Daniel Bryan will be making an improbable return to the ring, two years after he had to retire at the advice of doctors.
Bryan, who suffered multiple concussions and even a cut on his brain during a promising WWE career, announced his retirement on the Feb. 8, 2016 episode of Monday Night Raw. But instead of leaving behind the industry he bled for, Bryan worked extensively in getting cleared by doctors so he could wrestle again.
With Bryan cleared for in-ring action once again, Edge took to his and Christian's E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness (h/t eWrestlingNews.com), and revealed that some fans have expressed hope he could also return to wrestling.
But the Hall of Famer explained why he's not going to be able to pull off an impressive comeback that mirrors that of Bryan's:
“I greatly appreciate that people would like to see me have one more match or come back or Daniel Bryan got cleared so why can’t you?’ I will never be cleared.
Mine is a completely different injury. He had neck issues, but it wasn’t neck issues that retired him initially, it was the concussion issues. I never had concussion issues. What I have is cervical spinal stenosis, look it up”
Edge also added that he'll "never" get cleared by the WWE again, though he appreciated the comments from fans.
And unfortunately, it's all true. The Rated R Superstar was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, and risked being paralyzed or even death if he continued to wrestle. It was a no-brainer for Edge to retire at the age of 37, even though he was in his prime and had so much more wrestling to give.
Edge's career-ending injury is similar to that of another wrestling icon, Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake retired after wrestling through a bad neck - which was broken after a botched failed Tombstone Piledriver by Owen Hart in 1997.
It's a sad reality, but some WWE superstars just can't put their bodies on the line when the injuries pile up. Edge could still be one of the main superstars on the card today, but he's making the right call in entertaining us through his podcast, and not in the ring.
NEXT: EDGE SLAMS FAN WHO QUESTIONS WHY WRESTLERS LIKE WINNING TITLES