Smark Out Moment

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 endeavors.

Half of me is really surprised. Half of me isn't the slightest bit.

THE SURPRISED HALF: Danielson was trained by HBK, and unless Bryan's a complete douche, you'd think Shawn would stick up for him a bit. Plus, they put a ton of the focus of NXT on Bryan. On top of that, they JUST started this whole "NXT gang" angle.

THE NOT-SURPRISED HALF: The guy was booked to lose absolutely every match save for what, one? He doesn't have the look that Vince is a big fan of, nor does he have amazing mic skills, so while he may be a god in ROH and such, it doesn't necessarily mean you can make money for the WWE.

Frankly, I don't care that he's released, though I'm curious why they chose to pull the trigger (and why now). Could it be a Wellness Policy issue? Either way, it doesn't upset me. For his WWE stint, I saw absolutely nothing above the mediocre line in Danielson. People claim he's fantastic, but I didn't see a single glimpse of that. Now, sure, people will say it's because I didn't watch his non-WWE stuff and that the WWE was holding him back and so forth, but how then would you explain other people like CM Punk? I'd have disregarded a generic in-ring performance if I thought he had the proper mic skills or look or character, but in all four of those realms, there was absolutely nothing that wow'ed me, and really, do we need another bland midcarder?

But, then there's another issue that needs to be addressed: the Daniel Bryan / Bryan Danielson factor. Typically, the WWE doesn't announce future endeavor situations in a kayfabe way on their website. This is how they do it legit. I'd say there's about a 90% chance that it's real, sticking, and that's it. However, there's that other 10% that could be chalked up to them possibly bending the rules and fooling us to bring him back as Bryan Danielson. Rumor has it, they want to get more realistic and do some unexpected, different things, and that would fit in that scenario, wouldn't it?

If he's gone for real, oh well, in my opinion, though it's a shame they couldn't keep him around long enough to have him be a part of the NXT angle going on right now - if not just to add an extra number to the ranks.