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| Who Killed The American Dragon? |
Luke Dormehl |
Why WWE loss is most definitely Bryan Danielson's gain…
“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 [endeavours].” Short of a death or career-ending injury, it’s difficult to think of worse news a wrestling fan could hear in 2010. On the surface, the story seems incredibly simple: another example of WWE wasting a talented performer because he wasn’t the standard cookie-cutter bodybuilder that the company likes to get behind. Daniel Bryan (who we’ll refer to under his WWE name as much as possible here to avoid confusion) was booked to lose ten straight matches during his WWE tenure. He was referred to on commentary as a ‘loser’ and a ‘weirdo’ by staunchly pro-babyface announcer Michael Cole, despite being booked as a good guy. He wrestled mainly on WWE’s C-show, and made less than a handful of appearances on Raw. He was involved in ‘skits’ (and we use that word very lightly) in which he was forced to carry kegs around the ring, drink soda and sell WWE programmes. And then he was given his walking papers and sent back to the ‘minor leagues’. A burial, right? Perhaps… but as is often the case in the world of professional wrestling, there’s more to the story than initially meets the eye.
World Wrestling Entertainment signed Bryan last August amidst the kind of fanfare (certainly among wrestling’s smart fans) normally reserved for stars that have made a major name for themselves on television. As we noted in our Indy-pendent Contractors feature in FSM #46, Bryan arrived in WWE on the back of a campaign of ‘tireless lobbying… on his behalf by former trainers Shawn Michaels and William Regal.’ And right from the off, it was clear that he was destined for big things and a cut above the numerous other low level signings WWE make each year. “[Bryan] wrestles like he’s a ‘star’, which isn’t something all wrestlers can do,” noted Jim Ross, former head of WWE talent relations, after seeing him wrestle in a dark match. Even better, an early sign of WWE’s faith in him was its willingness to allow Bryan to bypass the normally mandatory stint in a developmental territory like FCW, instead graduating immediately to the main roster (by comparison, CM Punk – a similarly big name on the indies prior to signing with WWE – reported for duty in OVW for nine months ‘learning to work WWE style’ before being afforded the same opportunity).
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 56 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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