Daniel Bryan Release Rumor Reportedly Refuted by WWE

Three days after rumors of Daniel Bryan's release from WWE swept the Internet, stemming from an anonymous email, WWE reportedly shot down the speculation Wednesday.

According to Raj Giri of WrestlingInc.com, a WWE spokesperson refuted the validity of the rumor.

"There is no truth to this letter from a supposed WWE employee," the spokesperson said.

The letter in question was posted by Scott Keith on BlogOfDoom.com, and the sender claimed to be part of WWE's human resources department:

"

Can't believe I'm doing this—I'm writing from a throwaway account but please keep my details private anyway. Although feel free to paste the whole e-mail or delete it. Sorry just a bit frazzled.

Okay so I've been debating all weekend whether to send this e-mail or not. I'll be honest—one major reason I'm doing this is because when it all comes out I want to silently smile and say 'Yep, I called it.' Not out loud or anything but just privately to myself.

This is going to be hard to believe and you probably get a lot of nutjobs writing every day—but I work in WWE HR. I'm not high up the totem pole by any means though.

So on Friday one of my co-workers had to process a release—and that release was for Daniel Bryan.

Monday, Jan. 18 is the date that is listed for when the deal is processed. Not sure exactly why—my coworker was very quiet about the whole thing other than letting a few people know.

And to be honest she didn't let me know—I'm not in her inner circle. I just overheard her telling someone else and she was in shock.

Not sure why it's a week away or anything like that as our usual releases are dated that very day. She seemed shocked by it all. Anyway that's all I know. Going to click send before I chicken out now.

"

Bryan has not competed in the ring for WWE since April due to a concussion, which was suffered just a few months after he returned to action following neck surgery. 

The 34-year-old Superstar's in-ring future with WWE is very much still in question, as he revealed in a December 2015 interview with Natasha Meah of the New Paper in Singapore that he may never wrestle for the company again.

"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," Bryan said. "I could find another passion, but it would just be sad because this is what I have been most passionate about since I was five."

Despite the uncertainty, Bryan still clearly has the desire to get back in action for WWE, as evidenced by this tweet in reference to reports that A.J. Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows may have signed with the promotion:

Bryan also posted a workout video on Instagram, insisting that he's continuing to prepare for a return should he ultimately get cleared:

There is no question that Bryan is one of the most popular Superstars WWE has to offer, and he is one of the best all-around performers the wrestling world has to offer.

WWE is dealing with a number of injuries to high-profile stars currently—most notably John Cena who is on the shelf with a shoulder ailment—and it would benefit greatly from Bryan's return.

There has been no indication as to whether that is on the horizon, but WWE's response to his rumored release suggests the company isn't ready to give up on Bryan quite yet.

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