Five-Star Conversation 06.15.10: The Situation Surrounding The American Dragon

By now, anyone not living under a rock (make your own Dwayne Johnson pun) knows that The King of the Indies, The American Dragon, Bryan Danielson AKA Daniel Bryan has apparently been released from WWE. Quite frankly, this news is even more shocking than the beat down the first season of NXT rookies delivered to John Cena and The Straight-Edge Society to close out Raw last week:

Before we get into the Danielson issue, there’s a couple comments I’d like to make on that incident:

What happened to Michael Cole? Did he just up and bail through the crowd as soon as the rookies started showing up? Also, I don’t understand why no one came out from the back to help combat the rookies. This was a super show, thus, supposedly the entire Raw and SmackDown! rosters were present. Plus, they pounded on Cena and sXs, and so they crossed denominational lines, so the answer “Everyone was allowing the champion to take his lumps, because the champion always has a proverbial target on his back. There had to have been someone in the back who would have run to help one of the WWE “Superstars”, but we didn’t even see the usual rush of referees and officials. It just struck me as an odd plot misfire.

Okay, so to the issue of Danielson’s termination. Here’s what I know, in sum, based upon that which we’ve reported here on 411mania:

The decision to release Danielson was made on Friday and he was notified and terminated on Saturday. Almost immediately, he altered his name on his Twitter account to reflect his real name, Bryan Danielson, and not of Daniel Bryan, the name given to him by WWE when he first appeared on NXT. The only statement he’s made on his Twitter page regarding his release is that he’s “biding [his] time” for the “right moment” to address the situation. Meanwhile, on his Twitter account, Cena has expressed regret over the termination of his attacker, claiming he’d have preferred to have met Danielson one-on-one in the ring to settle their score in a fair match.

Rumor has it that an “outside source” pressured Vince McMahon into firing Danielson and that Vince had no other recourse but to do so, the main reason being that Danielson took his share of the beat down too far, spitting in a felled Cena’s face and (especially) for having used ring announcer Justin Roberts’ own tie to choke him. Not only were these actions said to have gone beyond the parameters of WWE’s PG-rated boundaries, the incident with Roberts tie violated a WWE rule of conduct stating that no wrestler shall use an object to choke another person, a rule implemented following the Chris Benoit tragedy. It’s unclear at the time of this writing whether or not Danielson was aware of this rule.

Although some WWE (and, apparently, TNA) wrestlers believe the termination to be an elaborate work, as well as Dave Meltzer reporting it as such, WWE corporate brass, such as Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith and Executive Vice-President of Marketing Michelle Wilson are unaware of this being part of an angle and are treating the situation as being completely real. That’s everything I know about the goings-on at the time I write this; considering the fact that Raw hits the airwaves in a couple hours, though, by the time you read this, more developments could come to light, one way or another.

I’m staying on the fence on this one for now. It makes complete sense that this could perfectly legitimate, owing to the PG-rated, “family friendly” environment WWE is now committed to providing for its’ so-called Universe. There, indeed, was a real air of legitimate danger and menace coming from the rookies, and the fact that we know so relatively little about them, such that we have virtually no context with respect to how they think and approach their craft (I’m speaking in purely kayfabe terms here, of course), it added to the chaotic atmosphere they created. I could see how the single-digit aged audience members could have been truly afraid (I read reports that some children in attendance were in tears. Pussies.), and that it wasn’t necessarily the overt violence being perpetrated in and around the ring that was so upsetting to them, but the fact what they were witnessing broke so far away from that which they’re used to seeing, it felt like a legitimately out-of-control situation for them.

Of course, for those of us who’ve been watching the rasslin for a while now, we were stoked! I don’t know about you, but I recalled the first time I really felt that thrill in my blood when Roddy Piper cracked that coconut across Jimmy Snuka’s head, forcing The Superfly to tumble back through the set, exposing the backstage area, something I had never seen at the time, lending the chickenshit attack an air of danger that helped to hook me deeper into the product.

I make this distinction because it seems to me that the level of perceived violence in WWE since opting for the “tamer” PG-rated project hasn’t diminished at all; some of the skirmishes between Randy Orton and John Cena, as well as Triple H before that, were incredibly violent, the manner in which the violence is expressed has simply changed, become a bit more sophisticated, I imagine WWE would say.

Now, a couple of weeks ago, I expressed my displeasure with certain members of The IWC decrying the PG-rating and blaming it for the lack of originality and excitement we’re seeing in the modern product. It seems to me that one cause of a stale product is WWE releasing genuine talent because of “nothing for them to do” while Creative members seem to have no issues finding ways to get themselves on TV in some fashion, but that’s another matter or another time. The reason I bring this up is because if PG-TV is the reason Danielson was released, then I think we have an issue.

I think we can all agree that this was just about the most interesting and intriguing thing we’ve seen on Raw a good, long time. Not only did we see the entire crop of NXT rookies utilized in what one has to evolve into an angle that will utilize all of them, thus making said angle the most potentially successful manner in which WWE has managed to debut and incorporate new talent since The Radicals jumped from WCW (and there were only four of them), it’s a story that manages to cross brands and has even been followed up on NXT with the season two’s rookies, as well as in FCW. Also, as we discussed last week, there’s still the matter of exactly how intended WWE is in playing up we internet geeks in the construction and execution of NXT, particularly Danielson, which means they’re finally learning to accept and utilize us in their business model, as opposed to ridiculing and/or taking us for granted. (I mention this, not because we should all get warm fuzzies for having been recognized, it just seems wise to attempt to utilize and involve the whole of your audience, especially the ones you can pretty well count on to be the most faithful.)

However, when you’re in the business of telling violent stories, how esoteric is it to have a line drawn in a situation where a bunch of slighted rookies decide they need to make a name for themselves by making a violent impact? Isn’t the fact that they created such an air of chaos and danger what made that segment work? Now, obviously, we’re not going to return to the whole “Pillman 9mm” days of violence, that’s not the kind of story WWE tells.

What we saw last Monday was right and appropriate for the situation the rookies were creating. The sight of Roberts being choked from behind was actually more telling and memorable than anything we saw perpetrated on Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, even Jerry Lawler. And lest we forget, there was a camera positioned right there to catch that great shot. And it’s not as if we saw anyone bounce Serena’s face off the ringpost. (If Roberts looked convincing, it’s being highly rumored that none of the ring crew were made privy to the fact that the rookies were going to rush the ringside area and attack them.)

Now, I’m not advocating pulling rules that help to keep the performers safe, not by any means. As far as I know, even as wild and uncontrolled as the incident in question looks and feels, no one was actually harmed. No, the reason this worked and came off so well is because of the successful psychology and storytelling of the beat down, and because it led to such an inconclusive ending to what was otherwise a fairly banal three-hour program. We finally had a real cliffhanger! What exactly was the reasoning behind the rookies’ attack? Who would be next? Was anyone “injured”? Most importantly, where does this situation go from here? It’s this kind of storytelling we watch professional wrestling for in the first place!

However, if Danielson’s termination is legitimate, does this incident cause WWE to shy away from attempting another story of this nature for fear of having something else “go too far”? If so, doesn’t that limit the already stiflingly bland and largely unoriginal modern product even more? Will we see even more limited stories and the action that helps to tell them? Will other wrestlers be afraid to cut loose and explore their greatest potential at the risk of upsetting the younger members of the audience (who we know have parents who become the loudest critics)?

What confuses me the most, mainly due to the vagueness of the explanation, is the mention of the “outside source” that basically rendered Vince McMahon powerless to take any course of action but to fire Danielson. Really? It’s Vince’s company! Who overrules him? We see every time he makes a public appearance to be interviewed how testy he becomes when he’s questioned, at the very least, the manner in which he provides polite responses without backing down on his viewpoint; think in the post-Benoit/steroid controversy, when questioned by CNN if he somehow felt responsible for the abnormally large number of people who’ve worked for him passing away so young, and his response that each individual is responsible for his/her own decisions and lifestyle. Even in arguably the most controversial situation he’s ever found himself, he clearly had his sword drawn behind his shield.

This controversy pales greatly in comparison. I could understand more if this became an example of self-policing. But a guy in who the company had largely invested broke a rule he may not even have been aware existed to get over a scenario written for him and paid for it with his job. Not a warning, not a demotion, not a suspension, but with his job. And all because the mighty Vince McMahon kowtowed to an “outside source”. Who or what could this outside source be? The only thing that comes to my mind is Linda McMahon and her campaign to be elected to The United States Senate, arguably the real reason for WWE’s decision to run a PG-rated product in the first place. It’s been widely reported that her opponents have used WWE’s racy past and saucy storylines as ammunition against Linda, even though she now officially has nothing to do with the company, other than being married to the CEO and Chairman. That status makes her an “outside party” and, quite frankly, it makes sense to me that Vince would have no problem future-endeavoring someone who hasn’t even really gotten his foot in the door in WWE yet if that helps to get his wife into Congress, considering the quality of wealth, notoriety and influence that seat would her, and by proxy, him. Now, I have absolutely no idea if this is the case, or if the “outside source” angle is even correct, I’m just trying to connect some dots to make sense of this situation.

However, let’s look at the other side of that coin. What if this is an elaborate work? If so, it’s a damn good one and appears to be one cog in the overall machine of the most intriguing story WWE has told in years. The termination of Danielson certainly throws gasoline on an already tense and volatile situation. Spin it this way – by firing Danielson, WWE brass takes away the most notable member of what we can call the rookie stable. Why not fire Wade Barrett? By having won the first season of NXT, he is contractually obligated to be allowed a shot at a world champion, not by the terms of the contract he won by winning NXT, but by the terms of the contract he signed to appear on NXT in the first place.

Let’s not forget, too, the possibility of Michael Cole having been somehow involved. Remember how he threatened Danielson with legal recourse when he (Danielson) failed to apologize to him. What if, instead of seeking retribution against Danielson directly, he threatened to sue WWE for failing to provide a safe work environment for him, for simply doing his job and calling the action as he’s employed to do? The “outside source” the forced Vince to fire Danielson then becomes Cole’s attorneys. Given the circumstances, would Cole’s role then evolve into something of a managerial one for the WWE pros who will then look to beat some justice into the rookies? Just something to think about.

Now it’s no biggie for Danielson and Cena to make these changes/comments on their Twitter accounts. Hell, isn’t that the reason the WWE performers are being urged to create an account in the first place, to discuss and further plotlines, angles and their characters?

Something else that makes me arch a brow in this situation is the excuse being given that Danielson’s choking of Roberts violated “The Benoit Rule” that I don’t think any of us knew existed prior to the damn thing being broken. Now, that certainly doesn’t mean such a rule wasn’t implemented, but it seems kind of corny and fishy to me. Just because, for whatever reason, whatever happened to Benoit to cause him to do what he did, that such a mild action should be so vociferously banned and enforced. OBVIOUSLY, I’m not endorsing choking anyone! But in wrestling, where the illusion of action is being created based in reality, choking anyone for an extended amount of time makes no sense anyway, because they’d zonk out and/or die. The action kinda has nowhere to go from there. Besides, Benoit choked only Nancy, he killed Daniel with a sleeper hold. Should Dolph Ziggler be fired, too (that was rhetorical, of course he shouldn’t!)?

The other aspect of this story that can be called suspect is the apparent fact that, if this is a work, WWE seems to be working a good amount of its’ brass along with us. Reports suggesting that no one around ringside were informed that this beat down was impending, even those who would take the beatings, leads me to consider that perhaps this is WWE’s way of making sure this all comes off as completely legitimate. However, working your ring announcer is a damn site different than working your EVP of Marketing and your COO! However again, though, this strikes me as just as possible as Vince letting Danielson go to protect his wife’s potential Senate seat, so again, here I am at a stalemate.

The final reason I’m reticent to accept the fact that WWE would let Danielson go at this point in time is because Vince has been historically extremely reticent to feed talent to TNA he feels is relevant and prime. Jeff Hardy? Rob Van Dam? They simply decided against renewing their contracts without giving WWE any real hint they planned on going to TNA. Kennedy was released because he was allegedly injury-prone and dangerous to work with and, at least at the point of his termination, was viewed by WWE as an acceptable loss. Brian Kendrick, Shannon Moore and Kurt Angle were all looked upon as possible Wellness violation cases waiting to happen, thus were they preferred losses, as Vince has become increasingly concerned with keeping his company’s nose clean in such matters.

However, Danielson has been built significantly as the fan favorite underdog. He was pushed in a highly-visible program against the top announcer in the company that was just heading to a place where his identity would flourish as he graduated to one brand or another. Danielson has never been hotter or as well-known in his entire career, and that’s because WWE has made him so (obviously, not to discount his own hard work and talent!). Would Vince really hand over this performer to TNA at this point? What if he returns to RoH? What would that mean for the indie fed with someone with such increased visibility to return home?

No matter how you look at this story, it’s intriguing and, if nothing else, reminds me of the time when there was a lot more to discuss about the WWF/E’s product than questioning who’s getting the appropriate push and who’s likely to win or lose at the PPV. Obviously, I’m hoping for Danielson to stay and that this is an elaborate work. I’m a fan of his work and was really excited to see how he’d perform at this level and against some of the exceptional talent employed by WWE.

And of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of this, either:

However, if this is all fuh rill-rill and not fuh play-play, what do you think, Joel?