There’s been a lot of press in recent days revolving around Daniel Bryan and his likely deal with AEW. While his actual signing remains unconfirmed, Dave Meltzer has reported that WWE has taken a big step with regards to his character and their use of it.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer says WWE officials sent a memo to 2K games to have Daniel Bryan's character removed. The release date of it has not yet been announced, which would make changes such as this easier to accomplish.
This is a big move for WWE to make, given Bryans affinity with the fans and the frequent use of legacy characters in their virtual rosters. Perhaps the wound is still a little too fresh for WWE to accept.
Meltzer went on to confirm the memo was sent to multiple media outlets, meaning there will be no Daniel Bryan merchandise being created.
Daniel Bryan Has a Long History in WWE Video Games
Daniel Bryan has long been part of the WWE video game franchise. He has been a playable character in no less than 10 different games since 2011. This is every single video game released by WWE including the most recent WWE 2K Battlegrounds.
Daniel Bryan was even the central part of the storyline mode in the 2K19 edition of the series. Players could play as Brian Danielson and play the story of his career. He was also the alternate cover art design for WWE 2K14.
The sudden request for his removal could just be a kneejerk reaction to his crossing over to their biggest rival. However, with digital downloads adding new content and characters post-launch is easy. Alongside that, there is a high chance that Daniel Bryan’s move set will still be part of the game. Gamers are able to create their own character in 2k games. It's a safe bet that we will see players creating their own Brian Danielson characters.
On a similar note, maybe there is still time to have a Daniel Bryan character added to the upcoming AEW console video game.