Daniel Bryan says he plans to officially retire from the ring if the next neurologist he sees will not medically clear him to wrestle.
Bryan recently spoke with Meghan Sullivan of IGN.com to promote WWE 2K16 and of course was asked about his health. Bryan says he had a concussion back in April and WWE is hyper-sensitive about concussions right now. He got medically cleared by a neurologist who specializes in concussions, but WWE’s Dr. Joseph Maroon wasn’t convinced he should be wrestling.
“One neurologist who specializes in concussions — who was the neurologist for the Super Bowl last year — cleared me with no limitations. All my testing came back excellent,” he said. “But the WWE’s medical doctor [Joe Maroon] is sceptical, because of my history of concussions and that sort of thing. So they will not clear me.”
“They’re going to send me to a third doctor at some point in the near future and that doctor will decide my fate.”
As badly as he wants to get back in the ring, Bryan said this third doctor’s appointment will probably be the deciding factor in whether or not he has to retire. If the third doctor advises against him wrestling again, he will retire.“They’re going to send me to a third doctor at some point in the near future and that doctor will decide my fate.”
“The WWE doctor Joe Maroon [is] amazing and highly respected in the concussion field, and if they send me to a third neurologist who’s also highly respected in the concussion field and they say literally no…well, then is it really smart to go against two doctors? I get all fired up…and then I’m like, maybe that’s not the best thing for me and my family going forward.”
In the event that his days as an active competitor are over, Bryan says he’s open to working with WWE in a non-wrestling capacity, possibly announcing or as a trainer.
