRESS, ICW and Rev Pro et al for the past several years in his own right.

This has ‘technical masterpiece’ written all over it, a real chance to show that Dunne can ‘go’ on the biggest stages and having him compete against a star the stature of Bryan would do wonders for his career. Out of the three matches listed this would be the least likely but certainly the most important in terms of helping to build upon the creation of a new star.

Who would you like Bryan to face? Let us know in the comments.

With WrestleMania 34 quickly approaching, it comes with media for all WWE Superstars, and that includes Triple H.

It’s been well documented that WWE SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan has been officially cleared to return to in-ring competition by WWE doctors.

The former WWE Champion has been an underdog for his entire career. From his days on the independent scene to when he arrived in WWE. Although the company wasn’t fully behind him at first, he has overcome the challenges that were put in front of him and became a fan favorite.

Bryan, who was forced to retire in 2016 due to his history with concussions, is now back.

Triple H made the rounds at ESPN last week. During his appearances through the “ESPN car wash,” he spoke about Bryan’s WWE in-ring clearance.

Here is what the former WWE Champion had to say about the fan favorite being cleared (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc):

“There’s a certain point in time when Daniel is not still cleared by us, but he’s gotten clearance from his team and his people and all his things, and I’m sure he was already training and doing things,” Triple H said. “Maybe not taking bumps, but training and doing the things he wanted to do to get himself back in shape just in case this did happen. So while we were making him go to additional doctors … and running more tests and doing all these things to ensure that everything was all right, he was preparing.”

“Part of me was so afraid in the period of time when it [was] all going down that he was going to walk and say ‘forget it’ and go wrestle for someone else that doesn’t care, that doesn’t take their health into consideration — because that’s pretty much everywhere else — and risk his life and his health and his family and his baby and risk all of it,” Triple H responded. “And it’s not worth that. We take enough risk every day in what we do. Every day. Luckily we never got there, and luckily things worked out. It’s funny, because as Bryan was putting out things like, ‘I’m going to do this if they won’t let me do that,’ he was already working the information. He was already getting those tests done. He was already getting that stuff done. … Looking back on it, he was already prepping. He was prepping everything about it.”

“I put so much more pressure on myself to [lose] to somebody than I ever did to win a title because … I just want it to be [such a big moment] for this guy,” said Triple H. “Watching that story evolve over that long period of time — from a behind-the-scenes standpoint — being behind it with him and being like, ‘Man, I know this is not the plan right this moment, but this is where we need to go.’ Just seeing that feeling and getting to that moment, having that match with him and having that moment, and knowing what’s coming later and being out there in that moment for him … when you have the circumstances that all work out to make this fairy-tale moment — it’s just awesome.”

Bryan is slated to team up with Shane McMahon to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34. On the flip side, Triple H will team up with his wife, Stephanie McMahon, to take on Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle.

Shawn Michaels has spoken on Daniel Bryan’s return to in-ring competition and he couldn’t be happier.

News of Bryan’s medical clearance took the wrestling world by storm. WWE wasted little time getting the former WWE World Heavyweight champion in the swing of things. On the March 20 edition of SmackDown Live, Bryan was attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to set up Bryan’s return to the ring for WrestleMania 34.

One man who is no stranger to Bryan’s journey is “HBK.” Bryan trained under the tutelage of Michaels at the Texas Wrestling Academy. Bryan ended up becoming one half of the TWA Tag Team champions in early 2000.

WWE recently rolled out a video where Michaels talks about Bryan’s medical clearance. Here is some of what he had to say:

“Like everybody else I was pulling for him because I know what it’s like to be forced away from this before you’re ready to let it go. I know it’s a special moment for him, clearly it’s an unbelievably special moment for the fans. This isn’t a comeback, this is a second chance. He’s a wonderful young man and I know he’s gonna make the most of this opportunity for sure.”