The Bleacher Report has a new interview with WWE star Daniel Bryan about his recovery from neck surgery and his return to the ring for WWE this week.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
On what led to his injury:
“It actually happened in the summer of 2013. I was in a match with Randy Orton and did a suicide dive out of the ring and missed. My head hit the guardrail, and I felt a shooting pain go down my arm. But I thought, ‘Ah, I’m not really worried about it.’Later in that match, though, I did a dropkick off the top rope, and when I landed, I literally couldn’t feel my arms, and I couldn’t get up. It’s what’s called a stinger, and after that match, they had me go and get MRIs, and I had a bulging disc in my neck. That’s not unusual for wrestlers, but what was happening is that it was closing the space around the nerves in my neck, which was sending shooting pains down my arm.”
On his recovery from injury in Denver:
“I saw a naturopath who works with Carson Palmer, a quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals who was having a horrible shoulder problem. He could barely even pick up a football. Then, all of a sudden, he was able to play. That’s because he saw this guy in Denver who does something called “Muscle Activation Technique.” And so I went and saw that guy, and for the first time in months, after just one visit, I had strength in my arm. It only lasted about five days. But then I went and saw him a second time, and it’s lasted all the way until now. It’s been very interesting, very confusing, very frustrating. But the last month has been very hopeful. I was at this point where I wondered “Man, is this ever going to get better?” I was actually facing the fact that I might not be able to come back to wrestling. And then it’s almost like a miracle healing. And that’s been pretty exciting to me.”
On what he might have to change in the ring upon returning:
“It’s hard for me to say. It’s all going to depend on how my body feels. This has happened to me before when I was on the independents. I would go away—I wouldn’t get hurt or anything—but I’d go England for six months. And in that time period, I would be changing my style. So, I’ve been home for eight months, watching WWE TV and seeing what I need to do to make myself better and make myself different than anyone else. My style was going to change anyway. But it’s true, I’ll be asking myself, ‘Do I need to do the top-rope dropkick and all that stuff every night?’ (Laughs). Probably not. It’s hard, though, because I think that’s exciting. But there are other exciting things I could do that won’t put as much pressure on my neck. I’ve been doing exercises to strengthen my neck, but I won’t really know how it’s going to feel until I get in there and do it.”
Bleacherreport.com: Daniel Bryan Exclusive: On His Injury, Style Change and Return to WWE SmackDown