SmackDown Live superstar Daniel Bryan has said that a match between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose inspired him to fight to be able to compete in the WWE once again.
The former WWE World Champion said that after his forced retirement, he had slowly accepted that his in-ring career was over.Â
He said: "I had accepted it at some point and just been like, 'okay, pro wrestling had been my dream since I was a little kid, right? And I had a good 16 years in, and all of that kind of stuff."
Bryan admitted that his role as general manager only made him feel worse about not competing, until he saw a Styles and Ambrose match.
"I was sitting there and they're both really good, and the crowd's going crazy, and I was like, 'I refuse to accept this! ... It took me another year-and-a-half before I got cleared, but I did it!"
The YES! movement leader retired in February 2016, and spoke about his wife Brie Bella's support for him to return to the ring.
He said: "Brie became okay with me wrestling and that was actually one of the biggest factors in me coming back, was Brie's support."
Bryan was cleared to return in early 2018, and made his in-ring return, teaming with SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon to defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.Â
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