Daniel Bryan On Becoming A Part-Time Wrestler: It’s Hard To Walk Away When I’m Still Learning
In recent months, Daniel Bryan has made it no secret that he’s slowly transitioning into a part-time wrestling role. Of course, his love for wrestling and his desire to be the best still burn brightly, and this drive makes it difficult to fully make this substantial move.
In an interview with Keisha Hatchett of TVLine, Bryan explained that he still thinks he has a lot to learn, and he’s hesitant to walk away from wrestling full-time because he doesn’t want to limit this education.
“Part of the thing that I’m mostly interested in learning, and the hardest part about stepping away from full-time, is the idea of how much I still have to learn,” said Bryan. “I’ve been fortunate enough to sit in a lot of production meetings and I’ve learned a lot. Whenever you get deep into something, you start to uncover layers and the different aspects there are to putting on a wrestling show.
“I spent years trying to learn how to talk in front of people because I was never good at that. Now, it’s looking at camera angles and things like that. It’s interesting just to learn deeper and deeper about this thing that I love so much.”
Bryan made it clear that he’s trying to find a firm answer about his future and the amount of work that it will involve, but there are plenty of variables at play in the situation. He also highlighted his ongoing struggle to balance his responsibilities as a loving father and a dedicated worker. For example, he described how his neck was in rough shape after his latest match on WWE Friday Night SmackDown, and the pain deprived him of the ability to lift his daughter when she wanted to pick leaves the following day.
“I had a tag team match on SmackDown last Friday, and it was a lot of fun, but my neck was just wrecked,” said Bryan. “You get to that point where it’s like, how long can I do this full-time and still be able to do those kinds of things with my daughter?
“What’s the right balance between part-time and that sort of thing? It may be that it’s just every once in a while when the urge strikes, or maybe like a schedule where it’s like eight months on, these months off.”
In the interview, Bryan also explained that his contract does not end this September, but he didn’t elaborate any further on the matter.