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THE POLITICS OF WWE HYPOCRISY AND THE DANIELSON FIRING

The Politics of Hypocrisy:
Why the Best Wrestler in the World was Suddenly Fired
Written by Jeff McGinnis

Professional wrestling is a bizarre business, a product of fantasy built on a façade of lies and ego. For over 100 years, audiences have been exposed many unique and colorful characters, and some truly unbelievable storylines. The funny thing is, for anyone who’s taken a glimpse behind the curtain, often the story of what happens behind the scenes is even more unbelievable than what is shown on camera.

Such is the case this week, with the apparent WWE firing of Bryan Danielson.

Danielson is the best wrestler in the world. This was his nickname while he competed on the independent scene, but it is also my honest opinion. For years, Danielson had honed his craft, putting on classic matches in every promotion he worked in, and earning the respect of fans everywhere. Finally, last year, Danielson signed a long overdue deal with World Wrestling Entertainment.

How WWE used his talent was questionable, to say the least. He was put on a new show called NXT, designed as a way to introduce “rookies” to the fans. His name was changed to “Daniel Bryan” for reasons that can only be guessed at. He was never permitted to win a match on the show, giving the impression that he was a loser who couldn’t hang in the “big show.”

Finally, on Monday June 7, Danielson took part in something memorable. All the cast members of NXT were shown storming the set of WWE’s flagship show, “Raw,” and laid waste to everyone on the show. It was a new twist on the classic wrestling “invasion” storyline, but the fans clearly were interested. Danielson was a big part of the moment, and it seemed as though he would finally get a chance to demonstrate his skills on a national basis.

Until five days later, when WWE announced he had been released from his contract.

Many fans, myself included, assumed this was a storyline twist -- in wrestling parlance, an “angle.” They wouldn’t really fire him, right? Not five days after the hottest storyline in years. Not Danielson, the picture of professionalism and ability. Not the man who many described as “the kind of guy you want a locker room full of.”

But no, apparently, this is very real. And it happened for the most ludicrous reasons imaginable.

See, Linda McMahon, former CEO of the company and wife of WWE founder Vince, is running for senate in Connecticut. It is largely a fool’s errand, and it’s extremely unlikely she’d win. This is made apparent by the current polls, which currently show her holding a 20 point deficit to her prospective Democratic opponent, Robert Blumenthal, despite the Vietnam service scandal Blumenthal is currently saddled with.

WWE, in a transparent effort to maximize Linda’s chances of winning, made a dramatic shift in their programming ever since her political aspirations were first made known. Suddenly, the company which built its profits in the 1990’s with raunchy and vulgar storytelling was to be “family friendly” once more. All shows were now branded TV-PG. Any blood would not be tolerated. No foul language or gestures. And any explicitly violent actions were banned.

That’s right -- to paraphrase Jim Cornette, a show basically about gratuitous violence was now attempting to ban gratuitous violence.

Part of this massive whitewashing of WWE’s image was an edict that there would be no choking with foreign objects. This rule was probably inspired not only by Linda McMahon’s lofty political goals, but by the wake of the 2007 tragedy where wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his family before committing suicide. An understandable change, I suppose.

But that leads us to June 7, where, as part of the big invasion, Danielson was briefly seen choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie. Small thing. In the heat of the moment, who would have even noticed? The segment featured eight men beating down WWE champion John Cena viciously for minutes on end. Surely, one moment of Danielson using a man’s neckwear as a weapon was forgivable.

Apparently not. Danielson was released for that one violation.

Putting this in context, wrestling news is often filled with stories of talent getting into altercations, trashing hotel rooms, behaving unprofessionally (even childishly) and the like. More often than not, these people are barely even punished for their actions.

And here’s Danielson. A man who, by all accounts, is a joy to work with. And after one violation, he’s shown the door. Apparently because he committed the greatest sin of all -- he could have created controversy that could have damaged Linda McMahon’s political chances.

The sheer hypocrisy of it all is enough to make one’s head explode. This is a company that has told stories involving murder, gunplay, rape, necrophilia, arson, incest, miscarriages, blatant racism, and on, and on, and on. And now, in a laughable effort to bolster McMahon’s meager Senate hopes, they’re suddenly playing nice, like a slob who combs his hair in an effort to look “presentable.”

And the latest sacrifice to the alter of McMahon ego is one of the best talents of his generation. A man who did everything the company asked of him, even when it was ludicrously damaging to his image. And in return, he was made a scapegoat and shown the door.

Of course, this is wrestling. It may turn out that this was simply an incredibly elaborate storyline, and any outrage is in vein. But for now, all indications are that it is very real. And if that is indeed the case, then Danielson’s firing makes clear the horrendously misguided priorities by which WWE’s business is apparently run.

Email Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com

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