Eliminated NXT Rookie Daniel Bryan’s assault of announcer Michael Cole has sent shockwaves through the entire WWE Universe. Daniel Bryan’s actions on WWE NXT won’t soon be forgotten by the NXT Rookies, the WWE Pros and, of course, Cole. (WATCH)
When given the chance to discuss his elimination at the hands of WWE Management, Daniel Bryan defiantly defended his actions and said he was the best person to win WWE NXT. In addition to calling out the WWE Pros, he singled out Cole, who had been berating him for months.
In mere moments, a determined Daniel Bryan exited the ring, approached the announce table and called Cole “a parrot with Vince McMahon in his ear telling him what to say.” Daniel Bryan shockingly slapped Cole across the face, referred to him as “a poor man’s replacement for J.R.,” then knocked him to the ground and stomped on him until host Matt Striker and WWE Officials dragged him off. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
But was Daniel Bryan’s bold move of smacking the announcer something he now regrets? The former NXT Rookie spoke to WWE.com moments after the attack.
“I think my actions were unprofessional and I’d do them all over again,” Daniel Bryan said with conviction. “You can only be pushed so much before you get to that breaking point, you know, and at some point you need to stand up for yourself. And if an announcer feels like he has free reign to bury you at every opportunity, you have to make him accountable for what he says.”
Daniel Bryan explained to WWE.com that he believes he has every right to stand up for himself and it was only a matter of time before he called out Cole.
“He’s going to sit there and say that I have no ‘it’ factor, I have no charisma and stuff like that, but he’ll sit there and put over David Otunga and he can’t even run the ropes right,” Daniel Bryan said. “They have people who are telling them what to say and he’s just pushing the WWE agenda, so I’m going to call him out on it. And if he’s burying me in the WWE Universe, I’m going to call him out on it.”
As for Cole, when WWE.com’s Joey Styles approached him for a comment, an enraged, embarrassed and bloody lipped Cole said, “Get that damn recorder out of my face, Joey!” and walked away.
In addition to standing up for his beliefs when it comes to his assault on Cole, Daniel Bryan also backed his statements on Tuesday’s WWE NXT that alluded to his belief that WWE has prejudice against smaller athletes.
“I’m sure if you look at everyone who comes here – the guys they push to the top – the John Cenas, the Batistas, the Randy Ortons – they’ve never done a minute on the independent scene. They’re all guys who are made here in WWE,” he said. “If you look at the older generations – the Chris Jerichos, the William Regals, the guys like that – those guys were all made outside of here and then came in and when they came in they were ready to be top guys.”
Finally, Daniel Bryan had an important message for WWE Management – he refuses to back down.
“Well they can try and hold me down as much as they want,” Daniel Bryan said. “If they give me one segment, if they give me one segment like they did tonight, I will be the star of the show.”