Daniel Bryan Still Hoping to Be Cleared by WWE for WrestleMania 34 Match

SmackDown Live general manager Daniel Bryan said Sunday that he still hopes WWE will clear him to compete in a match at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans next month.

In an interview with The National (h/t Joshua Gagnon of WrestlingInc.com), Bryan said plans are in place in case he does get cleared:

"I don't know and I don't think they know. I think it all depends on whether or not I get cleared. As of this moment, as of today, I am not cleared by WWE. I have done everything in my power. Everything they have asked me to and I have gone above and beyond as far as 'Okay, what doctors do you need me to see. Send me to any doctor you want, any doctor that you want and lets get their feedback on what is going on with me.' So far every doctor has cleared me that they have sent me to, and so there is a chance. I used to think that the percentage of the WWE ever clearing me was low. I think with the stuff that I have done it has gone a little higher but I don't know how much higher. With how everything is there is one way to go if I don't get cleared [storyline wise] and then there is another way to go if I am cleared. I am hoping to be cleared but I don't know which way it goes."

Bryan announced his retirement from in-ring competition in 2016 and said at that time that he had seizures related to concussions.

The 36-year-old has since received medical clearance from multiple doctors, but WWE has been unwilling to put him back in the ring.

If Bryan is cleared, he would likely be part of the feud between Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Although Bryan has sided with Owens and Zayn in recent months, he would probably team with McMahon to face KO and Zayn on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

A return in New Orleans would be fitting for Bryan since it was the site of his greatest moment when he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30.

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