Daniel Bryan might not return to a WWE ring for a long time. Possibly never.
According to The Wrestling Observer, Bryan’s recovery from neck surgery isn’t moving along the way the former champion and his doctors had hoped. Bryan might now need shoulder surgery.
The update on Bryan is that he may now also require shoulder surgery, as a full exam has revealed a lot of different shoulder and neck issues. At this point, because of uncertainty as to whether he’ll need surgery and what surgery it could be, he’s out of plans and there is no estimate on when he’ll return.
Bryan’s appearance at the Money in the Bank pre-show is starting to make much more sense. He mentioned in that appearance that the injury was serious and the surgery was legit because some wrestling fans thought it was strictly storyline. Maybe he, and WWE, was bracing fans with idea that Bryan could be out of action for a very long time. This injuries and surgeries like his, he might never wrestle again.
I want to make a joke about chanting “no, no, no” but it’s a little to depressing to imagine the WWE without Daniel Bryan.
[Wrestling Observer via With Spandex]