AkydefGoldberg wrote:How has he been cleared as the neck(?) injury was career ending and could have caused him problems further on in life? It may be another HBK-esque career reinvigoration but if it was a neck injury, I'd be worried.
The injury wasn't neck related, it was because of a series of concussions. The science around concussions is a little vague, and even when he retired the first time there were doctors outside WWE that said he should be fine to compete. Since then he's tried some experimental treatments, and he's gone to see a lot of concussion specialists over the last year who judged that his brain function was normal for someone his age. So he's been cleared on that basis.
I'm excited to see Bryan back. Mostly I'm thrilled that he's healthy. But I would have preferred to see him wrestle elsewhere, if I'm honest. Somewhere where he could have made a difference, rather than WWE under-using him again. Imagine being stuck on the sidelines for two years and then your first feud when you get back is a Shane McMahon vehicle. That being said, I did just check out the closing angle on Smackdown and it was very good. It was smart for them to have him get physical this soon. Now people can look forward to his first match back at Wrestlemania, without the apprehension of it also being the first time he's taking a bump.
Things have changed enough since Bryan left that there are some cool opponents lined up for him now on Smackdown alone. Owens and Zayn could both make for cool singles matches down the line. Styles or Nakamura would be even better (if WWE isn't planning those two matches for major shows already, they're nuts).
I know there's been a lot of build for the Miz match, but I'm not
that excited about it. With Miz the angle is always going to be better than the payoff. They should do something with it at some point though.