When Was Daniel Bryan Cleared To Return?, Must-Read Interview

Daniel Bryan spoke with The Miami Herald promoting tonight’s Thursday debut of WWE Smackdown. Check out the highlights:

On when he was cleared to return: “The day I announced I was coming back for the Royal Rumble is actually the day I got cleared to wrestle. I started healing in November, as far as thinking, ‘Wait a second. Things are starting to turn around for the better.’ It was that December episode of Raw I went on to say I was finally able to be cleared by WWE where they said, ‘You’re ready to go.’”

On doubting his chances to return at all at one point: “I just had to get into this mental frame of mind and not thinking about the negative. When you are sitting at home and all you do is physical therapy and all this stuff and nothing seems to be getting better, it’s very frustrating. If you get into that deep hole of thinking you are never going to come back. That’s a hard mental place to escape from. I dealt with that for a little bit, but then I realized I couldn’t have this type of negativity. If I was going to get better, I had to be positive that I can come back and come back better than ever.”

On not being a surprise Royal Rumble entry: “Had I just come out during the Royal Rumble, I don’t know if it would be as impactful. To me it’s more impactful to give fans something to look forward to. If it happened at the Royal Rumble and that night, it would have been great. Though I like the idea of building toward something, so I’m happy with the way we’ve done it.”

On returning to TV in New Orleans, where he won the WWE World Title: “It felt so good. It’s funny because there is nothing that gets you in wrestling shape quite like wrestling. One of my big concerns was if I was going to get really tired. It’s funny because one of the things that can get me more tired than anything, especially at the end of matches, is when they want me to keep yes-ing.”

On the YES! chant: “They are always in the back telling me to keep yes-ing. This can get you even more tired sometimes than a long match. After that I was doing the ‘Yes!’ chant so much that my shoulders were so tired. I got a little bit concerned about that and how my neck will hold up. I’m just excited about being back …I do honestly think though a “Yes!” workout would be pretty good as far as workouts go.”

On potentially cutting back on his signature moves: “I’m not going to be apprehensive about it. If you go in scared and you don’t do things the best you can, you’re actually more likely to get hurt. For example, if you do a suicide dive at half-speed and worry about getting hurt, you’re actually more likely to get hurt. Will my style change? Yes, but that is not because of my injury. It’s because I’ve been sitting back and watching WWE. For me, that’s a creative process. It’s the creative process and the evolution of my own style. Things will change, but will it be because of my neck or anything else? Absolutely not.”

On WWE asking him to tone his high-risk offense down: “They’ve told me, ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t be doing the diving headbutt or this or that. I have always marched to the beat of my own drum. We are all individual entities. Not to say I ignore their advice, but you also have to know your own body and where you’re at physically. Part of the thing about coming back is it’s a trial-and-error. If I started doing the top-rope dropkick and notice it jarred me, then it may be something I stay away from. I won’t know until I try. I’m not afraid to go out there and give it my all.”

On his in-ring return being on SmackDown: “I actually requested for my return to be on this particular night. I wanted it to be in the main event of SmackDown when it moved. There is nobody better for me to wrestle in this type of situation than Kane. He is the one who put me out of action. He is the one I’m coming for retribution against. It should be a pretty awesome match and an awesome show and a pretty awesome way to get people to watch on Thursday nights.”

On his favorite moment: “I was holding the Money in the Bank briefcase and getting the first opportunity to be in the main event of SmackDown. I tried to cash-in on Mark Henry and actually held the World heavyweight championship for 30 seconds before Teddy Long came out. There is this whole story, but it led to me being in the main event of SmackDown against Mark Henry. It was a cage match and really the first time I was in the main event of any show. We did the main event match. We ended up losing, but it was the first time I was like, ‘There is no reason why I can’t do this.’ I enjoyed it. It was a good match. Fans were going crazy for it. It gave me that confidence to say, ‘Hey, I can do this in the right situation. I can be a main event guy here.’”

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