Well, seeing how they did that angle on Raw where Bret was backed into by another car and "broke his leg", that is the way out for him not to wrestle. I can see it now. Vince chooses Batista to represent him at WM26 and Bret chooses John Cena.
Or they could be setting up the story to be told during a future match. Bret is from the school that could do that.
Picture this:
Bret ends up in a match with someone. His leg is still not 100% and maybe by this time he’s graduated to wearing a brace.
The bum leg would serve to legitimize the slower/more limited work rate compared to the last time we saw Bret in a match
(people remember others as they last saw them).[Smarks will criticize Bret’s current ability regardless, while casual fans from that time will accept the story line of the injured leg, attributing the match’s quality to it.]
Okay, back to the match:
The announcers will keep subtly reminding fans of the brace’s hindrance, suggesting that Bret’s signature move will be of no help to him tonight. He struggles his way through the match.
Now…the emotional highlight of the match: Underdog Bret finally gains the upper hand. He dramatically tears off the brace. Against all odds, he barely & painfully applies the sharpshooter – THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SHARPSHOOTER HE’S EVER APPLIED! Victory!
That "has-been" match could easily outshine all others on the card because of its emotion and the story it told.
Think back to Fred Blassie’s last WWF appearance when he came out in a wheelchair. Remember the enormous pop he got when he stood up out of the chair?
Hundreds of millions of people stand up from a chair every day, and it means nothing.
30 seconds of setup time made Blassie’s standing receive a standing ovation from the crowd.
They could do the same thing with Bret.