I am as stunned as the next WWE fan about Daniel Bryan’s WWE release. The former WWE NXT superstar was fired by the WWE on Friday and has already reverted back to his birth name Bryan Danielson on his Twitter. Sadly any chance that the WWE NXT invasion had of being interesting is now over.
Like most, I saw the news and thought it was a work. Hey, great idea. Fire the WWE NXT standout and continue the storyline. In theory that would make sense. Yet as the pro wrestling pundits and journalists sunk their teeth into the story, all confirmed it was a real firing. Bryan Danielson could be coming to an independent wrestling show near you shortly.
One thing everyone has confirmed is that Daniel Bryan was fired for choking WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts on Monday. My buddy Mike Johnson over at PWInsider.com had the most comprehensive reporting on the firing of Daniel Bryan. Mike posted the following the PWInsider.com about the release.
That does make sense but it also opens up a lot of questions. Did Daniel Bryan know about this protocol? Was anyone reminded of this protocol? Do new WWE wrestlers in general know about this protocol? It is hard to imagine that someone would get fired in the WWE for breaking protocol if it was something they were never aware of.
See, that’s why I always read every employee manual cover to cover when I take a new job!
My gut instinct here says that this goes deeper than a protocol. My instincts tell me that Justin Roberts was not in on the WWE NXT invasion angle. I think that he either a) made a formal complaint to WWE H.R. or b) threatened the WWE with a major lawsuit. I can’t see the WWE having this strong of a reaction to this for any other reason.
For Daniel Bryan, it reminds me a lot of the CM Punk situation a few years back in TNA Wrestling. CM Punk fans were up in arms when Punk’s tenure in TNA Wrestling came to an end. A few years later it looks like that was the best thing for him as he has had worlds more success in the ring and financially in the WWE than he ever would have had in TNA. I don’t know where else Bryan Danielson can go to earn the kind of a living he would have had in the WWE, but I am sure he can find happiness elsewhere whether it is TNA Wrestling, or returning to ROH.
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Eric G.
Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business.
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