Daniel Bryan
Since the news dropped of Daniel Bryan's return, Fightful.com has reached out to several sources within WWE for additional information on the return. Initially we'd not heard anything outside of the fact that Bryan had been making efforts to get cleared, which didn't really differ from much of anything else in recent years. Returning to the ring was an aspiration Bryan simply hadn't given up on.
In speaking to several names, the situation started looking more optimistic weeks ago, as far back as January and word made way to some high profile wrestlers outside of WWE. Bryan became very aggressive in pursuing methods that would gain him clearance by WWE doctors, including reaching out to their peers.
Bryan's schedule has yet to be determined, and WWE isn't ready to make a call on that as of yet, although we're told he has no restrictions placed on him as far as that goes. There have been ongoing discussions about that, and I'm told WWE wants to make sure he stays with the company moving forward -- whether it be inside or outside the ring.
Not only did Bryan pass the testing the was given, but tested beyond what was expected for him. My contacts at NXT and the Performance Center weren't sure of his clearance prior, but there were two wrestlers who were present at the March 19 Raw who said that word had emerged that Bryan was going to be cleared.
In perhaps the REAL surprise of the week, I learned that Adam Hangman Page was unaware of the legend of James Ellsworth's hog. Page, a cast member on Bullet Club's Being The Elite, is involved in a storyline feud with Joey Ryan over who has the best penis. When I brought up Daniel Bryan's comments about Ellsworth on Talking Smack, Page said that he was unaware of this but "well endowed men are a tight knit community." Apparently not tight enough.
When the topic of the Being The Elite series came up, Page said that he could tell pretty early on in his involvement that it was going to be a special type of program. He also noted that he expects ROH & NJPW to stay on good terms despite New Japan making their way into the United States and promoting shows.
Page faces Jay White at this week's NJPW Strong Style Evolved show, and Fightful was able to interview both men. AXS had to wait a little late in the game to supply us with interviews, because New Japan had only announced three matches by the time List & Ya Boy went on the air on Wednesday. The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega don't do much media outside of mainstream outlets, Jushin Thunder Liger and Kota Ibushi's English aren't that great, and Rey Mysterio isn't as easily connectable due to being a special attraction. Per usual, AXS did great work, as they are among the most media-friendly around.
Page told me that he thinks that White's career would have been better off if he would have joined Bullet Club.
Speaking of Jay White, when I spoke to him, he wouldn't commit to NOT joining Bullet Club in the future. Personally, I wouldn't doubt that happens, particularly with all of the fractures near the top of the stable and several of the marquee members having clear paths to success without Bullet Club.
White said that he found out New Japan wanted him to come back full time in May of last year, and that he didn't necessarily have to fine tune much of anything in the meantime while he waited for his Tokyo Dome re-debut. The attire and mannerisms were all left up to Jay White.
As it pertains to this Sunday's Strong Style Evolved show, White said that he thinks New Japan Pro Wrestling didn't expect themselves to even be as popular as they are in America.
It's no real surprise here, but Snickers was a huge part of The Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal having its name changed. Snickers was very upset that WWE didn't do their research, and then later found out that some in WWE were actually aware of the accusations in relation to Moolah, but opted (at least at the top of the company) to move forward with it anyway. There was no real thought given to naming the battle royal after another fallen wrestler, or anyone from the company's past, as WWE saw the generic name being the safer route considering the road they'd been down the few days prior.
Many women within the company -- not just wrestlers -- were happy about the change, with Liv Morgan even speaking out publicly, albeit vaguely about the situation. I was informed on Thursday that Snickers wasn't thrilled about having to field over a thousand tweets, emails, phone calls and messages about a show they were paying money to be featured on.
Crossover
We continue to look at the crossover between pro wrestling and mixed martial arts, as James Lynch does excellent work for us when he interviews fighters. Up until recently, almost everyone that Lynch interviewed across UFC and Bellator were open and outright optimistic about the possibility of making pro wrestling appearances in the future. We mentioned Kevin Lee last week as one name that wasn't as keen on the idea, and you could add longtime UFC star Joe Lauzon to that list. When we spoke to him this week, it just didn't seem up his alley, even though he did admit to being a fan in the attitude era.
The thing about Lauzon is, he's one of the few guys in the UFC who have never reached a UFC title fight that are making good money. His sponsorship pay from Reebok was maxed out because of his tenure in the company, made over $200,000 last year between disclosed pay and sponsorships. He also has 14 fight night bonuses to his credit. In addition to a successful gym, it's not much of a surprise that wrestling doesn't capture Lauzon's imagination.