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What’s the story?
On a recent edition of Sirius XM Busted Open, Mark Henry spoke to Bully Ray and David Lagreca on a myriad of topics.
Henry opened up on Vince McMahon not allowing Daniel Bryan to wrestle in the WWE. The World's Strongest Man also asserted that McMahon is right about protecting Bryan, in addition to comparing the latter to a professional Pro Football Hall of Famer.
In case you didn’t know…
Daniel Bryan announced his retirement from professional wrestling in early 2016, owing this decision to concussion issues and brain lesions that were detected after the WWE’s doctors conducted detailed tests on him.
While some of Bryan’s own doctors have cleared him for an in-ring return, the WWE has a strict athlete safety policy, therefore refraining from letting Bryan compete inside the squared circle to date.
The heart of the matter
Mark Henry supported Vince McMahon’s decision of disallowing Daniel Bryan from resuming his in-ring career in the WWE. Below are a few excerpts from Henry’s statements regarding the issue.
“He wants to keep going and the medical situation will not allow. If I'm Vince (McMahon) - as much as I love Daniel - I'm not going to let him get in there, and get paralyzed, and get hurt on my watch. They are going to have to show definitive evidence and proof that he can go in there take a pounding, and not get hurt and end up in a wheelchair. They're not gonna do it, I know Vince, he would not have that on his conscience." - Mark Henry
Furthermore, Henry emphasized that this is not a case of WWE painting themselves into a corner by not allowing Bryan to wrestle, in fact the WWE has just put that decision into someone else’s hands - in this case the medical team's.
Additionally, Henry compared Bryan to pro-football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, and explained that The King of Beards should be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
What’s next?
The vast majority of professional wrestling pundits believe that, should the WWE prevent Daniel Bryan from returning to in-ring competition before Wrestlemania 34, he’s likely to part ways with the company in the latter stages of this year.
Nevertheless, the professional wrestling community has been abuzz with rumors of Bryan potentially making a surprise return to the ring at the Royal Rumble, following which he could renew his deal with the WWE.
Author’s take
Daniel Bryan is one of the best professional wrestlers of all time. However, he’s also a family man, and ought to view his health as his topmost priority. Here’s hoping, that whatever decision he makes turns out to be the best - Yes! Yes! Yes!
