On Tuesday, WWE sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world by announcing Daniel Bryan has been medically cleared to return to action.

Bryan has been on the sidelines since his last match nearly three years ago. He’s served as the General Man ager as SmackDown Live since July 2016, but has been campaigning for a return to the ring ever since.

In his first statement since the news of his return broke, Bryan acknowledged the people in his live who never gave up on him or his dream to wrestle once again

Bryan will open tonight’s SmackDown Live to address his return and perhaps his role at WrestleMania. Based on the past several months of SmackDown storylines, there’s a good chance we’ll see Daniel Bryan teaming with Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in less than three weeks in New Orleans.

Saying goodbye to the ring was one of the hardest moments of my life. But thanks to the amazing people supporting me, I was able to keep fighting for my dream. This moment feels surreal and I'm glad to be able to talk to you all at the beginning of #SDLive tonight.

— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) March 20, 2018