Although the feeling is that Bryan Danielson almost definitely received John Cena’s blessing to spit on the then-WWE Champion during the first NXT invasion angle, some insiders refuse to dismiss the possibility that the spitting played a role in Danielson’s release.
This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (f4wonline.com) explains that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon absolutely hates spitting and has preserved a long-running ban on the action in WWE rings. In addition to having a problem with spitting and smoking cigarettes, McMahon also reportedly hates sneezing, to the point at which he will “cut a promo” on those workers who sneeze when he is nearby.
In public comments made about Danielson’s release, Cena never gave any clear indication that the spitting was a problem–Chris Jericho, meanwhile, outright said that he believed the “tie choke” was the motivator.
— As an additional note on Batista’s WWE departure, F4WOnline.com says that a major stimuli for his falling out with WWE involved an outside movie deal. Batista had apparently garnered approval from John Laurinaitis to accept a four-picture movie deal with David DeFalco; when Laurinaitis told Vince McMahon about it, however, the WWE Chairman instantly put the kibosh on the situation, explaining that he could not commit to such a deal while under WWE contract.
From that point forward, relations grew more tense.