The Daniel Bryan return to WWE was years in the making. WWE originally forced Bryan’s retirement citing concerns about his series of concussions sustained throughout his professional wrestling career. Bryan battled the company for reinstatement for three years, visiting every doctor he was directed to.The amount of caution exhibited by the WWE throughout the process was not unwarranted given the current climate around brain and head trauma sustained through high-impact sports. His wife, Brie Bella, shared how Bryan would try and hide the seizures he was experiencing as a result.

His prolonged effort nearly lead him to abandon WWE and join the independent scene. In a recent appearance on Booker T’s Heated Conversations Bryan shared the truth about the rumors when asked directly about his potential departure:

“100% true, and it’s also because I had just signed a contract before I had my last concussion, which is when they put me out, but they hadn’t signed their side of the contract yet. So this is when I finally start to get popular and all that stuff and we’re like we’re going to give you a big contract…then they took that away.

Bryan went on to explain in detail how he met with every doctor WWE threw his way and how they all agreed to clear his return.

.@WWEDanielBryan joins @BookerT5x and I on #HeatedConversations. Listen here: https://t.co/jGYU7DfCVj

— Brad Gilmore (@bradgilmore) September 19, 2018