10 Things Everybody Got Wrong About WWE In 2016
3. Daniel Bryan Did Not Return
In 2014, Daniel Bryan had to relinquish the WWE World Championship due to a neck injury. He ended up missing the rest of the year's worth of action, but early in 2015, he announced his return to the ring. He competed in the Royal Rumble and ended up winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Just a couple of weeks after WrestleMania, though, Bryan suffered a concussion - the final one of many he had gotten in his career. He was forced out of the ring, gave up his championship, and his future was once again in jeopardy. Throughout the rest of 2015, Bryan did not compete.
As the new year dawned, fans hoped to see Bryan return to the ring - in fact, Bryan himself hoped to return to the ring, and he was vocal about it online. Still, while his own doctors told him he was okay, WWE's medical staff would not allow him to compete.
Late in January, Bryan took another brain scan - and this one showed that he had suffered lasting damage from repeated concussions. With Raw coming up in Seattle, WWE higher-ups pressed Bryan to make his retirement speech from (near) his hometown. He did that in an emotional segment on the February 8 episode of Raw.