As first reported by Fightful Select, and later confirmed by F4WOnline, Daniel Bryan’s contract with the WWE has reportedly expired.
According to F4WOnline, Bryan’s contract expired this past Friday, and the word is WWE “is pushing hard for him to sign a new deal”. In past interviews, Bryan has said that he wants to do “unconventional work with and for WWE”. He has said in those same interviews that he also wants to be able to spend more time with his family.
The news of Bryan’s contract comes as he lost to Roman Reigns on last Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown. As a result of his loss, Bryan was “banished” from SmackDown. He has not shown up on Raw, NXT or any other WWE show since his loss.
Bryan first signed with WWE in 2009. He was briefly released in 2010 due the incident with Justin Roberts on the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, where he choked Roberts with his own neck tie as part of the Nexus Invasion Storyline. He returned to WWE at SummerSlam of that year. On the February 8, 2016 episode of Monday Night Raw in Seattle, WA (Bryan’s home state), He announced his retirement due to concussion-related issues, and then later became the General Manager of SmackDown.
After two years of evaluations, in March 2018 he was medically cleared to return to in-ring competition. He made his return on the March 20, 2018 episode of SmackDown.
We will update you as more information becomes available.