Bryan Danielson On Why He Would Still Be Retired If WWE Didn’t Make Him SmackDown General Manager

It was a rough day for Bryan Danielson fans when the former WWE Champion announced his retirement in 2016, but Bryan later returned to WWE programming when he took on the role of SmackDown General Manager.

As the General Manager of SmackDown Bryan Danielson had a constant presence on the blue brand, and during a recent interview with WEEI he explained why he would likely still be retired if he didn’t take on the GM job.

“It was really hard because I think I would still be retired if WWE didn’t have me come back and be the general manager. I really love wrestling and I didn’t want to have to retire, I was forced to retire. They brought me in as a general manager and I was around it every single week.

I think I would have gone off and started my own little organic farm or something. I would have been like, ‘Okay, I had a great time wrestling, but now I’ve transitioned into this other part of my life,’ but being around it but not actually being able to do the thing I love was really really hard. Then I started doing all these different medical treatments that are a little bit out there and a little bit wild and a couple of years later I ended up getting cleared. My passion for wrestling is so deep that if you put me around it too long, I will want to get in there.”

Bryan Danielson recently advanced to the semi-finals of the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament, and he is currently set to face Eddie Kingston in the next round. Stay tuned for updates.

H/T Fightful