Bryan Danielson is fully cleared for the first time since he returned to AEW

Bryan Danielson suffered a broken arm at June’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view. As the summer went on, the rumor mill indicated he was going to miss AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium in late August, but might be cleared just in time to wrestle as the local hero in Seattle on Oct. 1 at WrestleDream.

That’s why it was a big surprise when he returned to AEW on the Sept. 2 episode of Collision as something of a replacement at All Out for the just-fired CM Punk. Bryan came back one month earlier than expected and wrestled a very violent strap match against Ricky Starks in his first match out of the gate. After the show was over, he said he got through the match with smoke and mirrors, as he never even threw a strike with his right arm.

Danielson followed that match up with another bloody and violent Texas Death Match against Starks last week on Collision.

The American Dragon is now set to wrestle against Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of WrestleDream this Sunday night. Danielson did an interview with the New York Post to promote the fight, where the outlet revealed that he is fully cleared for the first time since he came back to AEW earlier this month:

“The match will be the first one Danielson will be fully cleared for after returning early from the broken arm he suffered against Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door in June to face Ricky Starks in a strap match at All Out in September after CM Punk’s firing.

Danielson said he has had to do more violent gimmick matches, such as the Texas Deathmatch with Starks on Collision last week because it made it easier for him to protect his arm...”

Danielson said he still needs to be careful with managing his arm in the ring over the next year:

“Our doctors would still not like me to do certain things, but from like two weeks ago when I had the tag match the strength in my hand is coming back way faster than they thought it would, the mobility and all that stuff. I still have to be cautious probably for the next year or so. They put a steel rod in my arm. One of the things they said is that it actually makes it more likely to break not where it broke before, but where the end of the rod is. It’s like a fulcrum for the bone to bend against.”

The fact that Danielson returned earlier than he should have to work these ultra-violent matches tells me he isn’t going to take the safest approach with his work in the ring over the next year, but I suppose only time will tell how things go for him as he winds things down as a full-time wrestler.

Which opponents do you hope to see Bryan Danielson mix it up with over the next year? Let us know in the comments below, Cagesiders.