Bryan Danielson, the WWE’s Daniel Bryan, posted a new blog on his WWE experience. Here are some highlights:
“I’m fascinated by Michael Cole’s commentary. For all of his talk of me being a computer geek, I suspect I spend less time on the internet than just about anyone in the WWE, including him. The only reason I’ve written these blogs is because I’ve been encouraged to do so by WWE and the only reason I have a twitter account is because the WWE made me one. Unlike Michael Cole, however, I don’t feel the need to judge people who do love using the internet. It’s a great social and commercial tool that allows people to access an infinite amount of information in a matter of seconds. If I didn’t fear technology so much perhaps I would use it more. Now all of this to say that I am probably some sort of geek/nerd… but more of the classic book reading, record listening, don’t know anything about what’s going on in popular culture type nerd. Perhaps Michael Cole will get it right next week and he can rip on me more for reading Carl Sagan’s “The Varieties of Scientific Experience” than for using the world wide web. But then again, he would probably mispronounce “varieties.””
and on his ring gear:
“As for my gear, Josh Mathews alluded to there being a story behind it… and there is. As you may have seen in some of the videos on NXT, I was originally trained by Shawn Michaels in 1999. In 2000, however, WWE signed me to a developmental deal and sent me to Memphis, Tennessee where I met William Regal, then wearing the maroon gear that had been his trademark. Regardless of how you feel about him, William Regal is an excellent in ring technician and is passionate about wrestling… he’s also a great mentor and teacher, which is why I alluded to wanting him as my WWE Pro rather than The Miz. He spent quite a bit of time with me, teaching me the ins and outs of the submissions, essentially giving me for free what it took him years to learn. After he got called back up to TV and I was let go from my developmental deal, we stayed in touch. He helped me get booked in Europe for the first time, leading to me going over there consistently for the last 7 years, making great friends in the process. He would also ask for tapes/dvds of my matches and give me helpful, honest critiques to help improve my game. In 2003 he got a nasty stomach virus (I think) while touring India which kept him out of action for quite a while. When he was finally cleared by the doctors, he asked me to come out to Atlanta to help him get ready for his return to the ring
. We spent a week just wrestling, with him continuously teaching me new techniques in what was probably one of the most fun weeks of my life. At the end he told me that he had some new gear made, but he was switching up his wardrobe so he’d never have a chance to use them. He gave me his brand new trunks, knee pads and boots, all very nice, and all maroon. I’ve worn maroon ever since. Its my way of showing respect to a man without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, the most likable wrestler ever.
