Q&A: Daniel Bryan Opens Up About His Injury, His Big Return & More
By Cody Schultz
2014, will forever go down as one of the biggest years in Daniel Bryan’s life. It was the year that he defied the odds to main event WrestleMania 30, claimed his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and married his fiancé WWE Diva Brie Bella.
Daniel Bryan – WWE 2015
Then the unthinkable happened. In May 2014, Bryan suffered a neck injury that required immediate surgery. A surgery which was initially supposed to keep him out of commission for six-eight weeks, ended up sidelining Bryan for eight months resulting in the loss of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
After eight long months away from the ring, Bryan is fully recovered and ready to step back into the ring. This Thursday, Bryan will make his highly anticipated return to the WWE, facing off against Kane in the main event of Smackdown‘s inaugural Thursday night premiere.
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.
Daniel Bryan – WWE 2015
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.
Related: WWE Preview: ‘Smackdown’ Moves to Thursday Nights
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.
Wrestlemania 30 – WWE
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!
Make sure to catch Daniel Bryan’s triumphant return to the ring this Thursday on Smackdown at 8/7c on Syfy.