Bryan Danielson’s WWE career as Daniel Bryan remains a fascinating story in every aspect of the stint. WWE had a wild first few months of Bryan’s career from his call-up to the main roster to getting fired to coming back. Bryan was called up after the NXT’s first season ended and Nexus became a faction.
However, a controversial moment in the group’s debut led to Bryan getting fired and creating huge headlines online. WWE brought Bryan back shortly afterward in a different way that helped him find greater success. Bryan went on to have an all-time great career with WWE finding another main eventer. The wild twists and turns of his firing and rehiring deserve another look back given how successful Bryan was.
Why WWE Fired Daniel Bryan
The debut of Nexus came on Raw when Wade Barrett appeared on stage during the main event of John Cena vs CM Punk. Barrett won the first season of NXT and a main roster contract shortly before this to set up the story. All other members of the NXT season joined Barrett at ringside for a vicious attack on Cena and Punk that grew even more unpredictable.
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Commentators, ring announcers, security guards, and anyone in the way of Nexus felt their wrath. Vince McMahon instructed the wrestlers making their debut to make it feel real by physically harming those at ringside and to make it as violent as possible. The newcomers were not warned of WWE rules when Bryan broke two of them during the attack.
Bryan spit on Cena during the group attack for the smaller issue. However, the real reason for Bryan’s firing was him choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie. Bryan did not realize WWE had a strict no-choking rule that upset sponsors. WWE felt they had to fire Bryan to appease the sponsors since he was the one who broke the rule. Nexus moved forward claiming they kicked Bryan out for showing regret.
Bryan Spent Some Time Away From WWE
Daniel Bryan spent about two months outside of WWE after he was legitimately fired from the company. WWE did keep the door open to work with Bryan in the near future, but he claims he wasn’t promised anything. Independent promotions Evolve, Dragon Gate USA, PWG and Chikara booked Danielson and benefited from having arguably the greatest independent wrestler of all time back.
One interesting thing about this time as a free agent is that Bryan did not work for Ring of Honor where he was most known for his work before WWE. Danielson had the perfect farewell and did not want to return unless he knew it would be more than a few appearances. The rumors of WWE planning to bring Bryan back coincided with his decision to not rejoin ROH.
Danielson still had superb matches and even found some humor in his firing. Fans brought ties to the shows and took pictures with Bryan pretending to choke them. Other rumors started circulating that TNA wanted to make a big play for Danielson while he was out of WWE, but the eventual return was set up instead.
Daniel Bryan’s Big Return
WWE didn’t just bring Daniel Bryan back into the fold, but they had him return in a massive moment. SummerSlam 2010 was just two months after Bryan was fired. Nexus was the hottest thing in WWE and received a main event on the second-biggest event of the year. Team WWE featured John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, and a mystery partner facing the heels. Fans speculated on the mystery partner in the weeks leading up to the show.
The Miz cutting promos arrogantly demanding to get added to the team and even requesting the other names beg him planted the seeds of Bryan’s return. WWE used the story of Miz mentoring Bryan in NXT and them always clashing. The main event entrances took place with fans still awaiting the name of the mystery man.
Bryan was the big reveal to upset Miz and receive a strong face reaction going against his former Nexus teammates. The claim that Bryan showed remorse and Nexus kicked him out helped set up this big return. Bryan was much better in the face role and made it to the end portion of the match until eliminated due to Miz’s interference. WWE moved forward with the feud of Bryan beating Miz for the United States Championship. There is no telling how things would have turned otherwise, but Bryan getting fired and rehired helped start his path to WWE success.
