Following an unfortunate incident on Raw last Monday night, Brie Bella was the subject of mainstream headlines when she accidentally knocked out Riott Squad member Liv Morgan on live television while executing the Yes Kick made famous by her husband, Daniel Bryan. Over the course of the past week, Bella has been receiving a lot of backlash online for the in-ring botch, and her husband has taken the time to respond.
Daniel Bryan defends Brie Bella
One week following the incident, it seems that Bryan has finally had enough of the outrage that has been directed at Bella. The former WWE champion took to Twitter on Monday to issue a detailed response to fans that have been attacking his wife via the internet, even calling back to a few occurrences where he has made mistakes in the ring that were completely his fault. One of those occurrences even took place on a recent edition of SmackDown Live.
I am proud of how strong my wife is. After accidentally injuring Liv Morgan last week, the first time Bri’s ever hurt another performer, she’s been subject to a constant barrage of social media attacks. Almost every wrestler has accidentally hurt someone...
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
but rarely do you see this kind of hate when it happens. For example,
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
I concussed Randy Orton in 2012 after hitting him with what was supposed to be a chair to the back. Unfortunately part of the side hit him in the back of the head, and he was forced to miss a PPV...
In 2009 in our last match against each other, I concussed Nigel McGuinness after doing a dive into him in the crowd, where his head hit the floor. And there are others...
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
As for the Yes kicks, two weeks ago I accidentally kicked Andrade directly in the head due to a miscommunication on my part. I feel fortunate that he was ok, because there are few feelings worse than hurting someone...
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
Despite all of that, never did I receive the backlash Bri did this week. With all the negative things said about my wife, nobody was harder on her than she was on herself...
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
Thank you to the many people who reached out to support her, both publicly and privately. We all wish Liv Morgan a speedy recovery. #EndCyberbullying
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) October 1, 2018
While the botched spot with Morgan received the most headlines and attention, sadly, it wasn't the first instance of Bella struggling since her return to in-ring action. In that very same match last Monday, she caught Ruby Riott with an errant forearm to the face, and in her SmackDown Live appearances of late, she's appeared to miss spots with The Miz, Maryse and Zelina Vega. Regardless, that doesn't make some of the comments directed her way over the past week any less unnecessary.
As for Morgan, WWE did confirm that she suffered a concussion, and it's not known to this point whether she's been cleared to return. She's currently scheduled for Saturday's Super Showdown event to team with her Riott Squad sisters as they take on The Bella Twins and Ronda Rousey in Australia. In somewhat of a good sign, though, Morgan accompanied the Riott Squad to the ring at a live event on Sunday.
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