Daniel Bryan Making His WWE Return On Friday

The multiple-time World Champion is returning to action on this week's SmackDown.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 Daniel Bryan Drew Gulak
WWE.com

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Having been out of action for nearly four months now, Daniel Bryan is set to make his return to WWE programming on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown – itself being promoted as the big Season Two premiere on FOX for the blue brand.

D-Bry last competed in-ring in a losing effort to AJ Styles back in June, with that match being to determine a new Intercontinental Champion. That means that this Friday will also mark Bryan’s first appearance in WWE’s current ThunderDome setting at the Amway Center – and who knows, maybe he’ll have Sami Zayn and the Intercontinental Title in his sights upon his return.

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Also announced by WWE for this week’s SmackDown are:

- Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Brawn Strowman

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- SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

- The New Day vs. Sheamus, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura

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- Jeff Hardy vs. Lars Sullivan

For The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods – the current Raw Tag Team Champions – and Braun Strowman, Friday’s SmackDown episode will serve as a farewell outing for them after being officially drafted to Monday Night Raw in the past week.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.