Daniel Bryan, the WWE Universe hardly knew yee.
I'm still stunned after hearing yesterday that the WWE has wished all the best in future endeavors to Bryan(real name Bryan Danielson) on the heels of his playing a huge part in one of the most shocking and talked about angles in Monday Night RAW history.
The latest updates on the story has it that someone with power outside of the WWE corporation - perhaps a sponsor (like Mattel) or someone on Linda McMahon's campaign team - found Bryan's choking of ring announcer Justin Roberts with a necktie during the NXT invasion on RAW to be too violent and offensive. It is unknown whether the choking spot was a pre-planned part of the angle or something that Bryan thought up on the spot. It is also unknown whether or not Roberts was prepared to handle such a spot. Supposedly since the Chris Benoit tragedy there has been some kind of rule against choking with the ring ropes or similar objects put into place. There is also the WWE's PG rating which I guess is finally being enforced.
The real head-scratcher is that since the Benoit incident and since the PG rating, there have been many similar spots and other even more violent spots performed without any penalty. Batista trying to run-over Cena with a car at Over the Limit and Sheamus with the lead pipe are two that instantly come to mind. Heck, many of the wrestlers employ chokes in their matches all the time for that matter.
The bottom line is that someone who probably knows little to nothing about pro wrestling just got one of the sports up-and-coming stars fired for perhaps the very defining moment of what could have been (and I suppose could still be) the most interesting angles in WWE for years.
So what now? Well, for me the NXT angle becomes significantly less exciting. I like Wade Barret a lot and he is the leader of the group. Gabriel has potential, and you may call me crazy but Michael Tarver has grown on me as a role player. But Daniel Bryan was the man that was going to make that stable legit. He can go with anyone on the WWE roster and was really starting to get over. Now we will never know how all this might have played out.
The initial reaction on the internet was that this was all a work and that we'd see Bryan back on RAW tomorrow night. It's become painfully clear that Danielson is gone from WWE though. His character didn't have a contract in the first place remember? You can't fire a guy who isn't employed. But that is what happened.
For the WWE to do this they must have really had their backs against the wall. Afterall, our last image of Bryan is standing over the WWE's champion, John Cena, spitting in his face, kicking him in the head, and proclaiming that Cena is not better than him. That's not usually how WWE likes to portray guys that are sticking with the company.
Reports also say that this could be temporary and that WWE likes Bryan and wants to bring him back when the backlash blows over. I for sure hope so, and I hope it happens sooner than later. He has a 90 day no-compete clause which means we won't see him in ROH or TNA any time soon. Hopefully in a month Bryan can come back and still be part of the Invasion angle.
The winds of change were blowing, but now they are out of the sails.
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