The big story of the past week is SmackDown Live General Manager and former World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan getting cleared by WWE to return to in-ring action.

Bryan was welcomed back to the ring this past Tuesday on SmackDown with a physical altercation against SamI Zayn and Kevin Owens.

He fired Owens and Zayn for beating SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon down last week, and the pair reacted by doing the same to Bryan.

Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer reports that Vince McMahon likely moved up the date for Bryan to get cleared by WWE doctors. After the meeting finished and Bryan was cleared it was said that he had "tears in his eyes."

WWE made the announcement official in a press release rather than waiting to announce it on TV later in the day on SmackDown Live.

The reason for this was to capitalize on the buzz and generate bigger ratings for SmackDown Live. It had nothing with WWE wanting to break the news first.

SmackDown's General Manager hasn't competed inside the ring since April of 2015, just after winning the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 31.

He was forced to retire the next year in February after taking an EEG test that revealed a lesion in his brain.

It also showed slowing in Bryan's brain activity. The lesion in Bryan's brain caused him to suffer two seizures, on top of 20 concussions he suffered over the course of his professional wrestling career.

After being further evaluated, Bryan's doctors told him that his decision to retire was premature and the lesion on his brain was a very vague complication.

He was then cleared by several doctors around the country to return to in-ring action, however, WWE's doctors would not clear him still.

Bryan said that if he wasn't cleared to wrestle by WWE by the time his contract expired then he'd leave and wrestle on the indy circuit again. 

WWE’s Medical Director Dr. Joseph Maroon told Bryan to go get evaluated by several neurologists to receive tests for the past two months.

After Bryan was cleared by all the neurologists recommended to him by Maroon, WWE cleared him to return this past Monday. Now that he's back to in-ring competition, it's expected Bryan will team up with Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Tag Team match.

There has also been rumors floating around that the match could be an Unsanctioned match or a No Disqualification bout. WWE also placed a catch on Bryan getting cleared to return to the ring.

After every match he will need to be evaluated by WWE doctors with Impact testing and a neuropsychological evaluations until they feel he's okay. 

What are your thoughts on WWE announcing Bryan getting cleared online in order to generate bigger ratings on SmackDown? Do you think that this was a good call by the company? And who do you want to see Bryan work with in the future? Have YOUR say in the comments section below, and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!

Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout

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