We knew one thing heading into this week's SmackDown Live and it was perhaps the biggest piece of wrestling news that has been broken so far this year, if not a lot longer than that. Daniel Bryan is no longer just a General Manager and has finally been cleared by WWE to compete in the ring. It was news that whipped the WWE Universe up into a frenzy and would have undoubtedly boosted the viewership for this week's SmackDown Live. You absolutely had to tune in to see what Bryan had to say plus as you'll find out as you read on it was a pretty packed show outside of that too.

Daniel Bryan Is Back!

Two years ago Daniel Bryan was forced to retire from in-ring competition. There aren't many Superstars who would have fought for two solid years to get that decision overturned, but Bryan did and a few hours before this week's SmackDown Live the news we never thought we'd hear began to filter through. WWE cleared Bryan to return to in-ring action. With that, there was only ever going to be one man who opened the show on Tuesday night. The General Manager came to the ring to a raucous reaction and thanked the many people who have helped him get to this point, most notably his wife Brie Bella. Although he doesn't know when or where he will have his return match the fans in attendance certainly know where they want to see it happen, WrestleMania. That has to happen right?

RELATED: DANIEL BRYAN DELIVERS HIS FIRST YES KICKS IN YEARS

Nakamura Picked Up Another Win Over Rusev

Once the news broke that Daniel Bryan would be returning to in-ring action, one of the first Superstars to react on social media was Shinsuke Nakamura, stating that their dream match can now become a reality. The King Of Strong Style has more pressing issues for now though. At WrestleMania, he will face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship and on Tuesday night he had a rematch of his Fastlane bout against Rusev. In their first meeting, Nakamura picked up the win and on Tuesday night the result was exactly the same. Aiden English tried to blindside the victor after the match and despite AJ Styles looking like he was about to help out Nakamura successfully fended off both men himself.

NEXT: NAKAMURA ALMOST FAUGHT IN UFC

Natalya Shocks Charlotte Flair

Nakamura versus Styles won't be the only dream match we get at WrestleMania in a little under three weeks. Thanks to Asuka we will also see The Empress take on Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Flair's longtime rival Natalya thinks that The Queen is scared, however, and also that she is better than both the women who will be battling for the title in New Orleans. All that talk earned Nattie a match against the champ on Tuesday night and the Canadian actually managed to pick up a shock win. It was hardly one to be proud of though. Carmella attempted to cash in her Money In The Bank contract and while Flair was distracted Natalya rolled her up for the three count.

NEXT: CHARLOTTE VS ASUKA GETS ENDORSEMENT FROM HALL OF FAMER

The Bludgeon Brothers Dominance Continued

At Fastlane, The Bludgeon Brothers finally decided the time was right to really leave their mark on SmackDown Live's tag division. Harper and Rowan took out The Usos and The New Day to the point that all of the five victims are still recovering. Unfortunately for Jimmy Uso, he was well enough this week to have to go one on one with Harper. The Tag Team Champion actually gave a pretty good account of himself and at points looked as if he would pick up some much-deserved revenge. Uso covered Harper following a vicious looking super kick but the big man managed to kick out. Shortly after that, the tables were very much turned and Harper hit his opponent like a train before pinning him to win the match.

RELATED: THE USOS BELIEVE THIS IS THE YEAR THEY FINALLY MAKE IT TO WRESTLEMANIA

That Didn't Take Long

In the final segment of the evening, Daniel Bryan summoned Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to the ring in order to address what they did to Shane McMahon last week. The Canadian pair thought that the GM would be on their side, however, they were sorely mistaken. Even though he claimed he was reluctant to do so Bryan fired both Owens and Zayn on the spot. While Sami was in shock, Owens was seething and rather than leaving the ring he launched an attack on the now cleared Bryan. What followed in the next few minutes likely had Bryan wishing he had never been cleared at all. Despite rallying somewhat and gaining the upper hand on both of his attackers for a short while eventually, he succumbed to the numbers game. The show ended with Owens delivering a vicious pop-up powerbomb to Bryan right on to the edge of the ring apron. Welcome back to the physical side of the business Daniel Bryan.

NEXT: WATCH SAMI ZAYN AND KEVIN OWENS ATTACK NAKAMURA AND AJ STYLES AT MSG EVENT