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As of early July 2021, Daniel Bryan is a free agent. While he has been under a WWE contract for 11 years straight, it expired in 2021. Three years after his in-ring return, Bryan faced Roman Reigns on SmackDown for the Universal Championship.
The match stipulated that if Daniel Bryan lost, he was supposed to leave SmackDown. Reigns defeated Bryan clean, ending the legend's five-year run on the Blue brand that included a little over a year as General Manager.
It was then reported that Daniel Bryan's WWE contract expired soon after that. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that WWE is pushing hard to re-sign Bryan.
Soon after that, rumors emerged about talks between WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling regarding an exclusive working relationship. PWInsider reported that Bryan working with NJPW was a major part of the deal, which is believed to have ultimately fallen through.
Daniel Bryan is currently out of his WWE contract and has been laying low. His last post on Instagram was a week before his last WWE match:
Will Daniel Bryan return to WWE?
If Daniel Bryan returns to the company, it won't be as a full-time superstar. More than a decade has passed since his WWE debut and he has openly admitted that he wants to transition into a part-time status.
It's hard to say that he doesn't deserve it, especially given how much he has done for WWE. It seems more than likely that Daniel Bryan will return to WWE at some point in the future. But as of now, there are no updates on his return.
The only recent update was that Daniel Bryan is reportedly going to be removed from an upcoming WWE project, speculated to be a video game. As a result, he won't be paid the royalties for it.
