'That son of a gun': Daniel Bryan reveals the WWE star he would have loved to fight

Daniel Bryan was forced to retire from active wrestling due to a serious injury, following which he took up the role of SmackDown Live general manager, which gives him the platform to witness the rise of upcoming talent and those who are reinventing themselves to stay relevant in the WWE Universe.

Bryan told the Australian site news.com.au that fans should not underestimated emerging talent as they have been putting in some of the best performances he's witnessed inside the ring.

"I honestly think the WWE in-ring product is some of the best it's ever been, some of the most exciting it's ever been," Bryan explained. "Sometimes I watch it and think, 'Man why didn't I think of that?' I'm watching AJ Styles wrestle sometimes and I'm like, 'That son of a gun'."

He also revealed that he would have loved to fight AJ Styles or Baron Corbin or Braun Strowman in the WWE. Bryan's choice of opponent in The Phenomenal One is not surprising as everyone in the WWE wants to work with the latter. After Styles made his debut at Royal Rumble 2016, the wrestler has captured titles, headlined pay-per-view events (PPVs) and was voted the best wrestler of 2016 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

"I'd love to wrestle AJ Styles in a WWE ring, or even someone like Baron Corbin or Braun Strowman," he said and added, "Brock Lesnar too, never got a chance to do that — so there's a tonne of guys I'd love to wrestle with."

Bryan also talked about the company's biggest PPV of the all – Wrestle WrestleMania 33 – and the fight from which he has high expectations. The PPV event takes place on 2 April. "One of the things I'm really excited for is the Austin Aries-Neville match," he said.