Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract expired following SmackDown match

Daniel Bryan’s contract with the WWE has expired.

Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Bryan’s contract expired this past Friday, and that WWE “is pushing hard for him to sign a new deal”. Fightful Select were the first to report the news, saying that the contract was expired or was set to expire. They also said that this does not mean that he is leaving WWE, as he has been vocal about doing “unconventional work with and for WWE”.

The news comes as Bryan lost to Roman Reigns on this past Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown. As a result of the loss, Bryan was “banished” from the brand. He has not shown up on Raw or any other brand since his loss.

Aside from a brief time he was released from the company in 2010, Bryan has been signed to WWE since 2009. From 2015 to 2018, he retired from professional wrestling due to concussion-related medical issues. He has appeared on SmackDown regularly since returning from a hiatus in October.