Daniel Bryan beat A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship this week. On Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho gave his insight on what he believes Vince McMahon’s thought process was like when making the decision to end Styles’ title reign of more than a year.
“I think that Vince wanted a buzz going into Survivor Series, because he lost his main event, which was Ronda vs. Becky,” Jericho said.
“He needed a buzz. ‘I need buzz-worthy. I will change the title.’ Because to him, A.J. and Bryan are the same. They’re both great workers. They’re both the same size.
Jericho’s explanation didn’t end there, as he also managed to work in a couple of thinly-veiled jabs at Brock Lesnar.
“They’re both going to get eaten alive by Brock depending on what kind of mood he’s in, if he even wants to have a match or whatever,” Jericho said.
“Because sometimes Brock will just show up and say ‘Yeah, we’ll just talk about it in the ring.’ That’s what happened with Ambrose at WrestleMania. They didn’t even go over anything.”
Jericho did not elaborate further. But from the context of the comments, and by invoking the Ambrose match, you can connect the dots on how Jericho feels about Lesnar’s professionalism.
Judge for yourself by listening to the full episode of Talk Is Jericho below.
On one of the most notable Smackdown episodes in some time, Daniel Bryan won the WWE Championship last night. He also turned heel in the process.
According to a report from Wrestling Observer, the decision was made to put the title on him before Becky Lynch was injured. As for Bryan’s heel turn, that is something he has personally been pushing for recently. The decision was not made to pull the trigger on it until yesterday, however.
Daniel Bryan Heel Turn, WWE Championship Win
“It’s a complicated story,” Dave Meltzer said. “Daniel Bryan himself has been pushing the idea of going heel just because his booking as a babyface with the Miz – it’s counter-productive.”
“For whatever the reason, I don’t know the reason but it was over the weekend, Vince changed plans and wanted to go with Brock Lesnar against Daniel Bryan,” Meltzer continued. “So this is before the Becky Lynch injury but the heel turn was decided this afternoon. It was basically Vince going ‘let’s do it all in one day and get the biggest impact.'”
Based on this report, the WWE title switch was decided independently of Becky’s injury. Bryan’s heel turn was decided the day of Smackdown. He had evidently been pushing for the turn in recent months, however.
The heel turn and title change led to a heel vs heel Champion vs Champion match Survivor Series.
Last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live certainly brought a ton of surprises. After Becky Lynch’s injury, Charlotte Flair will now face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series this weekend. Also, we have a new WWE Champion, and a new opponent for Brock Lesnar on Sunday. AJ Styles opened up SmackDown Live last night to cut a promo about his match with Lesnar.
Paul Heyman came out to interrupt Styles, instigating a match between Styles and Bryan later on that night. With the WWE Title on the line, Bryan turned heel and hit Styles with a low blow after the referee was knocked down. He then hit a flying knee for the WWE Title victory. The title change was obviously a huge surprise to fans.
Now, Bryan will face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series this weekend due to the Champion vs. Champion format of the show. After SmackDown Live, however, Styles didn’t work his scheduled Mixed Match Challenge match on Facebook Watch. He was set to team up with Charlotte Flair against The Miz and Asuka.
Instead, Styles was replaced by Jeff Hardy, who teamed with Flair to defeat Miz and Asuka. There’s no news as to why Styles missed his MMC match, however, it’s likely in regards to the storyline after losing the WWE Title.
What do you think about Styles not working the MMC after losing the WWE Title?
Daniel Bryan won the WWE Championship last night on a notable episode of Smackdown Live! In one night, several of the top matches for Survivor Series 2018 were changed, all with just 5 days to go before the event.
Not only did Bryan win the WWE Championship in a match only announced that same night, but he also turned heel in the process. Bryan low-blowed Styles with the referee out of position moments before hitting him with a running knee to pick up the win. When cameras attempted to catch up with Bryan backstage, however, he was not offering up any explanation for his actions.
While Bryan wouldn’t answer any questions, he did pose for his WWE Championship photo session:
Daniel Bryan Beats AJ Styles, Wins WWE Championship
AJ Styles’ WWE Championship reign finishes at 1 year and 6 days. He defended the title 13x successfully on WWE programming (not including house shows). This is Bryan’s 4th run with the title. He has only held the title for a combined 66 days, however. He has twice had to vacate the belt and also lost it in quick succession to Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2013.
Bryan also formerly held the now retired World Heavyweight Championship in WWE once. Bryan held that title for 105 days before losing it to Sheamus at WrestleMania that year.
Daniel Bryan is the new WWE Champion as he beat AJ Styles to win the title on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in St. Louis, MO at the Enterprise Center on the USA Network. Bryan hit a low blow and then the running knee to win the title. After the match, Bryan attacked him.
As a result, Styles is no longer slated to face WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Instead, Bryan vs. Lesnar has been announced.
If you recall, Styles successfully retained the WWE Title over Bryan on the October 30th episode of SmackDown. This contest was supposed to happen at Crown Jewel but due to Bryan refusing to go to the country, WWE booked this match on SmackDown instead. Styles would then retain the title over Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel.
Styles held the title for over 300 days after winning it from Jinder Mahal on an episode of SmackDown Live in November of last year in Manchester, England, which started his second reign as WWE Champion. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on what Styles’ role will be at Survivor Series.
WWE presents the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on Sunday, November 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center that will air on the WWE Network.
What are your thoughts on this title change? Sound off in the comment section.
Daniel Bryan will not be at Crown Jewel tomorrow in Saudi Arabia. His reasons for missing the event aren’t purely to do with Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, however. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, Bryan’s reasons for missing the event are more diverse.
According to the report, Bryan decided at the Greatest Royal Rumble that he would be unable to go back to the country.
“It wasn’t so much that the women weren’t allowed to perform,” Dave Meltzer wrote of Bryan. “But the key was what he learned about the treatment of homosexuals, and also, that they wouldn’t allow Sami Zayn to perform on the show, and he considered that racism.”
Daniel Bryan Crown Jewel
The report continues to say Bryan requested he lose to the Miz in Australia for this reason. According to a report from PW Insider, an empty-arena match was then planned. It would be filmed near the Performance Center and air during Crown Jewel. When that didn’t pan out either, it was eventually decided to just have Styles beat Bryan on Smackdown. Samoa Joe then returned and was named Bryan’s replacement.
The report doesn’t name sources but it reads much like Bryan was speaking directly to the outlet, although that is only speculation. Crown Jewel takes place Friday, November 2nd and will air beginning at 12 PM est on the WWE Network.
While John Cena was written off of Crown Jewel with a brief Bobby Lashley segment on Raw, Daniel Bryan took a clean loss to AJ Styles and he tapped out to the WWE Champion.
This finish and the post-match attack from Samoa Joe led many to wonder if the company is punishing Bryan for his decision, though latest reports reveal that this isn’t the case.
Bryan Alvarez talked about the upcoming show during the latest Wrestling Observer Live and he revealed that Bryan wasn’t punished.
According to him, the tap out finish we saw was the original plan for the Crown Jewel event, which the company moved up to SmackDown.
Though he also noted that the company doesn’t appear to have any big plans for the former Champion for the rest of the year. So after this loss we can expect Daniel to move away from the title picture.
Although the decision to move up the finish was probably made on the fly after Officials failed to convince Bryan to wrestle at the show. So it can’t be considered their reaction to his refusal.
Whether or not the company actually punishes him for this will be revealed in upcoming times and Officials’ reaction to his decision should be reflected on Bryan’s storylines in near future.
Smackdown will head to Atlanta, GA tonight. The go-home show before Friday’s Crown Jewel event will take place inside the Philips Arena.
With just days left before the scheduled WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, there are rumors Bryan will not travel to Saudi Arabia. Similarly, John Cena’s role in the upcoming show was written out last night on Raw likely due to his refusal to participate in the event. Cena was replaced by Bobby Lashley in the WWE World Cup.
Smackdown 10/30 Preview
AJ Styles To Confront Daniel Bryan
The real story behind what Daniel Bryan says to AJ Styles tonight on Smackdown is far more interesting than the fictional one. If Bryan has said he won’t go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel what does that mean for the WWE Championship match scheduled for the event? Also, what does it mean for Bryan and WWE moving forward?
In storyline, Bryan will be confronting AJ about the two tag matches the pair have lost together to the Usos. In particular, Bryan may feel AJ took an opportunity to “accidentally” nail his upcoming challengers with some pre-emptive strikes.
We will start getting some answers to those questions tonight during this segment.
Becky Lynch To Prepare For Ronda Rousey
Last night on Raw it was revealed that it will be Raw Champion vs Smackdown Champion at Survivor Series this year. That means Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey will be facing each other in single’s competition. Lynch sent out the following in regards to Rousey’s performance yesterday:
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Tye Dillinger – United States Championship Match
WWE appears to be going with the same format for Survivor Series this year that they used in 2017. Brand champions will collide when Ronda Rousey takes on Becky Lynch so the winner of this match could likely take on Seth Rollins at Survivor Series.
Dillinger has had his issues with Randy Orton as of late, which could factor into things tonight. Orton does seem to show up during Nakamura’s title defenses.
The Bar vs New Day – Trick Or Street Fight
It’s Halloween so somebody is taking part in a Trick Or Street fight. One member of the New Day will take on one member of the Bar in such a match tonight. The Bar will defend their newly won Smackdown Tag Team Championships against New Day on Friday at Crown Jewel.
World Cup Preview Segment
There will be a World Cup preview segment of some kind taking place tonight. Last night on Raw, WWE announced the brackets for the tournament to determine the Best in the World.
From the Smackdown side of the brackets, Rey Mysterio will take on Randy Orton and the Miz will face Jeff Hardy.
Daniel Bryan has been removed from the scheduled Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The news was first reported by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports. His absence from the show will be addressed on tonight’s Smackdown. The outlet has been reporting that both John Cena and Bryan were doubtful for the show for the last week.
Cena was officially removed from the event last night on Raw. Constable Corbin replaced him in the World Cup with Bobby Lashley, who just lost via DQ to Finn Balor.
Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at the WWE Performance Center?
WWE has been aware of Daniel Bryan’s unwillingness to participate in Crown Jewel since last week. According to a report at PWInsider, there were discussions for Daniel Bryan to wrestle WWE Champion AJ Styles at the Performance Center in Orlando and for that match to air during the crown Jewel broadcast. That plan never came to fruition.
Another scenario being discussed is for Bryan vs. Styles to take place at tonight’s SmackDown tapings. Rusev’s name has apparently been mentioned as a possible challenger for Styles at Crown Jewel.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown takes place inside the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. In addition to the Bryan and Styles segment, Shinsuke Nakamura will face Tye Dillinger with the United States title on the line.
WWE’s controversial Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia is now less than a week away. We reported previously that John Cena may not be appearing at the event and we may well have an update.
Nothing has changed regarding Cena’s status for Crown Jewel according to Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer. Meltzer stated that WWE may confirm Cena’s status on tonight’s RAW show. WOR are claiming that WWE creative and staff elsewhere in the company are not even aware of what is happening with Cena in regards to Crown Jewel, but that we should have an answer after tonight’s RAW. Cena was scheduled to take part in the ‘World Cup’ tournament on the Crown Jewel card.
A potential rumored replacement for Cena’s World Cup spot is Bobby Lashley. Lashley is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that he is working through as long as possible.
Meltzer also commented on the rumors of Daniel Bryan not appearing at Crown Jewel. According to WOR no announcement will be made by WWE about Bryan not appearing at the event. It is likely that an angle will be shown on the day of the event or at this week’s Smackdown taping to explain Bryan’s absence. Bryan’s status for the show is very much “up in the air” but will not be addressed until closer to the event either way.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown will be the go-home show before Sunday’s Evolution PPV. The show will emanate from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Smackdown 10/23 Preview
The Usos vs Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles
Last week on Smackdown 1000, the Usos defeated Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles in a tag-team match. The two men who will wrestle for the WWE Championship at Crown Jewel will again take on the Usos tonight.
Daniel Bryan sent a message to the Usos on Twitter earlier this week.
Rey Mysterio will be this week’s guest on MizTV. Unfortunately, that likely means there will be no Truth TV tonight.
Mysterio defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to qualify for the WWE World Cup last week. He’ll likely have plenty to say about the upcoming tournament tonight. The host of the MIzTV, Miz is also entered into the tournament.
Rusev vs Aiden English
While some fans were likely hoping they would settle their rivalry in Milwaukee, Aiden English and Rusev will clash tonight. This really could be just the start of this angle or the blow-off depending on how strongly WWE feels about it.
Fallout of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch Altercation
Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch were involved in an altercation at the WWE Performance Center over the weekend. WWE sent word through their social media accounts that they were investigating the situation. Tonight, we’ll likely find out the repercussions of what happened.
Mandy Rose vs Naomi
Paige made this match after the following Twitter altercation between the two:
BREAKING NEWS?????? Yawwnnnn! The only news about any of these women is that I’m going to be the one to throw each and everyone over the top rope and win. #GoldenGoddessWinsTheGoldhttps://t.co/s5g7Mr8UJF
– Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to win the WWE RAW Tag Team Titles in the main event of this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Providence, RI at the Dunkin Donuts Center. This would lead to Ambrose turning heel by attacking Rollins. Once the show went off the air, there was no dark match. WWE posted this video of Rollins being helped up after the attack.
AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan Respond To The Usos
WWE has announced that The Usos would take on Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion AJ Styles on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center. This is after the two top stars lost to the former WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions on SmackDown 1000 last week. Styles and Bryan have responded to the warning that The Usos sent out on social media.
Styles wrote, “Not going to take anything away from these boys. Great tag team, they know they have talent. but they also know why I’m the one holding the @WWE Championship. And will be for awhile.” On the flip side, Bryan wrote, “Everyone thinks they’re unbeatable until they get caught by a Small Package! #MrSmallPackage.”
Not going to take anything away from these boys. Great tag team, they know they have talent.
…but they also know why I’m the one holding the @WWE Championship. And will be for awhile. https://t.co/fGPL70oREY
– A return to WWE has been rumored for Rey Mysterio since he was a surprise entrant in the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match in January and it will finally happen next week.
WWE announced this week that Mysterio will square off with United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a WWE World Cup Qualifying Match on next Tuesday’s historic 1000th episode of SmackDown LIVE in Washington D.C. Mysterio is advertised to wrestle twice on the show as WWE revealed tonight in an email to those in the D.C. area that he will also compete in a tag team match.
In updated advertising for the event, Mysterio is slated to team with WWE Champion AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan against Randy Orton, The Miz, and Nakamura. A match pitting Styles and Bryan against Samoa Joe and Miz was previously advertised.
WWE also noted in the email that Flair will go one-on-one with SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch (after previously advertising Flair, Asuka, and Naomi vs. Lynch and The IIconics). This is presumably a dark match since they’re scheduled to face off at Evolution in a Last Woman Standing Match.
– After wrestling at WWE Super Show-Down last Saturday in her home country of Australia, Peyton Royce reflected on her long journey from the independents.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoxA2xFnkLw/
Royce also revealed that she would spend thousands of dollars on professional photos hoping it would land her a tryout with WWE.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BozyA15HXCT/
Royce and fellow Australian Billie Kay beat Naomi and Asuka in a tag team match, with Royce scoring the pin on Naomi.
SmackDown Live General Manager Paige can’t compete inside a WWE ring. The 26-year-old has been medically suspended from ever competing for the professional wrestling juggernaut inside the ring again. She suffered a neck injury that could have serious ramifications on her longterm health if aggravated. For now, she retains a regular WWE TV role as General Manager of Tuesday nights.
Despite the disappointment of not being able to compete in the ring, Paige still holds out a bit of hope. This hope comes from seeing the amazing journey of current SDL star Daniel Bryan. Bryan was once in a very similar position to Paige. He was medically barred from competing inside the WWE ring as well. Up until earlier this year, he also served as SDL General Manager.
Upon Bryan’s resignation to return to full-time Superstar status, Paige was given the role. She spoke about being inspired by Bryan during a recent interview with TV Insider. Here’s what she had to say:
“His injury was a bit different, but he is still a superstar to me. Here is a guy who did not give up. It took three years since the last time he was in the ring. It gives me hope. I know it probably won’t happen for me because of the prognosis. But I just want a miracle to happen. Bryan is definitely an inspiration and would want to walk in his footsteps.”
What do you think about Paige drawing inspiration from Bryan’s WWE comeback?
WWE has confirmed the WWE Championship match for November 2nd in Saudi Arabia. WWE Champion AJ Styles will be defending against Daniel Bryan at ‘Crown Jewel.’
Bryan defeated The Miz at WWE Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia earlier today. The match was unexpectedly short, Bryan took the win with a quick roll up very early on to a stunned reaction. WWE confirmed shortly after that Bryan would be heading to Saudi Arabia for the title match shortly after.
Daniel Bryan appeared for the bout with his mid-section taped. There did not appear to be any obvious signs of injury during the contest so it may have been cut short due to time restrictions. With the show being a WWE Network event it would be odd for a time cut but at the time of writing the Undertaker vs Triple H match had not yet occurred and may be going long.
AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan are two of the most well respected Superstars in the industry. The two former independent stalwarts have tread much the same ground in Ring of Honor, New Japan et al. This could be a potential match of the year candidate if the match is given adequate time.
Tonight’s Smackdown and 205 Live taping will take place in the Moda Center in Portland, OR. It will be the go-home show before Saturday’s Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
Smackdown Preview 10/1
Paige Addresses Samoa Joe’s Actions From Last Week
Smackdown General Manager Paige has announced she will kick off tonight’s show by addressing Samoa Joe’s actions from last week. Joe showed up at the home of WWE Champion AJ Styles last week. Now just 4 days before Super Show-Down (less if you count the time change), what will Paige have in store for Joe?
Becky Lynch Planning A Surprise For Super Show-Down
Smackdown Women’s’ Champion, Becky Lynch, has some sort of surprise for Charlotte Flair. What it is will be revealed tonight.
“WWE.com has learned that The Irish Lass Kicker has a very special Super Showdown Surprise that she will reveal on SmackDown LIVE,” WWE stated about Lynch’s planned surprise.
R-Truth & Carmella vs Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
Not only are R-Truth and Carmella teaming together in the Mixed Match Challenge they will also be in a mixed-tag match tonight on Smackdown as well. They take on Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas tonight.
Between Miz and Maryse, Daniel Bryan and Brie, Vega and Almas, and Truth and Carmella, there is quite an inter-gender tag division brewing on Smackdown.
Zelina and Carmella got into a social media spat this week after the Fabulous Truth lost on the MMC.
Babe, #TruthTv was one of the best parts of #SDLive this week.. yano, the same show y’all weren’t even on. ?
Shelton Benjamin called out Smackdown General Manager Paige this week, stating he was not getting enough in-ring action on Smackdown.
I Am a warrior I am a competitor & I am DAMN GOOD! Yet I have not had a match on #SmackDownLIVE in months. I’m here to compete I thrive on competition @RealPaigeWWE Its time you Got me off the bench & LET ME FIGHT!
So Paige has given him what he wants, a chance to prove himself. Daniel Bryan and Benjamin will go one-on-one tonight. You have to wonder if Bryan’s Super Show-Down opponent, the Miz, will be watching closely.
New Day Reveal Recipe For Pancakes
New Day has been tag team champions so often that a little old upcoming title match doesn’t stop them from enjoying pancakes. While New Day will take on the Bar this Saturday, they will be sharing their secret pancake recipe during a segment on Smackdown tonight.
Daniel Bryan is standing by his wife’s side and pointing out that accidents happen in professional wrestling matches all the time.
Over the past two weeks, Bryan’s spouse Brie Bella has been receiving a relentless amount of criticism after she accidentally kicked Liv Morgan in the head twice in a row, nearly knocking her unconscious and ultimately causing her to have a concussion.
Immediately after the incident happened, Bella posted an apology on Twitter while sending Morgan her well wishes after the accidental kicked nearly knocked her out.
More recently, Bella has taken to Instagram where she wrote a lengthy post about cyberbullying, undoubtedly aimed at the amount of criticism she’s faced since the incident with Morgan in the ring a couple of weeks ago.
Now Bryan is going on the offensive to defend his wife and also point out that accidents happen in the ring constantly — and even he’s been the perpetrator in the past.
“I am proud of how strong my wife is. After accidentally injuring Liv Morgan last week, the first time Bri’s ever hurt another performer, she’s been subject to a constant barrage of social media attacks. Almost every wrestler has accidentally hurt someone but rarely do you see this kind of hate when it happens. For example, I concussed Randy Orton in 2012 after hitting him with what was supposed to be a chair to the back. Unfortunately part of the side hit him in the back of the head, and he was forced to miss a PPV. In 2009 in our last match against each other, I concussed Nigel McGuinness after doing a dive into him in the crowd, where his head hit the floor. And there are others.
“As for the Yes kicks, two weeks ago I accidentally kicked Andrade directly in the head due to a miscommunication on my part. I feel fortunate that he was ok, because there are few feelings worse than hurting someone. Despite all of that, never did I receive the backlash Bri did this week. With all the negative things said about my wife, nobody was harder on her than she was on herself. Thank you to the many people who reached out to support her, both publicly and privately. We all wish Liv Morgan a speedy recovery.”
Bryan ended his post with the hash tag ‘cyberbullying’, referencing back to his wife’s post on the subject on Instagram.
WWE had previously confirmed that Morgan suffered a concussion from the incident but outside of that, there’s been no other statement about Bella’s in ring performance.
By all accounts, she will still be a very active member of the roster with a high profile match coming up this weekend at ‘WWE Super Show-Down’ when she teams with her sister Nikki and former UFC champion Ronda Rousey is a six-person tag match against the Riott Squad — with Liv Morgan still currently scheduled to perform as well.
Many are predicting Daniel Bryan could win the 2019 Royal Rumble. Fans expecting and then not getting Daniel Bryan as the winner of this particular match has been something of a contentious issue in the past.
Bryan was in Arizona recently where the 2019 Royal Rumble is scheduled to take place at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spoke with the local ABC affiliate in the region about next year’s event.
“It’s an incredible stadium. We were actually just talking about what the metamorphosis would look like,” Bryan said.
According to Bryan, the wrestlers will make their entrances from the player dugouts.
“Right now, the thought is that we’d come out of the dugout. We’ve never had a Royal Rumble in a baseball stadium before. I’m super-psyched. I’ve never come out of a dugout to go into a wrestling show before.”
Daniel Bryan on 2019 Royal Rumble
Bryan would continue to say he sees wrestling differently than many do.
“For me, it’s always about improving and evolving my own art form, and a lot of times that involves me doing other martial arts like jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, that sort of thing, and incorporating that stuff into what I do,” he continued.
Bryan’s not taking anything for granted now that he’s been able to resume his career. He still looks to improve his skills whenever he can.
“The way I view pro wrestling is different from the way a lot of people view it as. I view it from the spectrum of martial arts. I look at it as my own martial art,” he said. “For me, it’s a real art form that I like to work on constantly.”
Daniel Bryan has doubled-down on his comments about being able to defeat Mike Jackson in an MMA fight. Jackson defeated CM Punk at a UFC event in Chicago held earlier this summer.
UFC 225 was CM Punk’s second bout in the Octagon. Unfortunately, the home field advantage wasn’t enough for the Second City Saint to take his first MMA win. The result wasn’t good for Mike Jackson either. His performance received mixed reviews and would be his one and only fight in the UFC according to Dana White. Shortly after the bout, Daniel Bryan made a comment on how he could beat Jackson in an MMA fight, which sparked an online mini-feud.
Bryan was a guest on Heated Conversations with Booker T recently and again stated he feels he could beat Jackson in an MMA fight.
It Started With Instagram Live
“What was happening was, my wife (Brie) was on Instagram, and she was doing a live thing, to promote Total Bellas“, Bryan explained. “And it was like, ‘Oh, Bryan is here with me. Does anybody want to ask him a question?’ And somebody popped up and said, ‘Do you think you could beat Mike Jackson?’ And it wasn’t like I’ve been sitting around thinking, ‘I guess this is my shot. I’m going to call him out on Brie’s Instagram story.”
“And this is what I said, I said, ‘Yeah, I think so. If it went to the ground, I think I could’.”
Booker T then asked the former World Heavyweight Champion if he could submit Jackson in an MMA fight, to which Bryan admitted that he might be overly-confident.
Daniel Bryan Jiu-Jitsu Training
“Yes (I could submit him), but that could be false confidence. I’m very open to that (idea). I think most people who know me know this. If I were to say like, ‘Yeah, I think I could beat Mike Jackson’, it’s that. It’s not me being like, ‘Oh, I would kill that man! I would go out there and destroy that man!’ It’s no disrespect to him, it’s no disrespect to CM Punk. It was the first time I ever actually watched a UFC show where somebody won a fight, and I thought, ‘You know what? I think I could beat that guy’. And just say that ‘Oh, I’ve toyed around with jiu-jitsu’ or whatever it is, and I’ve been training grappling and stuff for a lot of years. I’ve been training kickboxing and stuff for a lot of years.”
“That said, that doesn’t make me an MMA fighter, and I’m well aware of it. I’m also well aware of the fact that, okay, I’ve been training this month in takedowns, right? And I’m doing double legs, and guess what? I’m kind of old! And so, here I am, shooting double legs and when you’re shooting double legs, you’re tilting your neck to finish this double leg takedown, and me with my neck problems, I probably shot 15 double legs, and they were still doing double legs. And my neck all of a sudden, my thoracic spine was like, ‘What am I doing? We don’t do this!'”
While an MMA career doesn’t seem to be in the works for Bryan, one has to remember that it was only earlier this year that Bryan got cleared to compete in a WWE ring. Also, it seems that Bryan will continue to stay in the WWE until he feels that he has accomplished all that he wanted in the company.
You Can Listen To The Interview in its entirety below:
Daniel Bryan recently praised the organizers of All In for selling out a 10,000 seat arena. Bryan made the comments recently while promoting the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game.
“They are like their own new 4 horsemen,” Bryan said “They are so different but they compliment each other and have this buzz about them. The idea that they are doing their own event outside of Ring of Honor, outside of New Japan. They are bringing in people from IMpact and doing all this kind of stuff.”
Unfortunately for fans who were hoping to see Bryan compete at All In 2, he is reported to have agreed to terms on a new deal with WWE recently.
Daniel Bryan On All In
“If you were to tell me 5 years ago that that would happen I’d say you’re crazy, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bryan said in reference to All In selling out the Sears Center Arena in Chicago. “But that’s a testament to these guys.”
Bryan would speak further on how Cody, the Bucks, and Omega have all created a buzz for themselves in different ways.
“I think it’s especially a credit to Cody, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega,” Bryan continued. “Because they’ve all created waves in different ways: Cody leaving WWE to say ‘you know what? I think I’m better than what they’re giving me, I’m going to go out and prove something.’ The Young Bucks doing this whole thing on their own being creative, they are starting this YouTube thing, doing this thing where they are like anti-authority anti-corporate people who are bucking the trends. And then Kenny Omega going out and having these matches some people look at them and say ‘these are the greatest pro-wrestling matches of all time.'”
“I think it’s so empowering and so cool,” Bryan continued.
2K Games has released the trailer for Daniel Bryan’s 2K Showcase that will be the story-driven campaign mode honoring his career in the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game.
The mode will feature vignettes with historic WWE footage alongside Bryan’s own words that will reflect on his most epic career challenges and highlights while in the WWE.
The game will be released on October 9, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As noted, WWE Champion AJ Styles will be on the cover of the game while former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio and current WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will be featured as the pre-order bonus characters. You can see the trailer here:
Bryan is slated to team up with his wife, Brie Bella, to take on Maryse and The Miz in a mixed tag team match at the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.
As noted, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bryan just signed his new contract as they’ve agreed on terms. He signed it a few days ago but it’s not official since WWE hadn’t signed it, but that’s a formality and it should be official very soon.
2K Games has already released a list of several playable characters for the game, which you can see here.
Bully Ray wishes that former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan was able to participate in the historic All In event that went down last weekend in Chicago at the Sears Centre Arena, which aired on pay-per-view, FITE.TV, and ROH’s streaming service.
Obviously, the reason that Bryan did not appear at the show was due to him being contracted with the WWE. However, he did give a nod to the event by sending out a tweet about it the day of the show. The WWE Hall of Famer spoke about his desire to see Bryan at the show if he had the opportunity during a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, which he co-hosts.
“Deep down in his heart of hearts, Daniel Bryan wishes he could have been on that show,” Ray said. He continued by stating that this was a type of show that Bryan is someone who prays that they can be involved with because that’s where it all begins for them. Ray stated that All In was basically a ROH-esque show and noted that Bryan started there and would have loved to been there.
"I haven't seen wrestlers and fans come together and have this much fun together since ECW One Night Stand. And that's the highest compliment I can pay to it."@bullyray5150 on the wrestler/fan excitement of @ALL_IN_2018#AllInpic.twitter.com/HlF49N7iw5
Since September of last year, the WWE Hall of Famer has taken a step back from being an in-ring competitor as he has only worked a handful of Ring of Honor shows since then.
As noted, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bryan just signed his new contract as they’ve agreed on terms. He signed it a few days ago but it’s not official since WWE hadn’t signed it, but that’s a formality and it should be official very soon.
After months of deliberations, Daniel Bryan has signed a new contract with WWE, according to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The length of the deal is not yet known, but he won’t be wrestling anywhere besides WWE in 2019.
“Bryan just signed his new contract, so they’ve agreed on terms,” Meltzer wrote. “As of 9/3 it was not official since WWE hadn’t signed it, but that’s a formality and it should be official very soon if not this week.”
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Daniel Bryan in WWE
Bryan’s last contract with WWE was signed in 2012 and was believed to expire sometime this month. WWE contracts often have clauses which extend contracts if a performer is injured for a considerable amount of time, however. Such was the case with Rey Mysterio the last time he was with WWE full-time.
“Daniel Bryan signed his contract in the last couple of days,” Dave Meltzer said last night “As of Monday it was not official because WWE had not yet signed it but that is a formality and it probably will be executed, if it isn’t already, any day now. Yeah, he’s signed. It’s been a given for a while.”
Cody and The Young Bucks’ vision of an independent PPV show is now less than a few hours away from fruition. The initial success of All In before the gates have even opened show how thriving the independent scene currently is. At the very least it shows how successful and influential the Bullet Club members actually are in 2018.
Former WWE World Champion and sure-fire Hall of Famer Daniel Bryan has taken to Twitter to congratulate Cody and The Bucks on their success. The Smackdown Live star tweeted “What Cody Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson have done to create a groundswell in the wrestling community is both incredible and inspiring. Not only is it great for fans but also for wrestlers and the industry as a whole. Congratulations on what will be an amazing event.”
Here’s the full card for the historic event:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
Adam Page vs. Joey Janela
Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. The Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royal
Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Rayne vs. Chelsea Green vs. Britt Baker
Prior to being released from WWE, Big Cass worked a program with Daniel Bryan.
Cass was one-half of a very popular NXT tag team alongside Enzo Amore. Once they were called up to the main roster the pair were thrown into the RAW Tag Team Title mix. Unfortunately they were never able to capture the straps.
Subsequently the move was made to split Cass and Amore, as Cass attacked Amore to break up the team. During a match against Amore, Cass suffered a torn ACL that would sideline him for several months.
Amore went on to win the Cruiserweight Championship before getting released by WWE. Cass returned to SmackDown Live shortly after WrestleMania 34 following his injury recovery. He immediately begun a feud with Bryan.
Bryan and Cass worked back-to-back pay-per-views (PPVs) at Backlash and Money In The Bank (MITB). Both times Bryan defeated Cass via submission. Shortly after his defeat to Bryan at MITB, Cass was released from WWE.
Sports Illustrated reported that the reason for Cass’ release was due to behavioral issues and disobeying direct orders from Vince McMahon.
Daniel Bryan On Working With Big Cass
This past weekend, Bryan did an interview with Sky Sports and was asked about working with Cass.
Bryan actually had nothing but good things to say about the seven-footer. He said he liked Cass as a person and as a performer and wishes him well in his future on the indies:
“I really liked working with Big Cass, I thought that he progressed a lot in the time that we were working together. I honestly wish him the best of luck, I like him a lot as a person and as a wrestler so I hope he does really well.”
Discussion: What do you make of Bryan’s comments about Cass? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!