Aug. 21--Daniel Bryan was open and honest during his Q Thursday at Wizard World -- maybe a little too honest if you ask the notoriously controlling WWE.
The former WWE Champion answered fans' questions for around 40 minutes at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Bryan has been out of action since suffering a concussion in April but can be seen on USA Network's "Tough Enough" and with wife Brie Bella on E!'s "Total Divas." Surprisingly, Bryan wasn't asked about when he'll make his in-ring until the last question.
"I don't know," Bryan said. "I've had multiple concussions in my career. And (WWE is) looking out for me, as far as whether or not to allow me to return to the ring. With that said, I've been cleared by a neurologist who was the neurologist for the Super Bowl. He's not an employee for the NFL. He was independently hired for the Super Bowl. His specialty is concussions and brain stuff. He has no problem clearing me without any limitations.
"That said, there is a lot of gray areas when it comes to concussions. That's the iffy part about all of this. That's why WWE is being very cautious, much to my chagrin. When will I come back? I don't know. Will WWE let me come back? I don't know. I'm training as if I'm coming back. And I feel great right now."
Bryan saw his popularity soar in 2013 as WWE's resident underdog, but he didn't walk away with the WWE Championship until Wrestlemania in 2014. He believes the reason he was awarded a spot in the Wrestlemania main event was because of the abrupt exit of Chicago resident and former WWE Superstar CM Punk last year.
"It makes me sad, in the sense that I always had this idea in my head that at some point Punk and I would wrestle each other at Wrestlemania," Bryan said. "But I didn't know if it would ever happen. It was this idea that I had in my head. It would be our generation's version of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. So it made me sad, but you have to understand there's a flip side to it making me sad. It also was one of the causes of me main eventing Wrestlemania, which I might not have gotten if he didn't leave. I have these mixed emotions about it.
"One of the things that is hard about the whole thing is that he lost his passion for it. I think he would say that. That's sad for me and anybody to lose their heart for something they loved for so long, because he loved this in the way I love this. Whenever somebody loses that for whatever reason they lose it for, to me, that's just sad."
Bryan said the wrestler he would most like to face is Brock Lesnar and the wrestler he enjoys watching the most is Cesaro, adding that he disagrees with WWE CEO Vince McMahon, who has said Cesaro is lacking that "It" factor. One fan asked him about potentially wrestling TNA star Kurt Angle, who has been out of action due to a neck injury and has battled substance abuse. It was evident from Bryan's response that he has given the match some thought.
"I would love a match with Kurt Angle," Bryan said. "I think it would be awesome. There are a lot of things I probably shouldn't say publicly ... There's this idea that WWE might not allow me to wrestle anymore. But part of me thinks, hey, if they don't, and I'm not sure they will let Kurt Angle wrestle in WWE just with his history, I thought, well, that might be the only way I get to wrestle Kurt Angle. And that's not such a bad thing. And I would have a bunch of ideas for that. So yeah, I think it would be awesome."
When asked which of his t-shirts was his favorite, Bryan used the opportunity to encourage fans to make their own rather than buy them because he knows how expensive it can be to take a family to a WWE show and buy t-shirts. He also believes people can benefit from the quality family time that comes with making t-shirts together. Bryan said he didn't grow up with much money, but his parents never complained about money issues, which he thought was admirable and inspiring.
Bryan's father passed away weeks after he won the title last year. He told the audience his death has been the most difficult thing he's dealt with to date.
"Football season is coming up," Bryan said. "That was my dad's favorite thing -- me coming over on Sunday and us watching football together. When the Seahawks won the Super Bowl a couple months before he died, I didn't get to watch it with him, but we were on the phone together a long time. We watched the Seahawks when they were 2-14 and were rotten and nobody cared, like "Oh the Seahawks! The Seahawks! Dave Krieg!" Last season wasn't as fun for me because there's not that person to share it with. That's the hardest thing -- missing those things you shared with people in your life that you don't have any more."
The month Bryan's father passed away was full of life-changing moments. Bryan married Bella shortly after he won the title and shortly before his father died. His relationship with Bella has been highlighted on "Total Divas," now in its fourth season.
"Sometimes it's fun," Bryan said of the cameras. "Sometimes it's very annoying. Right now it's not bad because I'm not wrestling, so I'm not tired. What's really frustrating is that with our schedule, a lot of times we wrestle Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and fly home Wednesday. And when you get home on that Wednesday and you just want to rest and the cameras are in your face, you really just want to punch them. But they've allowed us to do really cool things."
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