Daniel Bryan: Latest News and Buzz Surrounding Star Before WWE TLC 2015

The Daniel Bryan story was not supposed to end this way. The man who defied the odds to rise up in WWE and main event on the WrestleMania stage was supposed to spend the next 10 years in the ring, carving out an impressive championship career.

Then, when the time was right, he was supposed to hang up his boots and take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. But it appears none of that may happen.

It's not what fans want to hear, and despite how many times they do, it never gets any easier. Bryan is one of them; he's the best representation of the people WWE has perhaps ever seen, and it was his drive that caused his meteoric rise to the top.

credit': wwe.com

He had Dusty Rhodes' will to fight, the never-say-die attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the work ethic of CM Punk. He looked like a regular guy because he was a regular guy, and he proved dreams could be achieved despite how many times you were told no.  

He was an inspiration to everyone who followed him, but it looks as though his time in WWE could be nearing an end.

Two recent interviews that have hit the Internet suggest his road to recovery in WWE is done and all that's left is to get the company's blessing to come back. The problem is they're not having it.

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Because of my history with concussions, the WWE medical doctor wouldn't clear me. We're in the process of trying to figure out some compromise.

They keep sending me to do more tests, brain MRIs, brain EGs and all my tests have come back great to the point where my brain is better than someone my age with no concussion.

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That quote from Bryan's interview with the Straits Times didn't exactly shed any new light on where he is in terms of a possible comeback, but another interview with Pass the Popcorn did: "[WWE] asked me a bunch of stuff of what I’d like to do like announce or be a trainer at NXT. I’m sure at some point in my life I would but right now it would be too soon."

No one can blame Vince McMahon as a businessman or WWE as a company for their hesitation in bringing Bryan back. If the promotion's doctor says Bryan isn't fit to return to active competition, then he likely will not be back.

Bryan could get a hospital full of doctors to swear in court that he is perfectly fine to compete again, and it would not be enough. WWE must go with its resident physician's opinion, and that opinion on Bryan's possible comeback is not good.

It is not the news fans wanted, and it's certainly not the news Bryan wanted, either. Of course, WWE is not the only game in town, and he could go make a living working in another company. But that does nothing to make WWE fans happy.

It also does nothing for Bryan's legacy.  

credit: wwe.com

He reached the ultimate high as WWE world heavyweight champion, and he reached it at WrestleMania. On that night, he beat three members of Evolution, whose world titles totaled 31 collectively. One of those members was Triple H—a man many fans believed was incapable of truly putting anyone over.

He did more in his run to Mania and on that night than many guys do their entire career. Bryan was WWE's Cinderella man. How could he ever possibly hope to follow that up?  

What title exists in the pro wrestling world that could mean more than the one he earned at WrestleMania 30? The Ring of Honor Championship surely holds a special place, but could that company actually pay him what he's worth now? Would Bryan even care about the money at all?

If he did go back to ROH, what would happen if he were to get injured again? Is that what fans want for him? If he ended up with a very serious injury that surgery and rehab cannot repair, would ROH as a company be able to back its decision to have signed him in the first place?

Would the bookers in New Japan, TNA or Lucha Underground, be willing to accept the risk a Daniel Bryan ring return could pose? More importantly, would fans of those organizations be ready to witness a potentially devastating injury to one of the industry's most talented and genuinely good people?

Of course fans want to see Bryan in the ring again, and of course he wants to get back in it. He loves the business and fans love him. But at what cost does he risk it?

In a perfect scenario, this whole situation is nothing but a work and it's all leading up to a massive return for Bryan. Maybe WWE is advising Bryan to give these interviews and play up the fact he's not being allowed to return when the truth is he's already received the company's blessing.

Maybe he's coming back for a program that would be bigger than anything he did in the months leading to WrestleMania 30, and maybe he will face Brock Lesnar in the main event at WrestleMania 32. "I would like to wrestle Brock Lesnar," he told Pass the Popcorn. "Whatever storylines that are involved, ultimately I would love to wrestle Brock. I think stylistically, it would be a really good match."

Or maybe it's all real and Bryan has truly worked his last match in WWE.

The fact is Bryan's one of a kind. He made an impact that perhaps no one after him will ever make, and he holds a unique spot in WWE history that no one else could possibly inhabit. He's got a great mind for the business, and he's still got a lot to offer that company.

The Daniel Bryan story does not have to end now, and it's up to him if and how he will choose to write the next chapter.

Tom's work can regularly be found on Bleacher Report and his podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here