Source: Talk Is Jericho
Daniel Bryan recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, opening up about his WWE firing in 2010.
The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion was a part of NXT’s season one cast, alongside Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Darren Young and others. The group formed the Nexus, and before their debut June 7th, 2010 on Raw, they were told by officials to ambush John Cena and make his attack look like a gang-style beatdown. Bryan told Jericho they were given a little bit of direction, but not much.
When Nexus appeared, the group attacked Cena, proceeding to tear away and thrash everything in their sight. While some members destroyed the ring, others attacked Justin Roberts, ripping off his shirt and tying his tie around his neck. Bryan said he didn’t quite know actions such as those wouldn’t fly in the PG era, but they were doing their best to make it look as close to a gang beating as possible.
When they each took their turn to attack Cena, Bryan said that before he kicked him in the head, he spat in his face and cracked up while telling Y2J the story. When the stable returned to the back, they asked who choked out Roberts with the tie, and Bryan said it was him. They shouted at him to not choke anyone. They then asked who spit in Cena’s face, and Bryan fessed up again. They told him there was no spitting. Bryan burst out laughing on the podcast.
He ran into Michael Hayes the next night while filming SmackDown, asking him what he learned from the previous evening. He told Bryan it wasn’t bad to make mistakes, he simply had to learn from them. Bryan said he was at an FCW show on Wednesday later in the week and spoke to Vince McMahon, who reassured Bryan it would all blow over.
Two days later, McMahon personally called Bryan, telling him he had to let him go. Bryan said his reaction may have helped him, not being too bothered by it and because while he thanked McMahon for the opportunity, who couldn’t help but apologize for Bryan’s release, the former Ring of Honor star said he was going to make more money than he ever would that year just on the independent scene. The comment took McMahon back a little, according to Bryan.
John Laurinaitis called him to follow up on his remarks, and Bryan stated to Jericho that he wasn’t making much money with the promotion. He was stuck on a regular contract working two shows a week, while the other guys were still on developmental contracts and had more opportunities. He also had TV cuts from being on television, yet he said he was constantly in the hole.
He confirmed 2010 was the worst year for him under WWE than any time he’s had during his four years on the indy scene.
