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Old 05-22-2018, 11:13 PM   #100
Mr. Nerfect
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LibSuperstar View Post
How likely do you think it is they will?
I think it's very likely they will contact him. I think it's less likely that he will actually go. I think the biggest factor is probably the safety net that is the WWE, who will probably pay him out the ass and offer him what would essentially be a lifetime deal at this point.

It depends what the "artist" in Bryan is feeling, to be honest. WWE sucks right now. Does he want to wrestle Styles and Joe in matches that don't matter, or does he want to try and breathe more life into an emerging promotion that takes its content a bit more seriously? I mean, like a lot of wrestling fans would rather watch New Japan than WWE, I'm sure that a lot of wrestlers would rather work there too, providing that it was viable.

Danielson has the advantage in that he's worth investing in. He's probably saved his money, Brie is probably well-to-do too. I have no doubt that he could wrangle a lot of money from New Japan. Karl Anderson was reportedly making $750,000 a year with them, if you believe that. I think Bryan could get paid within the realm of Okada and Tanahashi, and be paid above Naito and Omega. And I'm sure the WWE can offer him whatever New Japan is and just say "double it." But there are sponsorships, merchandising, other promotions he can sign big deals with for limited work (he could possibly convince Sinclair to break the bank on him) and appearances and such.

A big thing to think about for him would be where that leaves Brie's career. It obviously throws the WWE reality shows into question, and I don't know if the WWE wants to promote Danielson working in New Japan while Brie decides what outfit she wants to wear. But if Brie is looking to get out of Total Divas/Bellas and take some time off to be a mom or whatever, it may not be the biggest deal in the world to her if she and the WWE part ways too. Also, Cody is kind of setting up the template for how to use a hot wife in wrestling, to the point where Brie's value on the indies probably goes quite high being the supportive husband to Bryan and letting wrestling fans have their wrestler back.

To be perfectly honest, Bryan kind of has Vince over a barrel a little bit, because he's realistically got the option of making over $1 million a year working a few dates in Japan. If he holds out, he can try and get some concrete direction for the product he is involved in and a lot of money.

I don't think his health is as big a factor as some would suggest. Bryan is cleared. His brain is fine. Sometimes you get a brutal injury in Japan, but you also have lots of guys working into their 40's too. Plus, I'm suspicious of the WWE's medical testing of him. I don't want to cry conspiracy, but I think it was convenient that Bryan had a history of concussions for a period of time for them there. He's probably been ready to go for quite a long while and the downtime has probably allowed him to heal a bit of other wear and tear.

Honestly not sure it's "unlikely" at this point. Harold Meij seems like an ambitious guy. I'd be very surprised if he hasn't or doesn't reach out to Bryan at some point and advises him to just string Vince a long for a bit and work out where he really stands in their current plans. Bryan's reluctance to go would probably be the big lifestyle change for Brie and challenging that relationship with WWE and Vince McMahon. Buuuuuuut, he's in a position to possibly change the industry right now. Not in a "cripple Vince" sort of way, but make the declarative statement that New Japan Pro-Wrestling is good wrestling and he would rather be a part of that than the WWE circus, which has been the end-game for 20 years now.
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