10 Injuries That Altered WWE's Landscape

In February 2016, the announcement trickled through social media that Daniel Bryan would be retiring due to a series of concussions and frequent head/neck injuries. At the unfulfilled age of 34, Bryan was being forced to give up the thing he loved the most in order to live out the rest of his days as a healthy husband and father.

This one obviously had a happy ending as Bryan would be dramatically cleared to compete in 2018, but the after effects of his unplanned retirement were felt immediately throughout the company.

After losing their number one in-ring babyface, WWE grasped at the opportunity to bring Bryan in as an on-air personality and he quickly settled into the position of SmackDown Live's new General Manager. Bryan excelled in the role, but you could clearly see that he still desperately yearned to be back in the ring.

This move also led to a career-rejuvenating promo from The Miz, who called out Bryan for not leaving WWE to go and compete in bingo halls - if wrestling meant so much to him.

Whilst Bryan found success in this unwanted role, the company spent the two years following his announcement struggling to find another main event performer who could consistently get a crowd on-side like The American Dragon did and his triumphant return looked to have finally solved this problem for them - before he flipped the game on its head again and turned heel on AJ Styles.

Bryan's departure proved just how irreplaceable he was as a generational talent and his return has only highlighted how worse off the landscape was without him competing in the ring.