Daniel Bryan Released?

[Rob]

Cool cool. Call me naive, but I hope what he's doing opens doors for others in his position.

[Head Booker]

Taking this with a grain of salt...

Posted by Ringside Xcess on June 19, 2010

It's been confirmed that Linda McMahon's Senate campaign is part of the reason why Bryan Danielson was released from his WWE contract for choking Justin Roberts with his necktie. One member of Linda's team contacted Vince McMahon himself and informed him about how it would affect the company's policy they put into affect following the drama back in 2007 involving Chris Benoit.

Vince sat down with Danielson on Friday June 11th to inform him he was being let go for the incident. He also reassured Danielson that "he'll be rehired after the election." Vince then informed Stephanie about the release, to which she informed the creative team and other WWE officials that he has been legitimately released from the company for said incident.

Danielson does have the traditional 90-day no-compete clause in his contract, which has a special key point where he's only allowed to work independent shows in which he is able to obtain/own the footage because WWE plans to use this footage for his eventual return. Believe it or not, Danielson is also allowed to work house shows only for TNA if the two could work some type of deal out, however the explanation behind this was not given.

WWE has already been planning Danielson's return to the company. There's already been talk under wraps as to how he will return, but it's been said that Danielson has been asked by WWE officials to shoot on WWE Champion John Cena & the entire WWE product, so when he returns, there will be instant heat on his character.

[Head Booker]

[Head Booker]

Bryan Danielson wrote in a blog entry on his official website that he was fired by WWE for violating the company's PG-level guidelines during the initial NXT attack, namely choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie and spitting in John Cena's face.

Regarding his future in the wrestling industry, Danielson said he's "heard" TNA is interested in signing him, but did not indicate whether he's interested in joining the promotion. He also suggested he could return to WWE. In the meantime, he hopes to garner as much interest in independent wrestling over the next 90 days as he possibly can.

The full post is below:


"WWE has come to terms on the release of NXT first season rookie Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) as of today June 11, 2010. We wish Daniel Bryan the best in all future endeavors."

Posted by WWE.com

Since this statement was released I've been bombarded with messages asking me if it’s real, and by now I’m sure that most people know that it is.

WWE is very serious about adhering to their PG guidelines, and apparently my actions during the NXT attack on John Cena, namely choking announcer Justin Roberts with his tie and spitting in Cena’s face, crossed the boundaries of what is considered “PG.” Perhaps the choking was too violent or perhaps the spit was too demeaning. I apologized for both immediately following the incident; but I would be a hypocrite if I apologized for putting everything I have into the attack. I would much rather have gone too far than to come up too short.

As with anyone who gets fired from their job, especially when they feel its unjust, I am angry. Very angry. But I can’t fault WWE for how they handled my release. My contract contained a 90 day no-compete clause in the event I was let go, yet the WWE has graciously allowed me start wrestling again on any show that’s not taped for television or pay per view.

So with the negatives there also come positives. Before I got signed by WWE last October, I worked hard to bring new fans to independent wrestling. But with most of us having little national exposure the only thing we could do was wrestle our hearts out and hope for word of mouth. Now that I’ve appeared on WWE television in front of millions of new fans, things are different. My goal is to garner as much interest in independent wrestling over the next 90 days as I possibly can. I hope that some of the people who enjoyed watching me wrestle on TV will give independent companies such as Evolve, Dragon Gate USA and Ring of Honor a chance. I think most of you would enjoy the intimacy between the fans and the wrestlers and the intensity of the action; if you ask the fans who went to the Chikara or AIW shows I was on this weekend, I’m sure 99% of them had a great time. So if you’ve never been to an independent show, go ahead and dip your toes in... you might find that the water is pretty nice.

As far as what happens after 90 days, nobody knows. I’ve “heard” that TNA is interested. There are petitions going around to get me back into WWE and the last several weeks there have been fans chanting my names at their shows. People have even brought signs showing their support. And though most of the signs get taken away and though WWE may not be listening to your chants or petitions, I truly appreciate all the support over the last several weeks. It is both overwhelming and heartwarming. But regardless of what offers come in, I am in no rush to make any rash decisions. I enjoy my freedom as much as I enjoyed the benefits offered by being in WWE. My future, as usual, is uncertain. But I am enjoying my return to the independents. I’m hoping to see some of you there.