It was announced Monday that WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will undergo neck surgery this Thursday that will cause him to miss significant time and more information on the injury and an updated time table for his return have come in.
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According to Wrestlingheadlines.com, word coming out of Monday Night RAW was that Bryan has a broken neck in what is being described as a minor break. The procedure that Bryan is set to undergo on Thursday is set to be a minor neck surgery, but it could shelve the creator of the "YES! Movement" until August.
The original timetable of one or two months seems accurate as the report indicates that Bryan is slated to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing the surgery. WWE officials were working under the impression that Bryan will return to the squared circle as an active competitor by the SummerSlam pay-per-view on Aug. 17.
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Bryan's injury reportedly stems from wear and tear over the years due to the in-ring style that Bryan has used throughout his career and that it wasn't just one incident that injured the WWE Superstar's neck. There was some talk that Bryan endured the damage to his neck at the May 4 Extreme Rules event when he hit a flying headbutt on Kane off of a forklift.
There has been speculation that the WWE may strip Bryan of the belt since he will be out for the majority of the summer, however it appears as though that is not the case. The latest updates indicate that if nothing major is discovered during the neck surgery, Bryan will likely keep the title through SummerSlam.
The WWE may change their minds, but as long as things are fine coming out of surgery for Bryan, the WWE is likely to keep the belt on him. The company was planning on doing a Buried Alive match between Kane and Bryan for the title at Payback, but that is no longer in the works.
It's been an up and down year for Bryan as he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 and married Brie Bella shortly after, but he has also dealt with the death of his father and his friend Connor "The Crusher" Michalek just days after.
The neck injury is a major set-back in Bryan's run as WWE Champion, however given his popularity and the strength of the "YES! Movement," Bryan will be thrust right back into the thick of things when he returns.
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