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WWE routinely advertises matches for Raw and Smackdown TV events which do not take place. They have a record of sticking closer to the advertised matches and wrestlers for house shows. Daniel Bryan’s contract expires on Sept. 1, the day of the All In event promoted by Cody and The Young Bucks in Chicago, Ill.
Bryan is being advertised for WWE’s house shows on both Sept. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio at Wolstein Center and Sept. 2 in Kalamazoo, Mich. at Wings Event Center. The Sept. 2 show is specifically advertising Bryan & Jeff Hardy & A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & The Miz & Samoa Joe.
Bryan, for what it’s worth, is not advertised for the following Saturday’s WWE Smackdown house show – Sept. 8 in Amarillo, Tex. The headline matches are A.J. Styles vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy vs. Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Nor is he advertised for the Sept. 9 Smackdown house show in Lubbock, Tex. the next night, where the same top two matches are advertised. Bryan is being advertised the following weekend on the list of wrestlers appearing at the Sept. 15 Smackdown house show in Houston, though.
This doesn’t mean he has necessarily signed a new deal, or that WWE even expects him 100 percent to sign a new day. WWE tends to advertise matches this far ahead with the idea being they are penciled in ideas that could change based on injuries, storyline changes, or just thinking there are better matches to offer fans. Nevertheless, it’s clear the WWE house show department has not been instructed to remove Bryan from advertising beyond his Sept. 1 contract expiring, an indication of optimism or an assumption he is staying.
Bryan’s status is being closely watched as his impact on the U.S. and worldwide independent scene would be huge if he were to leave WWE, including possibly wrestling in New Japan and the ROH/New Japan event WrestleMania weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City next year.
[Thanks to PWTorch reader Timothy Bates]
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Do you have a preference as to whether he stays with WWE or leaves to another promotion?
For his personal health, I’d like him to stay. If I recall correctly, he is undergoing evaluations after every match to ensure he stays healthy. I don’t think he’d get that care on the indie scene. If he gets injured there he may not get diagnosed properly or in a timely manner.