Daniel Bryan's Health

[Blade]

According to F4WOnline.com, WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan is not doing very well as far as his health is concerned.

Bryan continues to struggle with issues stemming from the injury which took him out of action a year ago, and he’s in rough shape, which is why he hasn’t been in-action on Raw for the past two weeks. It’s also the reason why WWE is protecting Bryan by booking him in 6 man tag team matches which limit his in-ring time.

This could just be conjecture, or simply nonsense, but would any of us be surprised if it's true? This is something that all of us were worried about, and most of us expected. The non-invasive neck surgery that Bryan got was likely never going to work in the long term.

So where does it leave WWE? More important, where does it leave Bryan?

Bryan either needs to go for for the full-on surgery like Austin and Edge did, or he needs to hang up the boots. He's either healthy enough to perform, or he's not. There shouldn't be this middle ground. Of course, Bryan will always try to fight through the pain. And WWE will only make him stop it if he definitely needs to. But I don't want to see Bryan destroy his body. Pro wrestling is not worth that.

As for WWE, if Bryan has to leave again, they'll be very short of top faces. There'll be Cena and Orton, and that's about it. Reigns is doing well, and getting better all the time, but his push has been seriously cooled. Ambrose is over, but they're not sure what to do with him. Ziggler can never stay hot for more than a couple months. Where does that leave WWE?

They need to get to work on building babyfaces better. Because Reigns isn't going to be able to replace Cena, Orton and Bryan on his own in a couple years time.

 

[MCMG]

I did think the fact he was working 6-man tags at the house shows was odd. This report may be false but if he isn't 100% then it is a worry. The fact he didn't wrestle on Raw and has been working tag matches can't be a good sign. If he needs another surgery or simply time off then it should be done sooner rather than later.

The WWE roster is the healthiest it has been in a long time. There is no-one out injured (except Swagger?) so maybe they can afford to lose Bryan. The WWE still have Cena, Orton and Reigns from the babyface department with Ryback, Ziggler and Ambrose all capable of stepping up. Nevermind, Neville or Balor.

I don't really want to think about him have a career-threatening injury but it could be the case. Hopefully, this is simply speculation and Bryan will be fine.

 

[XXJJ]

I tend to believe these reports. It does look like they are trying to protect him..

Best thing they did was not put him in a match with Lesnar at WM. With the size difference Brock would have to throw him around the ring like a rag doll. If WWE is worried about his health that last person you want him face is Brock.

 

[L@RISANO]

Yet another report on Bryan and the dangers of his injury really rearing its head in a big way. Still, I expect his 'backers' to once again rubbish such reports as untrue and just an excuse for the WWE to 'bury' him.


I have always suspected his depush on return to be due to concerns about his long term health and this isn't the first time such a report has come out. I do believe that the man himself probably is itching to go in the ring night after night, but WWE are intent on making sure he goes only at 100% as they surely do not want another situation like that of Edge a few years ago.

With him being the unofficial "Face of SmackDown!", I wouldn't be surprised if they try to keep his in-ring time to as low as possible and balance in a way that he can still be on shows, but with some good enough rest time to ensure he doesn't 'break down'.

 

[Navi]

Quite honestly I'm not surprised to hear this. The WWE should never have let him back in the ring if he wasn't 100% ready to go. If Bryan needs the time off to have a second surgery and get well, then he should take it. He was off for 9 months before and it didn't affect his popularity, and I doubt anymore time off will either. I'm sure his fans want to see him get better, not end up having to retire early.

 

[Thejock83]

In interviews when he came back and Smackdown switched to Thursday nights, Bryan said "I've told them to put me on Smackdown and I can make that show unmissable" and he's wrestled on if not every, almost all Smackdown's since he came back.

This is for me the typical one person's theory on something becoming a "fact" driven story that is common place on wrestling newz sites (remember when Reigns "legit" punched Bog Show in the mouth and they were gonna go at it. Or AJ being pregnant.)

Here's a theory for you - Sheamus didn't wrestle on RAW last night. He's been in 6-man tag matches on this European tour. This 1000000% means Sheamus is not healthy enough to wrestle any more but he's being forced to do so by the bad McMahon.

In this corporate WWE day and age, if Daniel Bryan wasn't healthy enough to wrestle, he wouldn't wrestle - see Christian, Corey Graves, Edge etc

 

[kadroan]

This could just be conjecture, or simply nonsense, but would any of us be surprised if it's true? This is something that all of us were worried about, and most of us expected. The non-invasive neck surgery that Bryan got was likely never going to work in the long term.

So where does it leave WWE? More important, where does it leave Bryan?

Bryan either needs to go for for the full-on surgery like Austin and Edge did, or he needs to hang up the boots. He's either healthy enough to perform, or he's not. There shouldn't be this middle ground. Of course, Bryan will always try to fight through the pain. And WWE will only make him stop it if he definitely needs to. But I don't want to see Bryan destroy his body. Pro wrestling is not worth that.

As for WWE, if Bryan has to leave again, they'll be very short of top faces. There'll be Cena and Orton, and that's about it. Reigns is doing well, and getting better all the time, but his push has been seriously cooled. Ambrose is over, but they're not sure what to do with him. Ziggler can never stay hot for more than a couple months. Where does that leave WWE?

They need to get to work on building babyfaces better. Because Reigns isn't going to be able to replace Cena, Orton and Bryan on his own in a couple years time.

If the WWE could afford to make Bryan a special attraction, a part time wrestler, I'd do it but he makes the WWE too much money for him not to be full-time.

I guess it was a good thing WWE didn't cave in and have Bryan win the WrestleMania main event knowing this. He's just IC Champion, he's expendable. Ziggler could easily slide into spot.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

^ That's a gray area, brock lesnar isn't a special attraction due to health concerns, Undertaker isn't a special attraction due to health concerns, just his age.

No one really knows Bryan's body will allow him to do, if his injury is similar to Edge's and Austin's then I'm pretty concerned for him.

He's still wrestling matches so I'm wondering whether it's a case of being vulnerable or just a matter of time due to cumulative wear and tear. If it's a matter of time and he can work as a part-timer that would be the best compromise I say.

I'd even work it into his storyline and set a time table and give him a bucketlist of dream matches. "here's who I want to face and this is when I'll walk away". Like what if he took 4 matches a year for the next 4 or 5 years. What would those 20 matches be?

Anyway this is all speculation and no one really knows but I think he needs to give himself the best chance at returning to 100% even if it means more time off.

 

[SoulTrain4]

I'll believe it if he loses the title or gets stripped otherwise it's another dumb dirtsheet rumor.

I'm sure Bryan isn't 100%, he's been back awhile and took some bumps and they starting to add up again but it might just be general aggravations and not specific to his neck.

We won't know until something official is said or done anyway

 

[blueskyy]

I hope the report isn't true. Daniel Bryan has only been back a little while... it's too soon for him to leave again... Now that I think of it, I feel like a jerk for criticizing his performance (or rather, the lack of performance) in his Intercontinental Championship match at Wrestlemania.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

If you listen to him talk about his battle with the injury and the treatment he ended up going with, it was clear it was gonna come back to haunt him some day. He really should have just went with the big surgeries and laid down until the nerves fully came back. If that ended up being the 18 - 24 months the doctors said it may be, then so be it....If he is ever to move on from the injury, he will have to take that attitude, or this will simply keep recurring. If that is the case, he will never be pushed to the top of the company again.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Sadly, I reckon this is likely to be true.

Daniel Bryan's style of wrestling (especially in his early days) takes a big toll on the body, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he returned to the ring a bit quicker than he was advised to, and went for the smaller surgery which meant further possible issues down the line. I can understand why he did this, as he'd FINALLY achieved his goal of being THE guy and then had it snatched away from him with injury. Of course he wanted to come back as soon as possible to try and keep it, it's human nature.

However, if these rumours are true then if he doest want to continue as an active wrestler, then he'll need to get whatever surgery he's advised to have and let his body fully recover before even thinking about returning to action. At the end of the day, risking your future health and mobility to keep wrestling isn't worth it- look at what happened to the Dynamite Kid, a guy who wrestled a similar style to DB- he's crippled and in a wheelchair due to not following doctors adivse, and carrying on wrestling with serious injuries.

I'd hate for something similar to happen to Bryan, neck injuries are not to be fucked with.

 

[OYDK]

If the reports are true, strip him of the title immediately and get him out of the ring ffs. All this says to me (if it's true) is that WWE knows Daniel Bryan (who came back early from a serious neck injury) is feeling negative effects of his surgery and is still allowing him to go out there and take bumps. Protecting him or not, he's still bumping with a "bad" neck, which is either plain ignorant or WWE really doesn't care about the well being of their talent. WWE apologists would say, "It's not all WWE's fault, Daniel Bryan probably doesn't want to stop wrestling..." which is a BS excuse... It's WWE's job to protect their talent from themselves just like any other athletic corporation.

That being said, all the reasons listed above make me believe that these reports are at least exaggerated. Call me a cynic, but I find it odd that nobody really takes into account that these reports are being leaked through WWE, yet Daniel Bryan is still wrestling. If WWE knows every detail in these reports that have been coming out for a couple months now, than that means they're letting one of their top guys wrestle with the chance of SEVERE injury... which I just can't believe... like I said, call me a cynic.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As has been mentioned, I got the sense that the problems would ultimately come back to bite him in the ass at some point based on the treatment he underwent. I was hoping that it wouldn't be the case, but I'm not surprised if problems are resurfacing because of the nature of the issues. Anything concerning nerve issues is often a huge question mark under the best of circumstances.

I respect and appreciate Bryan's passion and genuine love of wrestling. It's just a shame that these issues have come about at a point in time where he's one of the biggest and most popular wrestlers in the entire industry as it may well derail his entire career. Bryan turns 34 in about 5 weeks or so and while he's a young man, he's reaching an age where he's not getting any younger and, realistically, probably only has a handful of years to make the most out of being at the very top. The business can't come to a standstill and other guys may have risen up in his absence that simply would have taken his spot. Had Bryan gone with the more conventional treatments, he'd probably still be out and so much time may have passed before he could be cleared that there MIGHT be no point in returning.

As a fan of the guy, it really sucks to see this go down this way and I have a feeling that his career will probably be over sometime within the next few years.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Probably not the best idea to put him in a ladder match at Wrestlemania...

On a more serious note, I'd like WWE to put a ban on the diving headbutt. I can think, off hand, of four wrestlers who used the move regularly. Dynamite Kid - confined to a wheelchair; Chris Benoit - out for a year with a broken neck, death largely attributed to Brain damage; Bam Bam Bigelow - died too young of unrelated causes but if around today, who knows in what condition; and Daniel a Bryan - already missed 9 months due to his neck injury and now this report flares up. Now I'm not saying the headbutt is the only reason but it seems a big coincidence.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It doesn't look good for Bryan. WWE is in a tough spot here because they can't continue to push him if he can't carry his end. It really does look like he's gonna be out for an extended time or forced to retire from this.

There is an opportunity though, the match with Barrett should still be good and DB putting him over/BNB "ending his career" could really help him move up a level.

With hindsight it was a real bad move coming back at all Danny Boy...

 

[rmp0012002]

I think the WWE knew about his neck issues and is trying to limit him but Bryan loves the sport and is not going to say he can't go. Even with the surgery he had I can't see how he would ever get an ok saying he could go back to wrestling the way he was.
News said he was pulled from the European tour with neck issues so maybe it's time to have the surgery again and sit until it's totally healed or call it a career.

 

[Navi]

The main page has this up about Bryan being pulled from the European tour.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/571...confirming-daniel-bryans-european-tour-status

I guess his injury is worse than originally thought. I feel bad for the guy.

In the last couple of days we've found out that Daniel Bryan has had increasing health problems. It seems that the neck injury that sidelined him for most of last year has resurfaced. Today the WWE confirmed that they have taken him off the European tour for the following reason.

“Daniel Bryan has been pulled from the remainder of the UK tour as a precautionary measure.”

Now they don't take someone off tour unless there is are real problems. In this case it would appear it's health related. So what happens to the IC title now?

Less than a month ago a Ladder Match opened Wrestlemania for the rights to hold it. Before that we were treated to 7 guys stealing the title almost nightly from the rightful holder, Bad News Barrett. While the whole thing was extremely entertaining I think everyone expected Bryan to hold the title until at least Summerslam in an effort to elevate it somewhat.

I know it's too early to dance on his grave so to speak, but if he can't wrestle, what do you see happening? My thoughts are maybe some sort of tournament involving the same group who were in there before. With Bryan out it comes down to 6 guys, and you could have elimination matches next week on RAW, with the final two duking it out at Extreme Rules.

To tell you the truth, this title seems cursed. The previous title holder went down with an injury, and now Bryan. Didn't Sheamus win it as well and then go out with a separated shoulder? Should they just retire the damm thing altogether, and rename the US title something else? Thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[MartialHorror]

Suddenly, I'm beginning to understand why WWE didn't want to put the WHC belt on him...

A few weeks ago he said he was feeling fine, so I have to wonder if the Sheamus match took a lot out of him. That was a brutal one. Hopefully he recovers and if it's too severe, hopefully he gets out before the injury becomes worse. Maybe it would be better if he becomes a part timer or something.

 

[TDFG]

DB might only be 33 years old but he's already had a long career, I would be worried for him because if he's not going to change is in ring style then he might be heading towards the end of his career.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I think you DB fans owe WWE an apology.

You booed and razzed on the Rumble after Bryan got eliminated, refused to accept Reigns in the main event instead, and wanted Bryan to beat Brock for the title (which would have been stupid).

Well, now you see why.

Come to think of it, maybe it was why WWE didn't have Bryan in the Rumble the previous year. Maybe they knew he was injured. Yet you people carried on until WWE were forced to put Bryan in the main event and win the title.

Maybe you fans are the problem. You demand to see Bryan so much, that he is forced to wrestle more often. A 28-second match at WM28 is done to protect his fragile body from injury, yet all you people did was boo it.

Face it, you don't care about Bryan. You only care about proving WWE wrong, and thinking that you know how to run a wrestling company better than Vince McMahon. Yet Vince protected your boy, and didn't sacrifice his WWE Title program for a hospital case. So, you're welcome.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think you DB fans owe WWE an apology.

You booed and razzed on the Rumble after Bryan got eliminated, refused to accept Reigns in the main event instead, and wanted Bryan to beat Brock for the title (which would have been stupid).

Well, now you see why.

Just because a lot of fans didn't wanna drink Vince's Kool-Aid doesn't mean WWE is owed an apology. Just because Vince McMahon wants fans to cheer for and/or invest in a particular wrestler when they're given no real reason to, other than Vince himself happening to want them to, doesn't mean they should. In Reigns' case for WrestleMania, I believe a lot of the problem had to do with Reigns' current weaknesses coupled with some downright piss poor creative decisions. The overall build for WrestleMania this year was one of the weakest I can recall, which was ironic considering that it was a pretty strong show overall. Some fans didn't give Reigns a shot, that's definitely and unfortunately true, but that wasn't the case for everyone. Reigns himself has some things going on in his persona that need tinkering with, which certainly didn't help matters, but I think most would've been highly underwhelmed with anyone in that spot if said wrestler was subjected to the same lousy booking decisions to build up the match with Lesnar. Bryan being injured also doesn't magically wipe away Roman Reigns' shortcomings in terms of experience, charisma and personality. I do think that it MIGHT have gone more smoothly for Reigns had Bryan not been able to come back in time for WrestleMania, but that doesn't mean there still wouldn't be a number of wrestlers better suited for the WrestleMania main event Reigns.

Highly doubtful since there'd be almost no way WWE would be able to keep it quiet for all that time. If there were rumors going about early last year that Bryan was having serious issues regarding his neck, and WWE still let him compete, they'd be setting themselves up for a ton of bad publicity, possibly even legal ramifications. When it comes to anything regarding head or neck trauma, WWE takes things VERY seriously; after all, several moves are no longer done in WWE, some are even flat out banned, out of concern for the potential trauma they could cause. I think the simpler answer for last year is that some company officials just flat out underestimated Bryan's popularity

Maybe you fans are the problem. You demand to see Bryan so much, that he is forced to wrestle more often. A 28-second match at WM28 is done to protect his fragile body from injury, yet all you people did was boo it.

Face it, you don't care about Bryan. You only care about proving WWE wrong, and thinking that you know how to run a wrestling company better than Vince McMahon. Yet Vince protected your boy, and didn't sacrifice his WWE Title program for a hospital case. So, you're welcome.

Yeah, now this is just plain, 100% bullshit. The way your post reads, you're trying to lay claim to somehow foreseeing all the various health issues that've plagued the guy or that every Bryan fan should have seen it. It's no secret that you're not a fan of Bryan, most of the time, you only post to express your hate for the guy or disdain for anyone that's a fan. Besides, we don't even know what the nature of the injury is that reports are saying will keep him out of action for approximately 4 weeks and none of them have really been all that reliable as it is. At first, it was reported that the issues with his neck were starting to reemerge, then reports were saying that it wasn't because of his neck, but that it was due to suffering a concussion. Not long after that, it was reported that Bryan didn't suffer a concussion, so we're ultimately back to where we started a few weeks ago when all this "information" was coming about: he's injured, though we don't know the nature of the injury.

 

[MCMG]

If Bryan is to miss Extreme Rules and Payback then they may as well strip him of the belt. He and his doctors don't need any extra pressure in getting him back. It's not as if there isn't a long list of potential champs plus Cena has the other mid-card title.

The WWE and Bryan probably both wish they could have handled this better. I understand them wanting to get him back as soon as possible but you have to ask is it worth it. Surely at this point they need to make sure his long-term health is fine and he can actually compete. Someone like Edge wrestled for a long-time after an awful period of injuries and time off. He also had to retire early because of those very injuries so this isn't an easy scenario.

At the very least tell him to tone down his style in the ring. Daniel Bryan is one of the best out there - he can work around a neck injury. I don't know Bryan's situation but surely it is better to be safe than sorry. Just give him decent time off.

 

[Navi]

I think you DB fans owe WWE an apology.

You booed and razzed on the Rumble after Bryan got eliminated, refused to accept Reigns in the main event instead, and wanted Bryan to beat Brock for the title (which would have been stupid).

Well, now you see why.

Come to think of it, maybe it was why WWE didn't have Bryan in the Rumble the previous year. Maybe they knew he was injured. Yet you people carried on until WWE were forced to put Bryan in the main event and win the title.

Maybe you fans are the problem. You demand to see Bryan so much, that he is forced to wrestle more often. A 28-second match at WM28 is done to protect his fragile body from injury, yet all you people did was boo it.

Face it, you don't care about Bryan. You only care about proving WWE wrong, and thinking that you know how to run a wrestling company better than Vince McMahon. Yet Vince protected your boy, and didn't sacrifice his WWE Title program for a hospital case. So, you're welcome.

No one owes the WWE an apology, and where do you get the idea that anyone should?

Daniel Bryan was injured because of the way he wrestle's, nothing more nothing less. Years of doing what he does takes a toll on your body, and when he went for surgery, everyone whether you're a fan of his or not wished him well. I don't think anyone is that stupid to believe that fans want wrestler's to wrestle injured or come back too early, so they can get injured again. Don't talk wet.

And "us people" as you put it so nicely, are not the reason any wrestler gets injured, we watch the product most of us aren't participants. The way you talk it's like us people held a gun to Bryan head and forced him to compete. How ridiculous.

You obviously hate wrestling fans, because according to you, we are the reason for everything bad that happens, in and out of the ring. Nothing could be further from the truth. And as for proving the WWE wrong, we don't have to do that, they do it almost every day of the week.

I think the WWE owes it's fans an apology for having the balls to put out a product that's lacking. With the roster they have, they should be making triple the money they are, the problem is they don't know how to book a two car funeral. So don't talk to us like we are the problem, open your eyes, and get off Vince McMahon's dick once in awhile.

 

[jamallo]

I just hope he will be ok!

If he really is out for like 5 weeks now, just vacant the title and have an extreme championchip scramble match for the title or something.
Let the participants be: Ziggler, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Luke harper and Bad News Barret. This opens up a spot for another match on the card.

I think we could very well have seen the last title reign out of Bryan. The guy is fragile. He is exciting to see, and a damn good westler, but fragile. If his injury won't heal up soon, i hope he will stick around till Wrestlemania and get a match with someone like Ziggler, Neville, Hideo or Balor, where he can showcase his talent for one last time, and pass the torch to the next superstar!