Former WWE World Heavyweight Champ and current SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan was recently interviewed by Ringside Collectibles at Ringside Fest 2016. You can check out some of the highlights from the interview here:
On how he’d feel in his kids decided to be wrestlers:
“Whenever everybody asks me if my children wanted to be wrestlers, I just want my children to follow their dreams regardless of what that is. That’s the great thing about my parents, they weren’t wrestling fans, but I loved wrestling. When I said I wanted to be a wrestler they were 100 percent supportive. So for our children that’s what I want to do too, whatever they want to do whether it be being a professional wrestler, work for NASA, or the President of the United States, not that anybody would want that job, so whatever they want to do I support.”
On his fashion sense since becoming SmackDown GM:
“It’s weird, since I’ve been GM I’ve really stayed away from the flannels. This is a full blue shirt, Brie told me that when I was going to be GM I had to be a little more professional. So I had to go with blue just because it’s the SmackDown colors and I have such beautiful blue eyes that it would just match so well.”
On two stars from NXT he’d draft to SmackDown:
“That’s really, really tough. I would love to have Nakamura just because I roomed with him for a long time, well not a long time a short time actually, but I’ve known him for a long time. And Samoa Joe too, there are so many great people down there. The women’s champion Asuka is really good, I love Austin Aries, Bobby Roode is really good, there are so many good guys down there it is hard to pick just two.”
On if we’ll see him in the ring for one last match, and who the opponent would be:
“I don’t think WWE would let me do another match. It would be hard to say which one person I would want to wrestle because there are so many people. Between Nakamura, AJ Styles, and guys who have come up to WWE since I’ve been gone. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, guys that I’ve known for a long time. Even someone that I’ve wrestled multiple times on WWE like Cesaro, I’d love to wrestle him again. It’s a really tough call.”
On what he enjoys most about being SmackDown GM:
“Just being around the guys. It’s hard when you retire and you’ve been doing it as long as I have, my full adult life I’ve been been around these guys, and then when you retire an you’re not around that anymore — you’re just sucked out of a vacuum out of the people that you’ve known a really long time.”
On why he thinks James Ellsworth has resonated so well with fans:
“It’s hard to say, I think it’s cause it’s so unexpected. One of the things about James Ellsworth is he really caught on, he just did one match with Braun Strowman and people just caught on and it’s all like ‘Ah, James Ellsworth, he’s the man!’ So I think there is just something about him. He has a unique charisma, he has a unique look, he’s also a very sympathetic character. He’s an underdog, and people really want to root for the underdog.”
On he’d like to induct him into the WWE Hall Of Fame:
“William Regal. He’s been my mentor since I was 19-years-old, he has helped me more than just about anybody. So him, and my second choice would be Kane. Kane and I are close and if it wasn’t for my tag team with Kane than I would have never gotten that Wrestlemania moment because that’s what really endeared me to the fans was Kane and my interaction.”
(All transcribed quotes courtesy of Wrestling Inc.)
