Daniel Bryan will miss a significant period of time because of the passing of his father. But how long?
In other WWE news and rumors, Nancy Grace is ready to host another show aimed at professional wrestling, AJ Lee is scheduled to appear at upcoming WWE events, Nikki Bella comments on the passing of Daniel Bryan’s father and Jonathan Coachman relives his worst but most hilarious day in the WWE.
Daniel Bryan out until Extreme Rules
News from WWE headquarters is that Daniel Bryan won’t wrestle again until his match against Kane at the Extreme Rules PPV. Bryan will take the time off to settle family matters with the passing of his father on Monday. He could make a few appearances on Raw here or there, but he won’t see any in-ring action and will sell an injury after Kane’s brutal attack.
Bryan’s father was only in his mid-50s and his death was incredibly sudden. Nikki Bella, Bryan’s sister-in-law, tweeted the following about his dad on Monday night.
“I’m very sad & proud of my brother in law @WWEDanielBryan His Father was a kind, generous, sweet man and was so very humble. If you met him you knew the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Bryan definitely has his energy. Tonight he stood there not only for all of you, but for the memory of his father. He will always be remember. RIP Bud”
Our condolences go out to Daniel and the entire Bryan family.
Updated Extreme Rules Card
Here’s an updated card for the Extreme Rules PPV:
Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Kane vs. Daniel Bryan
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Rob Van Dam or Bad News Barrett vs. Big E
WWE Divas Title Match: Tamina Snuka vs. Paige
Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Handicap Match: R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev
Six-Man Tag: Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose
Upcoming Nancy Grace Segment
Nancy Grace will be doing another segment on pro wrestling on her Headline News series this Thursday. RJ Brewer a wrestler in Lucha Libre USA, is the only name confirmed for the show so far. You won’t see any WWE superstars on the show, as there is still blackballing of the show by WWE in effect.
AJ Lee to make appearances
Even though she asked for time off earlier this month, AJ Lee’s name is still being used to hype upcoming appearances in June. She’s also still attached to WWE’s tour of Europe in the summer. It could just be a matter of radio spots that were already cut before her requested time off, or maybe AJ won’t be gone for as long as everyone thinks.
Paul Heyman’s commercial break rant
It’s no news to hardcore wrestling fans that the action, and show, often continue during Raw commercial breaks but when Raw suddenly went to commercial during Paul Heyman’s promo on Monday, things seemed a bit off.
The spot was planned, but what exactly did Paul say to the crowd, to get them so fired up?
“As seen before the Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro match on RAW last night, WWE went to commercial during a Paul Heyman promo. During the break, Heyman referenced CM Punk by mentioning another Paul Heyman guy who couldn’t break The Streak. Heyman kept bragging on Brock Lesnar breaking The Streak until RAW came back from commercial.”
Heyman continues to be one of the best instigators in the wrestling business.
‘The Coach’ relives his worst day in the WWE — and it’s hilarious
Former WWE announcer (and part time wrestler) Johnathan Coachman did an interview with BackPageSports.com about his time with the WWE, his relationship with Vince McMahon, and a legendary stunt Vince pulled on Coach that still sticks with him to this day.
Q: I’ve heard a rumor about Vince McMahon playing a prank on you that involved cops. It was published in one of the WWE publications, any truth to it?
A: What you read and heard was 100% true. The thing about WWE is you have to be accepted on many different levels. From 2003 on, I was one of the boys. If you were willing to put your neck on the line and get in the ring, that separates you from everybody else. Up until that point, I had to be accepted into the crew, so to speak. Basically, Jerry Brisco came up to me in 2001 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and he said he wanted me to run a football pool. $10 to pick all the games, and everybody did it. And I started on a Tuesday, it was a Smackdown taping, I’ll never forget it. I had my own room I did interviews in, and all the sudden two cops show up. They were very serious, and said I understand you’re running a gambling pool. You sold one to one of our undercover cops here. It’s a felony in North Carolina and we’re going to have to take you in. So we’re walking down the hallway, and we stop in front of Vince’s office, and they said we should probably let him know because you’re not going to be here for a while. We walk in and it’s Vince, Triple H, Stephanie, The Rock, Kevin Dunn and Jerry Brisco. I should have known that, with Jerry in the room, something was going on, but I was so terrified because I was 26 years old. The real cops proceeded to tell Vince they’ve caught me in a gambling pool and we need to take him downtown. Vince got in my face, and he was an inch away from my nose. He was cursing, telling me my priorities were bad, and spending company time to run a gambling pool. This entire riff lasted 45 minutes. At the end of the office bit, the officer said it was $1,500 to get me out, and Vince said F-no, he’s on his own. They handcuffed me, and I asked if there was anything I could put over my face. Vince threw me a pair of sweaty gym shorts that got stuck on my face. I walked out of the office and the first person I see is The Undertaker. He looks at me with shock, and it was so real because no one else was in on it except those people in the office. They walked me out, and all the fans could see me and they drove me about a mile down the road, and got a call on the radio that they had to come back to pick up something. They turn around, come back, and everyone’s there with Vince in front of everybody laughing their asses off. Greatest rip in the history of the business, and for about 10 minutes I literally walked to a place in the building and started crying. I thought my career was over. I thought how can I tell my dad I got fired over a $10 football pool.
I’m almost positive I’d crap my pants in that situation. More than almost positive.