I'm Just Sayin': A Dissenting View of the Release of Bryan Danielson

On June 11, 2010, a dark cloud suddenly appeared over the WWE Universe.

This ominous cloud spread quickly, shadowing everything beneath it with an unnerving sense of danger and impending peril.

It was on this day that Bryan Danielson, then known as Daniel Bryan in the WWE, was released from his contract with the company.

The chaos that ensued has been well-documented on various websites, including Bleacher Report.

Danielson’s unceremonious release from the WWE has caused quite the furor in the small yet mighty internet wrestling community, as well as the much larger pro wrestling universe.

The ripples from the tidal wave of his departure—in the midst of a hot angle with the rebel NXT Season One rookies—have far-reaching implications for the product that go far beyond whether we believe Danielson deserves another WWE contract.

For the most part, fans have spent countless hours speculating on the reason behind Danielson’s hasty release.

Without any real concrete evidence to back up a given theory, we’re left with either believing that his release is legit or an elaborate “work” from the master manipulators at Titan Towers.

Seeing as there is nothing but rampant speculation on why he was released, I was personally inclined to believe that his exeunt from the company was on the up-and-up.

However, one thing has transpired that has caused me to believe that his release may be legit and an elaborate “work” at the same time.

Maybe I’m giving the WWE too much credit, but perhaps the incident was a clever ruse designed to set up a major storyline and creative direction for this beloved and world-renowned athlete. 

Dan Shannon, Assistant Director for Campaigns for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has sent WWE CEO Vince McMahon a one-page fax imploring the evil pro-wrestling/sports entertainment tyrant to rehire Danielson.

It is well-documented that Bryan Danielson is a vegan who apparently doesn’t enjoy watching television as much as the average Joe Six-pack.

Hence, it should come to no surprise that PETA would rally some sort of support behind a man who has been labeled as the “quintessential vegan badass.”

Please excuse me for being that one in a million person who finds PETA’s support of Danielson a tad bit conspicuously odd and conveniently timed.

To have a director of any organization openly submit a letter for a given superstar in pro-wrestling is amazing, to say the least.

Then, out of the blue, a representative for PETA drafts a fax to Vince McMahon, and I’m expected to not think that’s strange?

Dan Shannon add his name to about 20,000 plus rabid fans who berate WWE with chants, posters, petitions, and phone calls demanding Danielson’s return to the company.

The entire ruckus caused by the incessant chants and petitions has definitely raised the company’s profile, has it not?

It wasn’t even a month ago that fans complained about how the WWE’s product had grown stale and boring, but with Danielson’s departure, those claims have all but ceased to exist.

Instead, they have been replaced with the familiar, nagging “Daniel Bryan” chants that haunt arenas during live RAW broadcasts.

Allow me to play devil’s advocate with another little nugget of evidence that may or may not give more credence to my theory.

If you can, recall Danielson’s last night on WWE television.

It was the infamous night of June 7, 2010, where a plucky cameraman caught a perfect shot of Danielson choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie.

In case you’re wondering, the tie was pink.

One of the more accepted theories is that Bryan Danielson was fired for this action, which was seemingly frowned upon by a major financial WWE supporter/advertiser.

A few moments after the incident, tons of fans noticed Heath Slater attempting to do the same thing to John Cena.

In this particular instance, Slater employed the use of the loosened ring ropes to add insult to John Cena’s injuries.

I do not remember seeing Slater actually choke Cena with the ropes, but I do know that most fans supporting Danielson cite the absurdity of his firing for choking Justin Roberts while Slater seemingly got off scot-free.

Take the following information with a grain of salt, but Jimmy Korderas of Right After Wrestling fame on Sirius Radio Channel 98 noted on the July 14 episode of the show that he felt Cena alerted Slater to not choke him with the ropes.

The young WWE superstar complied, and he still has a job.

The general theory behind this notion is that Cena did this because there is a “no choking” rule in PG WWE.

While I personally believe the existence of this rule is highly unlikely, I also think it's rather queer that Bryan Danielson wasn’t aware of this rule and commenced to simulate murdering a ring announcer with the entire pre-pubescent WWE Universe watching.

I also find it unusual that we’ve yet to hear anything about the release of the technical director (TD) who aired the shot of Danielson choking Roberts. 

Please keep in mind that RAW’s TD can see every camera angle at one time inside of the production truck (that big black 18-wheeler we sometimes see parked in the arenas with the big WWE sign on the side of it).

If there is a “no choking” rule in the WWE, why the hell would the TD take the shot of the man doing so?

But back to the John Cena and Heath Slater issue:

Why would Cena stop Slater from committing such a dangerous faux pas?

Is it possible that John Cena is an integral part of a complex angle involving the NXT group and Bryan Danielson?

Do you think he stopped Slater from choking him because he knew the company would have to “fire” him along with Danielson, thus drastically changing the intended creative direction for the American Dragon?

And have you noticed how noticeably quiet Danielson has remained about his release?

This is very typical for WWE stars fired or released within the standard 90-day no-compete period, with the exception of a few über-disgruntled employees (Kurt Angle and Batista).

Danielson has yet to open his mouth formally on the subject of his release, and I gather that he won’t until the time is absolutely right for him to do so.

All of these things seem coincidental, but I’ve learned over the years that there is no such thing as “coincidence” when it comes to pro-wrestling or sports entertainment.

It just seems suspicious to me that Danielson was nonchalantly released from his contract while being the most intense athlete in the middle of the NXT invasion angle.

It also seems weird that a representative from PETA would write a pro-Danielson letter to WWE, the same company that also employed a wrestler that (kayfabe) fed a dog to another wrestler.

Speculation and theorizing aside, the most important feature of Danielson’s release is the fact that it has fans excited about the product.

I would not put it past the WWE to resort to such a method to create a buzz around a superstar who earned and deserved his place in the company.

The simple fact that fans are talking about the incident loudly and vehemently is music to the ears of the corporate suits in Titan Towers.

Perhaps this was their intended goal on June 11, a slick ploy to manipulate the fans into investing passionately into the product.

I can’t call it either way, but I do believe there’s more to this story than meets the eye.

Personally speaking, I cannot wait for the day where John Cena gets his head kicked in by one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Stay tuned, IWC.

The best of this situation has yet to come.