Virtually no wrestlers, reporters or fans would be shocked if Bryan Danielson showed up on RAW this Monday, but as of press time, the going word is that his WWE release Friday was, in fact, legitimate.
As was noted early Saturday morning on Headline Planet, the actual story going around is that Danielson was fired in response to the scene on Monday’s RAW in which he graphically choked out announcer Justin Roberts with his tie (a scene which was edited from later re-airings of the Invasion angle). While no one is doubting that there were other people responsible for the image–Roberts for making the cartoon-like face, the cameraman for capturing the action and the directors and producers that let the image hit the air–the word, according to F4WOnline.com, is that a very influential entity with a connection to WWE (believed to be a sponsor, affiliate or business partner) complained and that someone had to be the scapegoat.
Similarly, there is not necessarily any rationale being given for why Danielson, specifically, got in trouble for a scene that hardly ranks as WWE’s most violent or offensive of all time–it simply came down to the reality that Danielson’s actions were the ones that angered someone in a position of power.
There have been loose reports that Danielson broke a “no visual strangulation” rule that was put in place after the Chris Benoit tragedy, but it is not clear that the entity responsible for the complaint was actively thinking about Benoit at the time. Further, because this would not be the first time someone’s in-ring actions have created a connection to Benoit (Shawn Michaels, for instance, used the crippler crossface on television long after the assumed Benoit double-murder-suicide), it is not certain that the connection, alone, could get someone fired in 2010.
There has been no indication that WWE officials are holding Danielson in serious contempt; F4WOnline.com sources, in fact, say he was given the impression that the door would be open for a return down the road once everything blows over. Both the WWE executive rank and independent wrestling promotions have, however, been told he will become a free agent once his non-compete expires, so it does not seem that, at least as of press time, WWE anticipates the “cooling off” period being a week or two.
Of course, there still exists the small possibility that the release story is an elaborate work or that WWE will quickly rethink its decision and turn the release into a work. But if it is, it would mean that WWE is also working some of its most influential employees in the process, as multiple sources all maintain that some of WWE’s most senior individuals, in addition to the creative team, were assured he was gone.