Getting a grip: Ultimate Deletion, New Japan returns to U.S., Daniel Bryan returns

Brian Fritz

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Getting a grip: Ultimate Deletion, New Japan returns to U.S., Daniel Bryan returns image

Each week, Sporting News runs down the biggest stories in the world of professional wrestling.
 

Daniel Bryan returning to in-ring action

“Fight for your dreams and they'll fight for you.” – Daniel Bryan on the March 20, 2018 edition of “SmackDown Live”

More than two years after his emotional retirement speech due to concussions, Daniel Bryan has been medically cleared to resume his in-ring career in WWE.

WWE made the announcement Tuesday afternoon in a press release that stated:

MORE: Who should be in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Following more than two years of extensive evaluations, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan has been medically cleared to return to in-ring competition by leading neurosurgeons, neurologists and concussion experts, including Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Javier Cárdenas and Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher.

Bryan underwent a full review of his medical history and received comprehensive neurological and physical evaluations independent of WWE. He was cleared by each doctor as well as WWE’s Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Maroon.

It’s an amazing feel-good story for one of the most popular and loved wrestlers over the past decade with fans and fellow wrestlers taking to social media to express their excitement.

A tearful Bryan opened “SmackDown Live” that night, thanking doctors, fans, and his wife Brie. Come the end of the show, he was right back in the thick of action, having been laid out by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn after firing his long-time friends.

It was four years ago at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans when Bryan had the biggest moment of his career, winning two matches and capturing the WWE Championship to cap off the huge event. All signs point to him returning to the ring at WrestleMania 34, teaming with Shane McMahon against Owens and Zayn. And his long-awaited return to the ring will be right back in New Orleans.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Ultimate Deletion

WWE finally pulled the trigger as we saw “Woken” Matt Hardy square off against Bray Wyatt in the “Ultimate Deletion” match at the Hardy compound to close out “RAW” on Monday.

It was a fun segment revisiting the “Broken Universe” including all the characters and Hardy tossing Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation and announcing that he had been “DELETED”.

Reviews were mostly positive but it still fell short of capturing the wacky and strange world the way that Impact Wrestling had previously been able to do.

While WWE went forward with the idea, it has never felt like the company has fully embraced Hardy and the “Broken Universe”. Right before the segment aired, Michael Cole even apologized to the audience for what they were about to see.

The question now is where do we go from here? You have to wonder if WWE will once again venture outside the box and do another match like this again even though Matt Hardy believes this was just the start.

This could also be the perfect opportunity to either tweak or totally repackage Bray Wyatt following an extended period of time off.

Meanwhile on RAW…

Those in attendance for “RAW” at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas did not get to see “Ultimate Deletion” live. Instead, they got a physical confrontation between Ronda Rousey and Dana Brooke with the former UFC champion getting the best of it.

Rousey is under a microscope but she is already generating a ton of interest in the WWE with that segment already getting more than five million views.

Huge WWE event in Saudi Arabia

WWE had already announced the Greatest Royal Rumble match was coming to Saudi Arabia. But it’s much more than that.

The company announced the Greatest Royal Rumble event will take place on April 27 to kick off the new, 10-year agreement between the WWE and the Kingdom.

The show will also include seven championship matches and the company’s biggest stars including John Cena, Braun Strowman and Triple H. Plus, there will be the first-ever 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match that may include The Undertaker and Daniel Bryan.

Noticeably absent in any promotion is anyone from the Women’s Revolution as the female superstars are not expected to be a part of the show despite Saudi Arabia’s current regime pushing for more equality between men and women.

The event is one of the largest undertakings for the WWE outside of its major pay-per-views and Roman Reigns recently spilled the beans in saying that it will be broadcast on the WWE Network.

NJPW returns to the U.S.

There was plenty of buzz last year when New Japan Pro Wrestling held its first-ever event in America. The company returns to Long Beach this Sunday night in front of another sold-out crowd as it continues its U.S. expansion.

The Strong Style Evolved show will air live on AXS TV beginning at 8 p.m. ET with nine matches announced for the four-hour event. The main event will feature a dream bout pitting Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi — together known as the Golden Lovers — against the Young Bucks.

Rey Mysterio was originally scheduled to be a part of the show but will have to miss it due to the bicep injury he suffered earlier in March. Instead, it will Will Ospreay squaring off against Japanese legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

The semi-main event will see Jay White defend the IWGP United States Championship against Bullet Club member Adam “Hangman” Page.

Page was a part of last year’s show in Long Beach and shared his thoughts on that experience.

“Great atmosphere, sold out both nights,” said Page. “I think people were really interested in seeing New Japan come to America for the first time. I don't think it was just the novelty of that. I think this event shows it too. This one sold out a lot quicker than last year’s event. There's certainly not a novelty about New Japan coming here; it's just genuine interest in our product.”

Both Page and White are in their mid-20’s and stepping into bigger roles and opportunities with New Japan. The two have met in the ring before and Page remembers just how hard “Switchblade” chops are.

“His are miserable, man,” admitted Page. “He's a killer. His hands are huge. He's a stout dude, man. He's strong and he's a young dude with a lot of hunger. He hits hard. When we had that six-man tag match in New Japan a couple of months ago, he knocked me out pretty quick. The first 30, 40 seconds I was in the ring with him, he hit me with a forearm that rocked me. I was dizzy and kind of out of it for pretty much the entire match. I certainly won't take that away from him — he's heavy-handed. But we won that match and I left him laying after the match so I think that should tell you something about me as well.”

NJPW held a tournament at last year’s Long Beach event to crown the first-ever IWGP United States Champion. Page came up short that night with fellow Bullet Club member and Canadian Kenny Omega winning the title, which he recently lost to White who is from New Zealand. The Virginia-born Page didn’t see it coming when New Japan decided to add the title but now is looking to make history.

“I think it's something in the long run that will help New Japan's expansion into America,” said Page. “They did the show last year and they're doing the show this year; it gives Americans a champion, a representative in New Japan and we haven't had an American IWGP U.S. Champion yet. So, I'm looking to be the first one. I'm looking to be a real representative of New Japan wrestling in America.

News and notes

— Mark Henry was added this week to the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018. Immediately, fans and yours truly were wondering if he would be adorning a certain salmon-colored suit blazer from his infamous retirement speech-turned-heel-turn on John Cena back in 2013. Sadly, Henry said on Sirius XM’s Busted Open Radio this week that it likely won’t happen. Likely. “That jacket is probably five sizes too big right now. I’m going to see. I may just have to put it on anyway.”

— Look for Big Cass to return shortly as the seven-foot-tall (and you can’t teach that!) star is in the final stages of recovery according to PWInsider.com. Cass has been sidelined since last August with a torn ACL.

— There’s a good reason why Batista isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame yet: he turned it down. While doing press to promote the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, Batista admitted that he “feels his career isn’t over” and added, “never say never — I’d love to go back”.

— How can you not love this guy?

Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on Blog Talk Radio.

Brian Fritz

Brian Fritz Photo

Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.