Malaysians has always had a deep WWE fan base and thanks to channels like the WWE Network on Astro (Ch840), it’s a base that’s always growing. Obviously, there are favourites amongst the WWE Universe and it’s safe to assume that Daniel Bryan has struck a chord with his fans here.
In a recent media visit to capital Kuala Lumpur, Daniel Bryan fans showed up in droves to catch a glimpse of the WWE Superstar. He even squeezed in some time to speak to some of his fans in person during several meet and greet sessions. During a round of press interviews, he kept us up to speed on his career, his vision for a dream opponent and what the future holds for WWE’s perennial underdog.
Where will Daniel Bryan fit in when he finally returns?
Well, it depends on where things are when I come back. I mean right now, John Cena isn’t on the show but he’ll be back for sure, so it all depends. That said, I was really disappointed when I had to give up the Intercontinental title because I wanted to turn that into a main event title. I would love to come back and feature in the Intercontinental title picture, especially with Kevin Owens now as champ. That would be something really fun for me.
Ever consider changing your ring style in anyway once you’re back?
My wife would like me to! She’d like me to take fewer risks. But here’s the problem with that – I’m the underdog. I’m not six feet tall; I’m five foot eight and one hundred eighty five pounds, so I am going to get thrown around. I’ve been trying to come up with some ideas and stuff, but that’s the style of wrestling I enjoy doing. I like flying around but yeah, I’m going to have to do some things to limit the injuries I think.
Do you have a dream opponent in mind when you return?
I would like to wrestle Brock Lesnar. Whatever storylines that are involved, ultimately I would love to wrestle Brock. I think stylistically, it would be a really good match.
How was your experience on Tough Enough?
Honestly it was a bit of a struggle for me. I didn’t question why they were there, or if they just wanted to win the money but I wondered if they really wanted to work hard and to go do the thing that I loved. I wondered if their heart was really in it and it was really hard to watch them do it.
What were your other considerations while you were out on the mend?
They [WWE] asked me a bunch of stuff of what I’d like to do like announce or be a trainer at NXT. I’m sure at some point in my life I would but right now it would be too soon.
What are your thoughts about NXT?
It’s interesting, because they’ve signed a lot of former international independent stars that are just incredible like Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Hideo Atami and Sami Zayn who’s coming back soon as well. They’ve got those people and they’ve also managed to develop their home grown stars. I’ve been really impressed with Chad Gable and Jason Jordan. They’re really fun to watch and they complement each other so well. So they’ve done a tremendous job down there at NXT not only bringing in talent but also training and making future stars.
TLC is coming up. Who do you think is going to be champ?
I really don’t know. I would think the way things are, Sheamus would still be champion after TLC but it’s really hard to say.
Both Cesaro and Seth Rollins are out with injuries as well. Any advice for them?
I would say justmake sure to be healthy when you come back and don’t rush it. But man, Cesaro, I’ve known him for years and this is his first major injury. For a guy who’s been wrestling that long, that’s pretty incredible. Rollins had neck surgery when he was on the independents but other than that he’s been relatively injury free. He and Cesaro are the two guys who actually wrestled more matches than anybody in the WWE. I mean in 2013, the year before my neck surgery, I wrestled more matches than anybody on the roster by a long shot. I did 227 matches that year and that what happens when you’re one of the work horses and are out there doing all those matches, you’re bound to get injured.
Dream opponent – active or retired?
Gosh, I said Brock Lesnar, but if I could pick anyone past or present, it would be Shawn Michaels. To me, Shawn Michaels is the best American wrestler in history, and he’s also the person who trained me and that would be a just a super cool WrestleMania moment to go up against Mr. WrestleMania.
TLC – Tables, Ladders & Chairs airs 14 December at 8am on the WWE Network (Astro Ch 820 and Ch 840 HD)
