Interview: Daniel Bryan on His In-Ring Return, Heel Turn, Hair vs Mask Match

Yahoo! Sports held a recent interview with Daniel Bryan discussing his thoughts on his in-ring return announcement, his recent heel turn, wanting to compete in a Hair vs. Mask match in the WWE, and more.

On the topic of the announcement of his in-ring return to WWE, Bryan stated it was a very special and happy moment for himself.

“Announcing I was coming back really felt special to me because I was working so hard to come back and worked so hard to change people’s minds to allow them to let me come back. When I went out and did an interview saying I was back and then got attacked by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, there’s never been a happier man to get punched in the face than I was that night.”

On the topic of his recent heel turn, Bryan stated he felt that his character had become very stagnant following his in-ring return and wanted to go in a fresh new direction for his WWE career.

“One of the things that I really felt was that after I came back, as a character, I was very stagnant. I felt like it was the same Daniel Bryan that wrestled in 2014 and I wrestled the same way because people had certain expectations as to what they wanted Daniel Bryan to be, both fans and inside the company.

It felt very stagnant and I was very excited to do something new and try some new things. The whole changing character allowed me to be whatever I want to be. It’s like a reset button. That’s a lot of fun.

As soon as the decision was made I said to myself, I don’t want anyone to like me. Miz and I see things differently on a lot of different levels, but one of the things I respect about him is that when he’s a bad guy, he doesn’t try to get cheered. I really felt like if I embraced that kind of attitude [it would work]. I’m not going to be the “cool” bad guy, there’s nothing cool about me, I couldn’t be cool if I wanted to. Some people do that but then you’re not a bad guy, you’re just cool. That was my mindset.”

On the topic of wanting a Hair vs. Mask match in the WWE, Bryan stated he considers it to be one of his career goals and also considers Gran Metalik to be a dream opponent for this potential match in the WWE.

“It’s not this selfless thing, it’s actually a selfish thing. I want to wrestle the best guys on the planet. Some of those best guys are on ‘205 Live.’ We have Gran Metalik here and he’s one of the best luchadors in the world and he’s on that show. Man, would I love to wrestle that guy in a mask vs. hair match. That’s sometimes where my passion gets ahead of me.”

Other topics discussed during the interview included his heel character’s direction being fueled by real life issues, his confidence in getting the crowd reactions he needs, and helping change the perception of smaller wrestlers in the WWE.