10 Most Shocking WWE Releases Ever

5. Daniel Bryan

Braun Strowman Blood
WWE.com

An easy choice to make for the company despite how jaw-dropping it felt for fans of the former American Dragon, Daniel Bryan's 2010 sacking was seemingly more devastating to his fans than the man himself.

Having been informed that his choking assault on Justin Roberts during The Nexus' destruction of Monday Night Raw was beyond the tolerance of monied sponsors Mattel, Bryan was given the boot before the angle was fleshed out.

It proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Cast out in storylines by a remorseful Wade Barrett for supposedly not being tough enough to get behind the cause, Bryan returned from the cold at SummerSlam just in time for the group's loss to a John Cena-led WWE A-Team.

He was on the right side of the ring there and the right side of history longterm - the varying fates of his former C-show colleagues couldn't compare to the push he somehow managed to squeeze out of a ludicrously stubborn Vince McMahon four years later.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett