Another major twist in the Daniel Bryan odyssey that forces revamped booking for Payback, an announced commitment to stay with NBC Universal for the flagship shows of Raw and Smackdown and the plummeting WWE stock are among our headlines this week in the sports entertainment world.
In Monday's Raw, Daniel Bryan announced that he would be undergoing neck surgery as a result of the recent attacks by Kane. He was not sure how long he would be out and gave no indication of any change in the status of his WWE heavyweight championship.
Bryan reportedly underwent the surgery three days later in Pittsburgh at the skilled hands of Dr. Joseph Maroon, the doctor who heads up the company wellness program and has operated on the likes of Edge and Bruno Sammartino in the past.
With Payback set for June 1 and Money In the Bank on June 29, it is conceivable that Bryan could miss both events. CEO Triple H said he would probably announce how long Bryan is expected to be out and what that might mean for the WWE title tomorrow night on Raw from London as the current European tour continues. On Raw, the Shield attacked Evolution as they exited their limo on their way into the arena in a classic angle that takes us back to the days when the Horsemen would perpetrate such a dastardly deed, but here the faces are the ones on the offensive.
With Daniel Bryan on the sidelines, rematches from Extreme Rules are what they are going with to sell Payback. Evolution will now take on the Shield in an elimination bout and Bray Wyatt will square off once again with John Cena, this time in a last man standing match. Not sure where that leaves Kane, but if they decide to strip Bryan of the belt, he could return when healthy to make the legitimate claim that he never lost the title and is the most deserving to challenge for it. Bryan is actually best-suited for the role of an underdog chasing the title rather than a champion defending it, so from that point of view, being stripped of the strap and not having to defend it or actually lose it enables him to return to the position in which he has been most effective.
After months of speculation, WWE announced it will be staying with NBC Universal and keeping Raw on the USA Network and Smackdown on SyFy. The current deal was set to expire in the fall and negotiations for a new one had been ongoing for months. Though no numbers were released in the official WWE statement, it is believed that the new deal nets the company a sizeable increase in rights fees and that it is a multi-year agreement.
It appeared on Friday that the increase was not enough to overcome the apparent disappointment of speculators at the lower than anticipated number of subscribers to the WWE Network thus far, as the company stock plummeted significantly, reportedly costing principal stockholder Vince McMahon a fortune after he would have recently made quite the handsome profit when the stock skyrocketed around the time of WrestleMania. Of course, that is all on paper.
On the European tour, Roman Reigns suffered a nasty gash over his right eye during his cage match with Randy Orton in Glasgow on Wednesday when the two banged heads on a spear attempt by Reigns. Over at TNA, Kurt Angle had to have ACL reconstructive surgery and his contract is thought to be expiring in the coming months, perhaps before he has recovered. Naturally, that is leading to plenty of speculation about what his next move might be. With Jeff Jarrett announcing he is searching for talent for his new promotion, Angle might join those departing the Impact Zone for a different pro wrestling address.
(Shamokin's Bill Gilger arranges the
interview each week with The Insider)