Daniel Bryan discussses his ring style, Lesnar, Vince's podcast, HHH and more

[Sweettre15]

First off a music related question, what was it like meeting James Hetfield a few months ago? Are you a big Metallica fan, do you have any favorite albums?

Okay, so I’m not necessarily the biggest Metallica fan, it was actually really neat to meet him because I got to talk to him. I forget what year it was, but MTV ran this contest or lottery where you could enter, and Metallica would come do a concert at your house. Somebody from Aberdeen, Washington, which is where I grew up, actually won the contest. (Laughs) So Metallica did a show in Aberdeen, Washington in this guy’s backyard, and so when I met him and said that to him, he was like, ‘Oh my god that was this and this and this.’ He kind of told me the story of [how they got there], it was a neat and interesting conversation. So I don’t know any Metallica albums, but I know when I was in the high school weight room, they would play non stop all the time.



Your first match back will be on Smackdown on Thursday, which surprised many fans who thought you wouldn’t be back until the Royal Rumble. Did you have any input on when your first match back would be?

Absolutely, I requested my first match back to be when Smackdown moved to Thursday nights. I think it’s a good time to change the branding of Smackdown, it’s a very important show for us, to get new viewers on a new night, and I wanted to be the guy to bring the new viewers to the new night. So once I got cleared, I actually asked for the spot. My vision of Smackdown is going to be [it changing] in 2015. I would like it to be the show that would actually be more fun to watch than Raw, and this is all part of the process, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Will you alter your in ring style after your injury?

I will, but not necessarily because of my injury. It’s something where your style has to constantly evolve. I like to look at wrestling as the most artsy of all the martial arts. It’s a very creative process, what we’re doing is artistic creative combat. So as such, it needs to evolve. Being able to sit at home for the last 8 months and watch the product, and I see things where there’s too much of this, or there’s not enough this, and here’s what I can bring to the table that’s different, and more exciting for the fans. So yes, my style will be changing. Will it be any easier on my neck? I have no idea (laughs). Yeah, my style will be changing, but it’s not necessarily going to be physically easier.

How long do you see yourself being able to continue to wrestle, and who would you like to wrestle before you retire?

Those are very difficult questions. I would like to wrestle as long as my body is physically capable of it. I love what I do, I used to do this for very little money (laughs). It’s one of those things where, I do this because it’s fun, being with WWE is the first time I ever made any real money doing it. It’s just a blast, it’s my passion. It’s like asking a musician how long do they want to play music for. It’s very difficult to grapple with the idea of not being able to wrestle any more, but you also have to come to the realization that this is a very physical business, and your body will only last you so long. So I would like to say that at some point I would have the mental intelligence, or maybe the mental support from my wife or somebody, to know, ‘Okay, it’s time for you to stop, because if you don’t, you’re going to have to replace your hips, your knees, all that kind of stuff.’ So I don’t know when that time will be, but I’d like to wrestle as long as I can, but at the end of it still be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle afterwards.



What was your take on Vince McMahon’s interview a couple of months back on the WWE Network where he encouraged talent to reach for the brass ring?

(Laughs) You know it’s funny, because one of the things that he had mentioned was, he said something about the Millennials not having any ambition, right. It’s funny, because the WWE does this personality test with some of their more successful superstars, where they rank you on all of these scores, like your desire for power, and your personality, and all that kind of stuff. One of the things they ranked was ambition, and it’s funny, because in this personality assessment, I got the lowest score for ambition that the lady had ever seen. So they do it on a percentile basis, so from 0 to 100, I was in the bottom 1 percentile of ambition.

(Laughs) It’s funny because the lady was like, ‘How on earth are you so successful given that you seem to have no ambition?’ I said, ‘Well, that’s where there’s a flaw on the test. I have no ambition for what society says is important as far as things like money, and all that kind of stuff.’ What I am ambitious about is I want to be the best wrestler that I can possibly be, and I think there’s some sort of mistake in generations, as far as what he thinks as far as our generation lacking ambition. Our generation just wants different things than what his generation wants, and I think that’s a societal thing as well. There’s an older generation of people who say, ‘No, you guys should want this, you guys should want this, you guys should want this.’ Whereas our generation, a lot of us say, ‘No, we don’t want that, we want something different, and a lot of the things that you guys wanted, are the reason that the world is messed up. We need to change our value system.’ So that’s it, that’s a very different take on what’s going on.

But people do need to stand up and say, ‘No, this isn’t what I want, I want to do this. This is me, this is how I want to present myself on television. This is how I want to be within WWE, this is how I view professional wrestling, this is what I would like it to be.’ People have to have the courage to come up and say that. But the hard thing is, he was talking about the Attitude Era and how things were different, well things wouldn’t have been that much different if there wasn’t a WCW. Like guys could say, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do this. If you want to fire me fine, because I’m going to go to WCW and make just as much money.’ That doesn’t exist right now. It’s people who are okay with like, ‘Hey, my life without WWE, is as good as my life with the WWE.’ They have to be able to say, ‘Okay, if I’m going to say this is what I want to do, or else I’m taking my ball and going home.’ They have to have some sort of plan for when they take their ball and go home, they have something else to do, which is hard, especially when you have a family, and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, I have very interesting thoughts on that whole podcast. It’s a very interesting look into the mind of Vince McMahon, so it was fascinating.



CM Punk recently mentioned that he thinks you could have a successful MMA career. Is that something you’d ever be interested in trying, and have you done any MMA training?

Yeah, I’ve actually done a lot of jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. The Yes Lock that I do, it was actually taught to me by Neal Melanson, the head grappling coach at Xtreme Couture. It’s a move I use regularly when I do jiu-jitsu, it’s a [type of] kind of face lock to keep the guy from rolling. So I love doing jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, I will probably never do and MMA fight, and here’s why: I am not competitive. So I love jiu-jitsu, I love going in, I love going on the mat, I love rolling the people, but I love doing it with my friends.

It’s like the way dogs play, dogs play like they’re fighting, but they’re not trying to hurt each other unless they’re actually really fighting. That’s what I’m like with my friends, like, ‘Hey, let’s spar a little bit with kickboxing, but I’m not going to punch you in the face as hard as I can. I’m just going to see if I can touch you, and by me touching you, we both acknowledge that I’ve done something good.’ Or likewise with grappling, when I can turn an armbar, and in no way shape or form am I trying to break your arm, and if you don’t tap out because you don’t think you’re in that much trouble, I’m not going to crank it just to prove to you that I do have this armbar, right (laughs). So I love martial arts, I love that sort of thing, but I’m also not competitive enough to go in and be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to break this guy’s leg.’ That’s just not my personality type.



Triple H’s role in WWE management has been expanding in the last couple of years, especially with him spearheading NXT. What do you think about Triple H’s work with the NXT talent he’s selected, and have you talked to him about what his vision is for the future of wrestling?

I have never actually talked to him about his vision for the future of wrestling, and that is actually something I should talk to him about, because we think a lot alike in a lot of ways. I like what he’s done with NXT, I think NXT is an awesome show. That last special that they did was an awesome product. I think Hunter is very intelligent wrestling wise, like he knows wrestling, he knows what works wrestling wise. I’m not exactly sure what are his ideas, and what aren’t his ideas within the WWE, but I want to say two of the most successful current acts that happened in the last year, like The Shield and the Wyatts, I think those are Triple H ideas, but I’m not exactly sure, as far as their execution and that sort of thing. The only way I can really gauge him is by what happens on NXT, and NXT is a wonderful product, it might be the best wrestling product out there. I love watching that show, and I think they’ve chosen some pretty awesome guys to be the stars of that show: Sami Zayn is incredible, Adrian Neville is incredible, Finn Balor is incredible, Hideo Itami, who used to be KENTA, and I wrestled on the independents and Japan, he’s incredible. So they’ve got some incredible talent down there, and they’re doing some really good stories.

Many thought you would face Brock Lesnar last year at Summerslam before your injury, and you recently stated you’d like to face Brock at WrestleMania. Could you envision incorporating any Japanese or strong style elements in a match with him?

Oh absolutely. I truly believe that if I wrestled Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 31, for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it might be the most physical, realistic, style of pro wrestling match that has ever been seen in the United States. Whether it would be the most physical, realistic pro wrestling match that has ever happened, I don’t know, because there’s been a lot of awesome stuff like that in Japan. But it would just be something very, very different from what people are used to seeing now in WWE, and I think we need something like that, something that feels like a spectacle. I think it would be incredible.

How was it working with Batista during his comeback run last year? Were you both surprised by the crowd reactions going into the WrestleMania match with Randy Orton?

(Laughs) So I was never supposed to be in that match, and the crowd reactions are what forced me to even be given that opportunity. I was surprised that the crowd was so vocal, because it was clear when Batista came back that he was supposed to be the returning hero. He was going on to main event WrestleMania against Randy Orton, and that was the big plan, but the fans changed that plan. That’s one of the amazing things about WWE that doesn’t happen in any other sport, or any other area of entertainment, is how much power the fans have. The fans literally changed the course of the biggest wrestling event of the year just through their actions, just through making their voices heard.

I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the top of the card. I think I was scheduled to wrestle Sheamus, and probably be 5th or 6th match from the top, and maybe get a 10 minute match if we were lucky, but because of fan support, all of the sudden now I’m doing 2 matches and I’m in the main event of WrestleMania. I kind of had thought that the fans might react the way that they did as far as booing him and cheering for me, but in no way shape or form did I expect it to be as vocal as it was. It turned into a transformative amount of cheering, you don’t get anything like that in any other form of entertainment or sports, so it was pretty incredible.

On Monday we found out Randy Savage was getting into the WWE Hall of Fame. Can you discuss how much influence he had on you as a sports entertainer?

I’m thrilled he’s being inducted, he’s clearly one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time. As a kid I had a Macho King wrestling buddy. I had bunk beds in my room, and I would jump off the top bunk bed and do an elbow drop onto the Macho King wrestling buddy. When you watched him, he was one of the best at mixing being an entertaining character, and flashy, and also being great in the ring. Like that match he and Ricky Steamboat had was awesome, the matches he had with Ric Flair were awesome, the matches he had with The Ultimate Warrior were awesome. He was a guy who was so good at blending entertainment and wrestling, and that’s something that a lot of wrestlers could learn from when you watch him.

How was it meeting Sting last year, and would you like to wrestle him in WWE?

Yeah, I’d love to wrestle Sting. Whether he would love to wrestle me, I have no idea (laughs). The first night I met him was at Comic Con last July in San Diego, and meeting him, he just seemed like such a nice man. He hasn’t changed into an egotistical person because of his success in wrestling. Obviously I didn’t know him before he was a big star in wrestling, but he just seemed like a very nice man, somebody who you’d love to hang out with, because he’s so cool.

Source: http://www.alternativenation.net/daniel-bryan-interview/

 

[Just Zay'n]

Alright, now I really wanna see Bryan win the Rumble so we can see him vs. Brock. His concept for the match actually sounds amazing.

 

[Soulblazed]

Interesting interview..I hope he wrestles for a few more years...Say he does wrestle Brock..I'd love to see him use the Cattle Mutilation on Lesnar. He could also use triangle chokes, heel hooks, etc

 

[Wald]

Interesting interview and I fully agree with his counter argument to Vince's 'Millennials have no ambition' statement. I think we've seen how the system was co-opted by the baby boomer generation and we're just trying to go down a different path. The world and capitalism genuinely needs us to not just follow on from what's gone before because what's gone before broke the best system society has ever seen.

Would love to see Bryan v Brock too, especially after reading his comments on it

 

[TheICChampion]

Well, if Cena or Rollins win the title at the Rumble or at least before WrestleMania then it's a more likely possibility that we will see Lesnar vs. Bryan. However I don't see WWE taking a chance on giving Bryan the WWE Heavyweight title again anytime soon. Not being a hater, just realistic.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Regardless of whether you're a fan of Bryan or not, there has to be some understandable concern as to his long term future. He looks good, he's passed all the various exams, he looks healthy, he's fired up and that's great. I hope he's got at least another 10 years in him but, from a realistic perspective by considering both the business aspects and Bryan's health, I can at least understand any reluctance to put the title back on him right now. I might not agree with it and I'm sure many other fans don't either but, to be fair, we don't TRULY know how well Bryan is gonna be able to hold up in the long run with the intense WWE touring schedule.

At the same time, it's not as if WWE has any genuinely viable options and I think that's all because of Vince McMahon's insistence on putting most of WWE's eggs in one basket, that one basket being named John Cena. Daniel Bryan isn't an endorsement of the WWE Machine and that's one reason why fans have rallied around him. While he has that sort of "every man" quality that a lot of people often can gravitate to, I think it's equally because the guy's just damn good at what he does. Is he charismatic? Frankly, yes he is because charisma can't always be measured in the same way. He's able to keep people invested in what he says on the mic and keep that connection there, he might not have the almost superhuman promo abilities of The Rock or have that movie star presence, but that doesn't mean he's not charismatic in the least. It's about getting people invested, keeping them invested and using that interest to help make money and Bryan's able to do that.

As to Vince's brass ring comments, Bryan touched on the exact counterargument that can be made. Fifteen to twenty years ago, there was another viable option that wrestlers in the United States had as far as making big money. They could speak up and voice their opinions more easily without worried about ramifications because they always had the option of possibly seeking employment in WCW. Even if they do so now with the upmost respect, Vince might get pissed and either fire them or essentially bury them. At 9 a.m., you might get a Vince McMahon that's open, friendly, easy to talk to and willing to listen. An hour later, you might be dealing with a tyrannical, rabid bull that's pissed off and looking for someone to take it out on in some way. Also, the wrestlers can only do what they're told to do by creative and creative can only do so when Vince approves their ideas. So ultimately, the buck has to stop with him. You go high enough, it always has to come down to one person, so a lot of the problems with the wrestling product have to fall squarely on Vince's shoulders. He can try to pass the buck all he wants and throw the roster under the bus, but it's not really fooling anybody.

As for a proposed match with Lesnar, I think it could be Lesnar's best match since the early 2000s. I think they could put together something different, something we don't see all that often, while telling a great story.

 

[AceofSpades]

http://www.craveonline.com/sports/interviews/810517-daniel-bryan-talks-return-wwe-smackdown

This interview I have linked was way more in-depth and gave some awesome insight. He's hilarious too. He blew my mind with some of these answers.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

What the fuck is it about him? Godamit I just can't tell but he is so fucking nice that you just want him to reach the top spot and stay there. Its like in this world of scripted wrestling, his words and actions are the most genuine and I swear to god thats what connects him to the people. He is so damn genuine. Love the guy and I hope he wins to face Brock now. I don't fucking care that he is like a buck 70 and looks laughable in front of Brock, I want that match! I want a smash mouth puroresu or whatever that shit is match, where they tear one another!

 

[Sweettre15]

Haha and Bryan goes indepth on similar topics here but expands more on what he hopes to do with Smackdown here, and Bryan continues to remind me of why I'm a fan of him in this Q &A:

Ahead of his in-ring return, we had the chance to speak with Bryan about his injury, what appearing alongside his wife on Total Divas has done for his career, his return to the ring and more.

2014 was such a whirlwind year for you. Not only did you main event WrestleMania 30, but you took home your first WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Then before the dust had even settled, you were sidelined with a neck injury for the remainder of the year. In your own words, how would you describe 2014?

Daniel Bryan: It was a roller coaster, that’s the only way I can describe it. I went from extreme highs [to extreme lows.] Not only did I main event WrestleMania 30 and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – which is like the apex of our industry- the very next Friday I got married to my beautiful wife, Brie Bella, and we went on this amazing honeymoon to Hawaii. We got back on the Saturday, and on Monday we were in Baltimore for Raw and I found out that morning that my father died – and that was intense.

Then in May, I found out that I had to get neck surgery. In the process of all that, they’re thinking that the neck surgery isn’t going to take very long for me to recover from – maybe six to eight weeks. However, they discover that its much worse than they thought and there becomes this idea of “Hey will you even be able to come back” – not a matter of when will you come back, but will you be able to come back?

At that same time I got good news, the WWE wanted to put out an autobiography for me and I’m like “great, that really cool,” and then right as we announce that -which was in August- two robbers broke into our house. So its defiantly been a year of extreme highs, extreme lows and so the best way I can describe 2014 is as a roller coaster.

Was there ever a point during that time where you questioned your future with the WWE?

Bryan: The only time I really questioned my future was just at the idea of “man these doctors are saying that I may not be able to come back. Is that a reality, because I’ve been doing this since I was 18 years old and I have never been an adult without being involved in the wrestling industry.” It made me question, what I would even do without [wrestling]. This is my passion, this is what I love to do and [an injury such as this one] does make you question [your future]. I just had to get back into one of those frames of mind to be like “No, I can’t even think about that, I have to come back, I have to get better.” This is what I love doing and I can’t imagine my life without it.

Your injury might have kept you out of the ring and off most WWE programming, but the YES! Nation was able to keep up with your life outside of the ring through E! Network’s Total Divas. What has doing the show been like for you and your career?


Bryan: It’s interesting because it’s exposed me to an entirely new audience. I went from somebody who didn’t even own a television, to somebody who is now on reality television. It’s just a strange change in circumstances. It’s funny because people who watch Total Divas aren’t necessarily WWE fans, but they’re becoming WWE fans [through Total Divas].

I was in Chipotle and this mom and daughter walk up to me, and you would never peg them as being people who would watch Monday Night Raw, but they came up to me and they’re like “Oh my gosh, are you Bryan?” and that’s how I know that they’re watching me on Total Divas and not WWE. WWE fans say “Are you Daniel Bryan?” where Total Divas fans say “Oh my gosh, are you Bryan?” and I’m just like yeah. So this mother and daughter tell me, “We love Total Divas and now we occasionally watch Monday Night Raw, and we occasionally watch Smackdown and now we want to see the big events like SummerSlam and WrestleMania,” so I think its given me exposure to a lot of people who I normally wouldn’t get exposure with.


This week not only marks Smackdown‘s move to Thursday night, but is also marks your highly anticipated return to the ring. How have you prepared yourself for your in-ring return after taking so much time off to deal with your injury?

Bryan: I’ve actually been doing a lot of Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing because I feel that’s the best thing that translates cardio wise and ability wise to what we do in the WWE. So I’ve been doing a lot of that. My body feels really good, I feel really mobile and my neck feels strong and I attribute most of that to the Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing.

It just so happens that your return coincided with The Authority’s return to power in the WWE and judging by what we saw unfold on this week’s Monday Night Raw, your feud with the WWE’s power stable seems to have picked up right where we left off? Are you ready to fight The Authority once again to defy the odds in what promises to be an up-hill battle?

Bryan: Yeah, I’m always ready. I didn’t come back expecting things to be easy. The dislike that The Authority has for me and my dislike for The Authority, is most likely never going to change. They don’t see me as somebody who will make the company money and that’s what they’re all about. They want to do what’s “best for business” and will make the business money. Despite all the people cheering for me, they don’t see that as a good reason to give me opportunities.

They want somebody who looks more like a bodybuilder, they want a guy who they can put on a magazine and I might not exactly be that guy, but the fans themselves have gotten behind me and I think that’s more powerful than anything any corporation can do.

This Thursday on Smackdown, you’ll take on Kane, who just so happens to be the man who put you out of action for the remainder of 2014. What does this match mean for you and what will be going through your mind as you prepare for the match?

Bryan: I’m not going to lie, I do have some concerns. Kane is very physical and he has a very storied past, and I haven’t wrestled in a long time -its been eight months. I have been training really hard with my cardio and that kind of stuff, but its impossible to train for the physicality of wrestling. The only thing that can get you in wrestling shape is wrestling, and like I said, I haven’t wrestled in a long time. I don’t have doubts per-say, but I’m a little concerned and a little bit nervous. On the flip side of that, I’m excited. I’ve never been someone who gets tired when I wrestle, I’ve always been explosive and I’m excited to come back. There’s nothing I love more than getting in the ring and wrestling.

If you can manage to claim the privilege of main eventing Wrestlemania 31, which superstar would you love to face off against with?

Bryan: I would love, and I’ve been saying this for a long time, to be in the main event at WrestleMania 31 wresting Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I think that’s the ultimate match. Brock is a monster, he’s a beast and there’s nothing better for an underdog like me to go up against a guy like that.


Looking past WrestleMania 31, what are your hopes and goals for 2015?

Bryan: I have a lot of hopes and goals for 2015, one of which [has a lot to do with Smackdown]. With Smackdown coming to Thursday and with me coming back, I would like to be the main guy on Smackdown and have Smackdown start beating Raw in the ratings. That’s really what I want. I’ve been very open about that with management, and told them “let me be the face of Smackdown, give me the opportunity to show what I can do and by the end of the year Smackdown will be getting just as many viewers as Raw if not more.”

Now that you mention becoming the face of Smackdown and leading the Smackdown brand on to larger ratings, if you had the chance to become the Smackdown General Manager -be it for one night or for a longer period of time- what would be the first thing on your agenda to bring back to Smackdown?

Bryan: That’s interesting. I would like to have the King of the Ring tournament on Smackdown. The King of the Ring tournament is something that the WWE used to do on a usual basis, and they’ve gotten away from it.

One, I love tournaments. Two, I think if you do the tournament exclusively on Smackdown the fans will get really excited about it and they’ll get geared up for it. Then crowning a King of the Ring champion on Smackdown, I think that would be awesome. That’s one of the many ideas I have for Smackdown in 2015.

Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers and to all of the YES! Nation members reading this interview?

Bryan: I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who has supported me. I mean there have been people who have been supporting me in my entire career, but especially the last eight months because its been a really difficult time in my life. There’s nothing better than the tweets people send me and people cheering for me on the rare appearances that I’ve had on Raw and on Smackdown and just the overall general support the WWE Universe has given me.

You know, none of us are owed this. We’re lucky to be a part of [the WWE] and we’re lucky any time we get the chance to go out and perform in front of fans who are so passionate and so awesome and so supportive. I’ve really felt that in the last fifteen months with the fans who have been supporting me for so long and I just want to say thank you to each and every one of them!


http://hiddenremote.com/2015/01/15/exclusive-daniel-bryan-opens-injury-return-ring/

 

[Stan Hansen]

Brock vs Bryan needs to happen. It'd be the best match possible for Brock and get the most out of him in terms of crowd reaction.

I know, a young guy needs to get the rub, needs to go over.

No, they don't. The WWE ruined how big that would be by not using Brock properly, or enough, during his title reign. Daniel Bryan would make the feud interesting and get the fans behind the match.