Daniel Bryan is on the shelf yet again. As you probably know all too well, Bryan came out in one of his panic-inducing plaid shirts on Raw, announced that he’d undergone an MRI, and that he wasn’t sure when, or if, he’d be able to wrestle again. After Raw, Bryan posted this “update” of sorts to Instagram…
https://instagram.com/p/2l_CwwSVCH
Despite the hopeful sentiment, Bryan’s future is far from certain. Everything he said in his Raw promo was basically the truth. According to a report in PWInsider, Bryan had an MRI on May 8, and he and WWE legitimately don’t know when he’ll be able to return to the ring. Word is that Bryan is doing everything he can to “figure out a way” to get medically cleared, but it looks like neck surgery, which could put him out for a year or more, may be the only option at this point.
Last time Bryan went down with an injury, he basically disappeared from WWE TV, only showing up to smile and YES! on the occasional important show, but that may not be the plan this time around. WWE has a DVD and other Daniel Bryan-related products and deals coming up that they want him on TV to promote. As such, WWE may be planning to keep Bryan on TV in a non-wrestling position of some kind.
So, we now have to speculate about what the non-wrestling role might be. Long-term, I imagine Bryan will become a trainer. For now, we need a televised role. The guy’s only okay at saying words, so I wouldn’t put him in the commentary booth. Besides, hanging out with Michael Cole and JBL can’t be good for your health. Bryan also hasn’t really shown the temperment to be a good backstage interviewer…
Personally, I’d put him in the general manager role. A face authority figure would be refreshing, and it might be a way to finally bring his feud with the Authority to a semi-satisfying conclusion. Have Kane be his director of operations and devote half-an-hour of every Raw to this wacky sitcom about two wrestlers dealing with life, love, retirement and solving mysteries. What? You’d rather watch Fandango wrestle?
