Back when WWE wasn’t letting Daniel Bryan wrestle (for what sounded like pretty good medical reasons), there was plenty of speculation that he’d leave the company and wrestle somewhere else. He hinted at that himself, even talking about the possibility of facing the Bullet Club. Additionally, Ring of Honor, where he made his name as Bryan Danielson, made it very clear they’d take him back.
Once WWE finally cleared him, Triple H admitted he’d been worried Bryan would leave. But after Bryan re-debuted at WrestleMania 34, essentially everybody assumed he would end up staying with WWE.
Now, it looks like that’s not unquestionably going to be the case. Bryan’s current contract is up this September, and reports which seem to have originated with PWStream indicate that he’s yet to sign a new contract. It’s true that WWE offers a stability that’s rare in wrestling, but if Bryan left, he’d immediately become the biggest star on the indies by a wide margin and wouldn’t have any trouble making good money. (Not to mention, those of us who watch Total Divas/Bellas already know that money is Bryan Danielson’s least favorite thing.)
Then again, it’s equally possible that he’s holding out to get the best possible deal out of WWE. This isn’t just because of the aforementioned stability the company provides — everyone there knows how popular he is with fans and how much of a fumble it would look like if they lost him. All of this, plus the clearance to wrestle, puts him in a very powerful position for negotiating.
