{"id":91140,"date":"2021-05-08T16:05:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T20:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=91140"},"modified":"2021-05-08T16:05:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T20:05:06","slug":"whats-next-for-daniel-bryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/05\/08\/whats-next-for-daniel-bryan\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s Next For Daniel Bryan?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What a difference seven days makes. From one broadcast of WWE\u2019s <strong>SmackDown<\/strong> to the next, <strong>Daniel Bryan<\/strong> has gone from defeated to, seemingly, defunct. Ahead of their bout for the WWE Universal Championship, the stipulation of which was that Bryan would leave SmackDown if he lost, <strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> promised to end Bryan\u2019s career. He seemingly kept that promise, retaining the title and defeating Bryan. From one week to the next, speculation swirled that the leader of the \u201cYes!\u201d Movement would join the rosters of <strong>RAW<\/strong> or <strong>NXT<\/strong><em>, <\/em>but with word that his contract with WWE has expired, it appears that Bryan is truly a free agent. On May 7\u2019s broadcast, <strong>Paul Heyman <\/strong>satirically eulogized Bryan\u2019s career with a mimic of a ten bell salute for Bryan\u2019s career, usually performed for a wrestler who has passed away.<\/p>\n<p>Bryan, of course, is still alive and well, but has yet to release a statement about his status with the company where he became a grassroots legend, a household name, a creative force, and now, an enigma. There is no clear answer, but much speculation about when and where we will next see Bryan appear. One can only wonder if this is a legitimate departure or a \u201cwork.&#8221; There are several possibilities.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">End of a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SmackDown<\/a> era. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ThankYouBryan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ThankYouBryan<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Wwedanielbryan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWEDanielBryan<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gbwqGUxb3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gbwqGUxb3b<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1388346348219535360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Has Daniel Bryan Gone International?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In the weeks leading up to his dramatic faceoff with Roman Reigns, and his contract&#8217;s expiration mere hours later, Danuel Bryan expressed an interest in fighting wrestlers at other promotions outside of WWE. He name-checked <strong>NJPW<\/strong> and <strong>AEW<\/strong>, especially. In a comment on My Mom\u2019s Basement With Robbie Fox, Bryan had flattering comments about NJPW\u2019s training tactics of up-and-coming wrestlers. On a recent installment of WWE After the Bell with announcers <strong>Corey Graves <\/strong>and <strong>Vic Joseph<\/strong>, Graves recounted a conversation in which Bryan expressed an interest in wrestling in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>These options would afford Bryan the opportunity of exhilarating, physically demanding, and creative matches that fit his deep arsenal of technical skill perfectly. However, is this realistic to expect of him, or for Bryan to expect of himself, after stating that he felt what amounted to an out-of-body experience during his triple threat match at <strong><em>Wrestlemania 37<\/em><\/strong> with Roman Reigns and <strong>Edge<\/strong>. If he does decide to pursue opportunities abroad, his name recognition will be sure to put over new and exciting talent from outside the U.S. to the international audience.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/Pe5gZ9Y.jpg\" alt=\"Daniel Bryan Chris Jericho WWE\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>AEW<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Again, whilst speaking to Robbie Fox, Daniel Bryan praised AEW talent like <strong>Kenny Omega<\/strong> and <strong>The Good Brothers<\/strong>. Whenever an athlete leaves or is released by WWE, these days, rumors begin to swirl that they will soon appear on AEW. Similar stirrings were attached to the recently released <strong>Samoa Joe<\/strong>, but in the case of both Bryan and Joe, there seems to be more smoke than fire. Fan favorites from WWE will most likely always be more than welcome at All Elite Wrestling, but no reps from either side have yet released any word on whether Bryan will join the roster.<\/p>\n<p>If he were to do so, what role will Bryan play? <strong>Chris Jericho <\/strong>is the undisputed de facto locker room leader in that neck of the woods, and Bryan is not one to be a follower or shrinking violet. He is known for his singular vision and vocal opinions, but it is undoubtedly Jericho who has clout as a creative consultant. Although there is no history of beef between the two, that could change with differing backstage visions. At AEW, will Bryan find himself in a power struggle with yet another &#8220;head of the table&#8221; figure?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#39;s been awhile.. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4OFYXOMPup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4OFYXOMPup<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnnyGargano\/status\/1388312548001394690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>NXT Or RAW<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For a minute, let\u2019s entertain that this is a \u201cwork.\u201d Pro wrestling is known for tweaking the truth visually but also with innuendo and rumor, involving the audience in visceral crowd participation in which what you know, what is likely, and what is real is all blurred, for the sake of storyline. Daniel Bryan lost the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/04\/30\/daniel-bryan-banished-from-smackdown\/\" target=\"_self\">Banned From SmackDown<\/a>\u201d match; his contract expired at midnight hours later. However, there is no report currently that he did not sign a new deal with WWE, but one that lands him at another brand. If Bryan is heading to the red or black-and-gold brands, respectively, what role could he play on either roster?<\/p>\n<p>RAW could use a creative shot in the arm, as of late. Bryan\u2019s presence would be a boost thrown in amongst veterans like <strong>Sheamus, A.J. Styles, Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, <\/strong>and <strong>Jeff Hardy,<\/strong> but also newcomers to the roster like <strong>Damien Priest<\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/05\/03\/wwe-superstar-mansoor-monday-night-raw\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Mansoor<\/strong><\/a>. Just as he helped promote the rise of underutilized <strong>Cesaro <\/strong>before leaving SmackDown, perhaps his interest would extend to those languishing in RAW\u2019s locker room like <strong>Angel Garza<\/strong> and <strong>Ricochet. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, it was current NXT North American Champion <strong>Johnny Gargano <\/strong>who alluded to Bryan joining the NXT roster with a social media post reading \u201cIt&#8217;s been a while\u201d above a picture of a match between the two in the past. Although the last year and a half saw NXT become more of a legitimate third brand than a training ground, it still functions developmentally; the up-and-comers could use Bryan\u2019s expertise of stunning technical tricks. His mentor, <strong>Shawn Michaels<\/strong>, is one of NXT\u2019s behind-the-scenes pillars: could Bryan be joining him? Bryan could split his time on both sides of the curtain, training new talent but also getting in the ring with NXT headliners like <strong>Finn Balor <\/strong>and <strong>Karrion Kross.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bryan still seems passionate about pro wrestling, and will surely find a way to stay involved and continue to innovate the industry.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. WWE fan? You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/boards\/index.php\" target=\"_self\">LWOS Boards<\/a> to engage in conversation with fellow fans!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a difference seven days makes. From one broadcast of WWE\u2019s SmackDown to the next, Daniel Bryan has gone from defeated to, seemingly, defunct. Ahead of their bout for the WWE Universal Championship, the stipulation of which was that Bryan would leave SmackDown if he lost, Roman Reigns promised to end Bryan\u2019s career. He seemingly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3715,"featured_media":91144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4677,13,14,6,2192,25,26,4,5,3],"tags":[2853,56,68,386,77,214,565,7690],"class_list":["post-91140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew","category-international","category-njpw","category-north-america","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-smackdown","category-wwe","category-nxt","category-wwe-universe","tag-corey-graves","tag-daniel-bryan","tag-johnny-gargano","tag-kenny-omega","tag-roman-reigns","tag-samoa-joe","tag-the-good-brothers","tag-vic-joseph"],"modified_by":"Robbie Sutter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3715"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}