Will Bryan's In-Ring Style Be Altered?

[Jack-Hammer]

Daniel Bryan's been wrestling for 15 years now and the issue with his neck is, to my knowledge, the most serious injury he's sustained. I've no idea how long he'll be on the shelf as I've read reports that suggest he could potentially recover in time to be part of Payback to being out for as long as 3 months. Bryan's known for wrestling a pretty high paced, physical style in WWE and while he also employed that sort of style while on the indie circuit, Bryan was much more well known for his technical expertise; it's something we've really only seen a fraction of since he's been in WWE.

As a result of the issue regarding his neck, I find myself wondering if his style will be altered to any appreciable degree; cutting back on some of the high impact stuff. In some of the initial reports concerning his injury, there were claims that Bryan's diving headbutt on Kane at Extreme Rules may have aggravated the injury. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it hasn't been a topic that I've seen mentioned beyond those initial reports, so I'm leaning towards no. Later reports state that the injury is just something that's accumulated over the course of his career and that no single incident caused it. Considering WWE's concern in regards to talent suffering any degree of head trauma, I'm a little surprised that they allowed Bryan to use the move at all. It was one of Chris Benoit's biggest spots and is believed to have caused some of his head trauma; however, Bryan does use his hands to brace himself when he lands where as it was pretty common for Benoit to let his head connect full on with the guy's shoulder without using his arms as a brace.

I could see Bryan possibly leaving out the diving headbutt in the future, though I don't think he'll alter or change very much about his style. While it'd be cool to see Bryan employ more of his technical skill and submission holds, a lot of fans just aren't into it. After all, whenever we see the action slow down sometimes in matches, the audience will start up with the "JBL" or "Jerry" chants or something along those lines.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I think the days where a guy could slap on a headlock takedown for 2 to 5 minutes are long gone, but a back to basics style wouldn't hurt. I think they need to figure out a way to make the moves work as a part of the match. More chain wrestling could work...when done well, people pop for it, but it requires a good amount of conditioning because you're really moving a lot. But it could mean you're going from 5 to 7 rest holds in the space of a few minutes, and it's the transitions that keep the whole thing moving along and interest high.

The one that I always wonder how he doesn't kill himself is when Bryan launches himself outside the ring, and almost always hits that barrier in some way, shape or form, even when his opponent has caught him. He'd do that once or twice per match...more if it's a tag team match, because he invariably launches himself at both team members (like those matches with the Shield).

The good news is that I think Bryan's talented enough to come up with stuff that will protect him better, while still providing excitement.

 

[JoshRP81]

Hardcore Holly mentioned his middle drop kick and he should probably consider that too. He doesn't have to stop doing it, just start landing on his side our stomach instead of flat in his back, leaving the opportunity to whiplash himself. That and he could probably stand to stop rebounding off of the turnbuckle to(other guys have started doin this too and I don't totally understand it). He didn't have to completely change his style, just alter a few things.

 

[Pedigree1]

Considering DB has been wrestling like this for over 15 years now,and issues with his neck does not surprise me! Not that i saw this coming,I love DB but his style and aggression comes with this injury sadly.. Altering his style i think would help..

Considering his diving headbutt,he is definitely smarter than Benoit was.. DB at least uses smarts when he does his diving headbutt,uses his arms as a brace while Benoit did not.. His injury I believe is just accumulation of over 15 years of wrestling,not one single thing caused it. Im sure the WWE and DB are very concerned,especially when surgery involves the neck.. I can see the diving headbutt being taken out,only to be used in special matches ala WM!

Look,DB has forgotten more about the basics than the roster will ever learn.. DB should alter his style a little bit,especially with that missile dropkick he uses.. Landing flat like that,it's gotta cause a whiplash like effect

 

[BigGreen73]

Since a neck injury is involved, he is going to need to change his style. He will need to focus on his striking and submission style and limit/modify the high flying stuff. He really needs to focus on how he lands now so he doesn't cause any further damage that could possible shorten or end his career. With how he has wrestled, it's surprising the injury is worse than it actually was.

 

[N!CKALAS CAGE]

Bryan should alter his style and I'm pretty sure it won't be too hard as he is very versatile. I enjoy the submission/striking side of his style more anyways, I've always thought that made him stand out more. He is not your typical high flyer anyways and he won't be any less exciting as opposed to someone like Rey Mysterio whose moveset almost completely relies on aerial moves and he had no choice but to water down his style after injuries to the point where he is just not the same as a performer.

Bryan can still do high spots in his matches, just limit them. I'm sure he can also replace some of his signature moves with safer ones like leaving out his missile dropkick in favor of a more traditional one.

 

[kadroan]

He has a lot of moves. I think he'll be fine. For the sake of his safety and longevity he has to tone it down. Hopefully the smaller and younger wrestlers like Rollins take note.

He wrestles pretty wreckless as well.