Daniel Bryan has a(nother) good idea WWE will never do

I love Daniel Bryan. I’m not a list making person (I’m way too indecisive), but it’s safe to say he’s in my top five favorite pro wrestlers of all-time. He’s probably among my top ten favorite creators/entertainers.

Bryan loves to talk wrestling, and I love to hear him talk wrestling. So I’m not, as some on the wrestle web seem to be, mad at him for all the dream matches and hypothetical scenarios he floats in interviews.

Like this one, in a recent conversation he had with Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox for the My Mom’s Basement podcast. In a follow-up to his recent claim that he’s trying to get permission from WWE to wrestle in other companies, Fox asks if DB has raised the issue with Vince McMahon:

“I broughten it up to a lot of people. And I don’t think the Mexico thing [a Lucha de Apuestas] would happen. But I also think that now is - more than ever - is a time when people are open to new ideas. I think I have made some headway. Whether any of it actually happens, who knows? It’s just one of those things that - one of the things that I think would be great.

“I don’t think people truly understand how great a lot of the WWE Superstars are because we don’t necessarily put on a pure wrestling product, we put on a sports entertainment product. If all of a sudden you saw Cesaro in New Japan, for example, people would be like, ‘Oh my God, this guy is the greatest!’ Multiple people - I think if you put Otis in New Japan, and people would be like, ‘Holy cow, this guy is amazing!’ like, Vader from the 90s type vibe. People think of him as the worm guy, but him being able to do and learn and work with some of those guys... It’s just a different presentation.

“So I think that would be cool, and a very unique contribution to wrestling, as far as giving back... I also think it’d be good for say WWE and just wrestling in general for people who are in say the developmental system right now, for them to be able to go and learn in other places. I wouldn’t be the performer that I am today if I hadn’t wrestled in Japan - and not just Japan where it’s like sports stuff, but like Butlin’s in the UK where it’s all comedy, and I’m out there wavin’ an American flag, singing the national anthem, getting my pants pulled down, seeing how many times I can get hit in the groin in a match - that sort of thing. I think all of those things add to your depth as a performer, and then when it’s time to put you in a top position, then you can do a number of things.”

This is a great idea! It’s also one that Bryan knows Vince won’t sign off on.

But as I said, I have no issue with him talking about whatever he wants to talk about. It interests him, and others. And while WWE probably won’t be instituting an excursion policy in his or my lifetime, he has some connections in Developmental like William Regal and Drew Gulak who can work this approach into their training and mentoring. This could also be DB’s way of advocating for up and coming wrestlers to follow this model as best they can before signing with WWE.

So talk your talk Bryan, even if it’s just talk.