10 Most Anticipated (Unlikely But Not Impossible) Wrestling Matches Of 2018

2. Tetsuya Naito vs. Daniel Bryan

Then, there's the alternative.

WWE may never clear Daniel Bryan to wrestle inside one of their rings ever again. Should that be the case, expect a frosty response from the current SmackDown GM. Bryan wants to wrestle, and he's made it clear over the past year that he's willing to leave the warm bosom afforded by the McMahon family to make that happen.

Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and all-round super-worker Tetsuya Naito is the ideal opponent, if Bryan hitches his wagon to the New Japan horse in 2018. Naito went over 36 minutes with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 12, and that's the kind of length Daniel Bryan wants to work once more. He probably wouldn't get that in WWE.

In fact, scratch that: he definitely wouldn't. WWE would ensure all risks were assessed, bumps were kept to a minimum and Bryan was wrapped up in cotton wool for his comeback. This means a shorter match, one loaded with shortcuts, which isn't Bryan's forte.