I think that Daniel Bryan’s (a.k.a. Bryan Danielson) dismissal from the WWE is a joke. Danielson is a well-known pro-wrestler of the independent circle that was recently released from WWE wrestling.
Biography
Danielson began as a backyard wrestler as a kid. When he turned 18 in 1999, he was trained under Shawn Michaels at the Texas Wrestling Academy, where he made his professional wrestling debut in 2000. He was then signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in their developmental company, Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) where he was further trained by William Regal. He was released from his contract in 2001 when the WWF stopped working with MCW. He returned a few times to wrestle for World Wrestling Entertainment on Velocity and Heat.
Danielson then toured Japan in New Japan Pro Wrestling and other companies before gaining much of his notoriety with Ring of Honor (ROH), in which he is known as one of the founding fathers. He worked with ROH from 2002-2009.
In August of 2009, Danielson signed a contract with the WWE, where he made his debut in January 2010. He fought dark matches and was then sent to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), a WWE development wrestling organization. His in-ring name was changed to Daniel Bryan.
In February 2010, Bryan was announced to be one of the rookie wrestlers (with The Miz as his pro) on the 1st season of WWE NXT, which premiered on February 23, 2010. He was the 2nd wrestler to be kayfabe voted off of NXT by the pros. A few episodes later, Danielson kayfabe attacked announcer, Michael Cole.
Bryan made a few more appearances on NXT and Raw before participating in the 1st NXT invasion attack on Raw on the June 7th episode, in which John Cena, CM Punk, announcers were kayfabe attacked. As part of the attack, Bryan choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie,
Release
On June 11, Danielson was released from his WWE contract. The Wrestling Observer reported that Danielson was released because his choking of Roberts was deemed too violent for the WWE’s TV PG rating. It was worked into a storyline in which the other NXT rookies kicked him out of their group for showing remorse in their attacks. Danielson has since returned to the independent wrestling circuit.
My Opinion
I did not know who Daniel Bryan was until I started watching NXT season 2 due to the NXT invasion angle and, even then, I didn’t know any of these rookies from season 1, so I failed to recognize Daniel the 1st time.
I went back and watched season 1 of NXT and watched the 1st invasion attack again to see exactly what Daniel did that was so bad. After seeing the whole Justin tie incident, it’s actually quite funny. Justin’s expression while being choked is just too funny to be taken seriously.
I really cannot see how Danielson’s kayfabe tie choking is any more violent than his kayfabe attack of Michael Cole or the whole NXT kayfabe invasion attack. For that matter, how is it any more violent than Triple H attacking wrestlers with sledgehammers or molesting Kane’s dead sister in a coffin or Randy Orton kicking people in the head? Double standard if you ask me.
Rumors about Danielson’s Release
There are a few rumors circulating about the reasons for Danielson’s release. Most sources say that Vince McMahon was pressured by an outside source to get rid of Danielson for a violent scene.
Another possible reason, some sources say, is that Triple H persuaded Vince to let Danielson go because the tie choking scene made his kids cry.
The most likely reason is that Linda McMahon, Vince’s wife is running for Connecticut Senate in 2010 and she wants to prevent others from associating her with a violent WWE, where she was CEO for a number of years.
Still other wrestling fans believe that the release of Danielson is just a work and that he will return at a later point in time.
Conclusion
Whatever the real reason is for Danielson’s release from the WWE, none of the rumors, if any are true, make much sense. There are much more violent scenes in wrestling than kayfabe tie choking.
If the rumor that Triple H persuaded Vince to release Danielson because his kids cried Triple H’s children must be a bunch of sissies. If they did cry at something like this, why is he letting them watch wrestling at all? When I was a little kid, I was watching all sorts of horror, action movies, wrestling, etc., so this would not have even fazed me. I wonder what his think of their father attacking people with a sledgehammer or climbing inside of a coffin for necrophilia?
For those wrestling fans that do not know Danielson, his wrestling style is fast-paced and rough. He is a relatively small wrestler who employs a lot of kicks, some aerial maneuvers and submissions, making for very interesting and exciting matches. In 2009, he began training in mixed martial arts at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture gym. Be prepared for many more additions to his repertoire.
The Positive
However, maybe Danielson’s is a good thing because the controversy made me and probably other wrestling fans, who did not previously know him, recognize his name and become aware of Danielson. I’m definitely a Danielson fan now. If he returns to the WWE or goes to another big company, more people will know his name.
To learn more about Bryan Danielson, check out his videos on YouTube. Also check out his official website and his Wikipedia article.
