Daniel Bryan Makes Return Official, Teases WrestleMania Match on SmackDown

Tuesday night’s edition of SmackDown ended up being one of the most anticipated in months, if not years.

Heading into the show, that certainly was not the case, but once word broke on Tuesday afternoon that Daniel Bryan had been cleared to return to wrestling, it made anticipation for the show grow to a fever pitch.

The broadcast opened with a moving video showing Bryan’s retirement two years ago intertwined with footage of his wrestling past and ended with the announcement that he had been cleared for an in-ring return.

As cameras began to roll inside the arena in Dallas as SmackDown went live, Bryan’s theme came on and the crowd went wild. Bryan made his entrance with tears in his eyes as the crowd chanted “Yes!”

Bryan stared his promo by addressing what happened to Shane McMahon last week, and noted how terrible the attack was. He said he needs to deal with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, but since they were not in the building yet, he was going to move on to something else.

Bryan noted he had focused on being grateful over the last two years despite being mad and angry that he couldn’t do what he loved to do. He said that he had a lot to be grateful for, his family, friends, the best fans in the world, and an amazing and beautiful wife. He noted how Brie helped him fight for his dreams to get back in the ring, and he said that it was Brie that encouraged him to start seeing specialists to work his way back to getting in the ring. This lead to the fans chanting “thank you Brie.”

Bryan got emotional and talked about how he turned his anger and depression into fighting for his dreams. He said “if you fight for your dreams, your dreams will fight for you” and said “everything hard thing seems impossible.”

Bryan noted every neurologist and every specialist he saw around the country ended up saying the same thing – “you are cleared.” He noted that moment once seemed impossible, but now it is real.

Bryan thanked the WWE and their doctors for looking at him as the person and not the wrestler. He said he was grateful they were willing to give his case a second look. Bryan thanked all the fans for supporting him through the entire time. Lastly, Bryan got choked up and thanked his wife for all of her support over the past two years.

Bryan then said “on to the fun stuff.” He said he didn’t know when or where he would get back in the ring. The fans all started pointing at the WrestleMania sign and started chanting “WrestleMania.” Bryan looked at the sign and smiled. He said “does that sound like a good idea?” as the fans chanted “yes!”

Bryan said he doesn’t know for sure if that’s going to happen but then said “will Daniel Bryan compete in a WWE ring again?” and then lead the fans in a big “yes!” chant.