The momentum behind Daniel Bryan‘s WWE comeback has surged as of late, actually to the point of him becoming a Royal Rumble favorite. His Maybe Movement officially has the entire wrestling community holding their breath but Mark Henry may have just squeezed the life out of it.
Henry joined Busted Open Radio and kept it real about Bryan’s attempt to wrestle in WWE. According to Henry, while Bryan may be able to compete, it will never happen in a WWE ring.
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“He wants to keep going and the medical situation will not allow,” Henry said. “If I’m Vince [McMahon] – as much as I love Daniel – I’m not going to let him get in there, and get paralyzed, and get hurt on my watch. They are going to have to show definitive evidence and proof that he can go in there take a pounding, and not get hurt and end up in a wheelchair,” he said.
For Henry, he believes that Bryan being barred from competing in WWE is rooted in Vince McMahon assuming a father figure role.
“They’re not gonna do it. I know Vince, he would not have that on his conscience,” reasoned Henry. “Man, who wants to go to the grave going, ‘I could have prevented that’?”
Henry was then asked if WWE had enabled Bryan to feed this comeback narrative by teasing his physical involvement in the current main event storyline on SmackDown.
“I don’t think [WWE has] painted themselves into a corner. What I think they’ve done is put it in someone else’s hands. … [Daniel Bryan] is great, he is beyond great. He’s Gale Sayers of wrestling. He should be in the Hall of Fame, when he’s done, but he’s not done,” revealed the 2-time WWE Champion.
Bryan hasn’t been subtle when it comes to returning to wrestling. Having already teased a match with Cody Rhodes later this year, Bryan seems to believe that his healthy. He may be right too, as he says that multiple doctors independent of WWE have given him medical clearance to return. However, it’s WWE who will not budge on their stance against his return
However, now that he’s been pegged as a mathematical likelihood to win next week’s Royal Rumble, the hype balloon has never been this inflated.
But as far as Henry is concerned, there will a bunch of disappointed faces in Philadelphia on January 28th.
