Daniel Bryan On Feeling Trapped When He Returned To WWE, Thinks He's Becoming The Best Again
As previously noted, a new installment of The Day Of was released that follows WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan leading up to his title defense against AJ Styles at WWE TLC. Among the topics discussed, Bryan detailed the process he went through when becoming "The New Daniel Bryan", and how he believes he's once again becoming the best wrestler on the planet.
Bryan's "new" version of his character is outspoken in wanting to end the over-consumption of humans, preaching that it's the WWE Universe that is polluting the Earth to the point of no return. The name he chose to give the WWE World Championship, "The Cow," because it is made out of leather, reflected this new mindset.
"I like the name, 'The Cow,'" Bryan said. "I like to think of [the WWE Championship] as an actual cow. My wife had a cow growing up, so, I like to call this cow 'Daisy' and in remembrance of her, I would like to get rid of this leather strap."
Bryan made his long-awaited return to the ring on April 8, 2018 at Wrestlemania 34, coming back to team up with Shane McMahon and battle Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Although McMahon and Bryan would emerge victorious in the bout, Bryan explained why the return match felt more like a trap than something worth celebrating.
"I felt a little trapped when I came back," Bryan admitted. "I had this new idea for a style that I wanted to wrestle but when you come back at Wrestlemania, they kept having people tell me, 'Oh! They want to make sure that you're okay and that you're healthy. They want to see you do all the old stuff. They want to see all the dropkicks in the corner and the dives through the ropes' and all this kinda stuff, and it felt like a trap. Like I had just fought so hard to get back to do something that I love, but then to be trapped in to a certain way of doing it."
Bryan explained how the previous persona of "Yes!" man was necessary to reach the character he has now become, saying that the expectations surrounding the old Daniel Bryan ultimately lead him to loathe what he represented.
"It's interesting because the new Daniel Bryan can't be defined without the old Daniel Bryan," Bryan explained. "It's kinda self loathing more so than anything else. I hated what I had become and what I represented. The good things about myself that I had taken pride in for many many years had just kinda fallen to the wayside in this idea of the expectations of what Daniel Bryan was. And even just my mindset, the mindset of the old Daniel Bryan, so, he fought so hard to come back and then when he came back he was just happy to be back he wasn't fighting for anything."
Bryan's new attitude is accompanied by his undeniable wrestling skills inside the ring. After pointing out that it's only been 8 months since he's made his return, Bryan would mention how he feel like he's once again becoming the best wrestler on the planet.
"I'm more confident in my abilities. Ya know, I've only been back – It's been 8 months since I've returned to wrestling but somehow I feel more confident than ever," Bryan said. "It's interesting, there was a period when I was on the independent scene and probably about 2007 or 2008, where I literally felt like there was not a better wrestler than me on the planet. There were guys who were better at certain things, sure, but overall, there was nobody better on the planet. And now I'm getting back to that point."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.