Daniel Bryan: Odds and Predictions for Star's WWE Career in 2016

That moment when Daniel Bryan bounds back into a WWE ring, with "Yes!" chants thundering throughout the arena as he beats his boot against someone's chest, is looking less and less like it will ever happen. Not in 2016. Not ever.

Bryan is an artist forced to watch others slather their canvas with paint as he stands waiting around with an empty palette in hand. Concerns about his health have kept him in limbo—not cleared to compete, but not released from the company, either.

The former WWE champion hasn't wrestled since last April. 

WWE continues to keep him on the sidelines, but it won't be able to forever. Bryan will tire of being diplomatic and unable to thrill a crowd. WWE can't just have Bryan live with such uncertainty forever.

Eventually, something has to give.

Many fans hope that comes in the form of a return to WWE action. Bryan has unfinished business aplenty. He didn't get a real crack at a world title reign; he hasn't had a chance to face rising newcomers like Finn Balor or Sami Zayn.

And with WWE's roster thinned by injury, visions of Bryan coming in to save WrestleMania are understandable. 

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Some envision him coming back at the Royal Rumble, perhaps finally winning the match fans have demanded he win for the last two years. According to Oddschecker, both Sportingbet and StanJames give Bryan 14-1 odds to win the Rumble. 

Chances are slimmer in reality, though.

He's likely not going to even be in the 30-man contest. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone), WWE has no plans for Bryan to return at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 32.

Even if he misses out on those two major events, will he come back at some point in 2016? Don't bet on it.

Returns to WWE (Odds: 500-1)

A concussion took Bryan out of the ring. A history of these types of injuries have kept him out of it.

As PWInsider's Mike Johnson noted, "Bryan has publicly stated that a WWE physician (believed to be Dr. Joseph Maroon, who heads the company's Wellness Policy) would not clear him for an in-ring return." 

That hasn't changed, even nine months since Bryan's last concussion. That hasn't changed, even with Bryan repeatedly telling anyone who will listen that he's healthy again.

Bryan told Sports360, for example, "I feel great. I feel like I'm ready to wrestle. If they called me to wrestle tomorrow, I would."

WWE is clearly spooked about Bryan's health. It is presumably even more hesitant to clear him with a number of concussion-related lawsuits hanging over the company's head.

If those feelings haven't gone away after nine months, what reason is there to think that they will after 10 months, a year, a year-plus? 

WWE didn't clear him when Raw's ratings plummeted last year. It hasn't cleared him with WrestleMania plans now wrecked by injury. If WWE didn't force the issue when Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, John Cena and Cesaro all went on the disabled list, what would prompt it to change its mind about Bryan?

Remember that WWE quietly let Christian's career fizzle out after his struggles with concussions. Remember that the company moved Corey Graves from the ring to the announce table out of concern over his own head injuries.

It's possible that WWE shifts its stance, but in the same way that it is "possible" that the Sacramento Kings win the NBA title this year.

Retires (Odds: 33-1)

As much as Bryan loves the business, retirement has to be on his mind.

The fact that WWE is willing to leave so much money on the table out of concussion-related fears has to leave the bearded warrior concerned. What if a third doctor and then a fourth recommend that he never wrestle again?

Thoughts of former WWE star Christopher Nowinski's emotional battles with concussion symptoms have to weigh on his mind. The state of Chris Benoit's brain after his tragic death has to scare him, as well.

Plus, Bryan seems to be thinking of becoming a family man. Having children could be his next step.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Speaking with Sam Roberts (NSFW language) on his podcast, Bryan said:

"

She's [Brie Bella] ready to have a baby and I'm also ready to be a father. You know, as far as things that are important in my life, and that sort of thing. The battle has been with this, that, between the two of us, is not whether we want to have babies now—it's whether or not, there is this struggle of whether or not I would want to be on the road while having a child.

"

It's not as if fatherhood would require him to retire, it would just be much tougher to raise a child while maintaining WWE's grueling, nonstop schedule. So that wouldn't exactly close the door.

Bryan's passion for wrestling is more likely the reason he refuses to hang up his boots just yet. 

The art form is something he can't seem to put aside. It's in the marrow of his bones. One can hear how much he misses it when the topic comes up in interviews.

So if WWE won't let him do what he loves, he will likely move on to another promotion. On not yet being cleared, Bryan said in an interview with Singapore's New Paper, "I think it could be the end of my career in WWE, but I don't think it will be the end of my career."

Wrestles Outside of WWE (Odds: 4-1)

Bryan has been an ideal employee during his time on the shelf. He hasn't gone on any Twitter tirades or demanded to be released. But it's increasingly clear that his patience has a limit.

With rumors of WWE raiding New Japan Pro Wrestling for talent, Bryan pleaded on Instagram, "Can @WWE clear me already?!!!" 

Bryan noted in an Instagram post that he will continue to train as if he is returning.

That doesn't look like a man gearing up for retirement. That doesn't look like a man content with taking paychecks for sitting on his hands.

Soon, it will be a year since Bryan last competed, and then a year-and-a-half. Eventually, WWE will have to make a move. Bryan is sure to force the company's hand at some point.

At that point, he would be wrestling's hottest free agent.

Count on TNA, Ring of Honor, CMLL and NJPW all courting him. It's rare that a wrestler that popular, who is still in his 30s, is up for grabs. Big-money contracts will be there for the taking.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

In an interview with Meghan Sullivan on IGN, Bryan made it clear that he's still passionate about competing, that it remains on his mind. Bryan said, "As I'm gardening, I'm thinking about wrestling." When asked about if he would go back to the independent circuit, he said, "Absolutely."  

He told Sullivan that wrestling for CMLL in Mexico appeals to him. "I've gotten this sudden fascination with the lore of lucha," he said.

As much as WWE fans would love to see him take on Rollins for the world title at some point or put on a classic with Balor, the safest bet is that WWE will stick to its guns and let Bryan seek work elsewhere.

WWE's fear promises to keep him sidelined. Bryan's fervor for wrestling sees him poised to travel to rings in Mexico, Japan or somewhere outside the world of WWE.