As previously reported, WWE.com has announced that Daniel Bryan (a.k.a. Bryan Danielson) has been released.
No one seems to know if this is real or part of the NXT “invasion” angle.
WrestlingObserver.com says that “those in the company insist” that this is real. A number of higher-ups within the company were told about the release prior to the WWE.com article being posted, which would indicate that it was legitimate as they are not the kind to be ‘worked’ for a storyline. WWE also tends to announce most of their releases and/or suspensions on a Friday evening in order to avoid the standard intensity of news coverage at other times during the week. Dave Meltzer is reporting that Bryan choking Raw ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie during last Monday night’s NXT ‘invasion’ led to Bryan’s release. People within WWE were informed that it was too violent for their program and it was edited out of replays of the angle. It does not appear to have been anything personal, however, as Bryan was described as the type of decent person you wish the dressing room was filled with. Meanwhile, PWInsider.com has “no idea” if it’s legit or not and PWTorch.com thinks it’s “likely” part of an angle. The Baltimore Sun and SLAM! Wrestling are reporting on the story as well.
For what it’s worth, his WWE.com fan page/blog has been deleted, and the wrestler himself has changed his Twitter handle to “Bryan Danielson” and wrote “The winds of change are stirring.” I’ll reserve judgment until this plays out, but I do wonder the same thing Prowrestling.net is pondering: if this is fake, why would WWE.com have to announce his release, when in kayfabe anyway, he wasn’t part of the roster? (Answer: to work the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) of course. Right?) Stay tuned for more info as it’s uncovered.
