To boost interest and viewership for Smackdown’s return to Thursday nights next week, WWE announced on its official website that former WWE World Heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan will be returning to action on the broadcast.

The original idea was that Bryan would only see action for the first time since his injury at the Royal Rumble but that idea was nixed and he was even added to non-televised live events leading up to the Rumble.

Bryan last wrestled at the Extreme Rules 2014 pay-per-view, defending the title against Kane in an an extreme rules match. That would be the only time Bryan defended the WWE World Heavyweight title as he then had to surrender the gold in June.