Daniel Bryan wasn't expecting to wrestle every week, all year long.
Earlier this year, Daniel Bryan was finally cleared to wrestle again after three years of being away. He had not been cleared by the WWE doctor Dr. Joseph Maroon but had been told by his own doctors he was healthy enough to wrestle. In an interview with Gorilla Position, Bryan explained how he approached Vince McMahon with a plan which got the ball rolling on him being cleared.
"I went and talked to Vince McMahon about 'hey, all these doctors have cleared me and I understand why your doctor isn't clearing me but I think I should be cleared. I'm just giving this another chance because my contract is up and if you guys are completely closed off to me wrestling. That's fine. I just want to know so I can make other plans,'" said Bryan. "I told him I had an idea for a revised concussion protocol that's specific to me only. He said "ok, email that to Dr. Maroon,'" he continued.
Then, Bryan was sent to three neurologist suggested by Dr. Maroon which paved the way to him being cleared for action.
When Bryan started wrestling again, he was on the WrestleMania 34 card, went to Saudi Arabia for the Greatest Royal Rumble, and then did the European tour. Otherwise, he has been featured nearly every week on Smackdown and Bryan said he was not expecting to be used by WWE as much.
"I've been talking to WWE about maybe doing a lighter schedule because when Vince told me to send the letter to Dr. Maroon he said for me to say 'for a limited schedule,'" said Bryan. "They clear me and I'm just on everything. I wasn't expecting this. When people asked me before 'what's your ideal schedule?'...anywhere between 50 and 100 matches a year," he added.
In the rest of the interview, Bryan talked about the struggles of being away from his home, wife, and one year old daughter.
Bryan will be challenging for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship at Extreme Rules with his Team Hell No teammate Kane.
The full interview with Bryan is available at the Gorilla Position YouTube channel or the video above.
