Daniel Bryan Working To Make WWE More Environmentally Friendly
The Planet's Champion strikes...
Daniel Bryan is a self-described environmentalist and used this as part of his "New" Daniel Bryan character. As WWE champion, Bryan declared he was The Planet's Champion, promoted a vegan lifestyle, and even commissioned a new eco-friendly WWE title made from organic hemp and carved from a naturally fallen oak tree. Bryan Danielson also endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein during the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
While he has abandoned his heel persona, Bryan has continued to work with WWE to make the company more environmentally friendly. During a recent interview with Nick Talbot at San Antonio Express-News, The American Dragon revealed his t-shirts will now be made from 100% recycled materials. He admitted he wanted to go further, whereby for every Daniel Bryan shirt sold, WWE would plant a tree, but the former WWE champion explained the company was "balking a little bit on that."
Daniel Bryan said: "Actually, I'm working with WWE and its merchandise team. In that whole run, while they did make a Daniel Bryan 'Planet’s Champion' t-shirt, I never wore one to the ring. One of the things I've always felt very guilty about is the amount of stuff that I've specifically sold to people, and I've never done it with the intention of, 'Oh, I want to sell all these things.' It's just part of what you do. It's like, OK, you wear your shirt to the ring, so that people see your shirt and buy it. Well, this was a good opportunity for me to be like, 'Oh, no, I shouldn't wear a shirt to the ring because I'm The Planet’s Champion.' And that's one of the things that I can criticize other people for - they're just out there for other people's money.
"Now that I'm a good guy again, they're like, 'Well, we'd really like you to wear a shirt, and let's get back to making t-shirts for you again.' I was like, 'Well, I don't really want to do that.' And so now I'm working with them about that, and the next Daniel Bryan shirts are going to be made out of recycled materials. And I think five plastic water bottles will be used for every shirt. So they'll be made out of plastic water bottles and recycled materials and that, to me, is cool, and that's something that's a good guy thing that's also kind of environmentally friendly. And I'm also trying to get it - and this is where we're coming into a little bit of a holdup here - where for every shirt that somebody buys, I would like for a tree to be planted. They're balking a little bit on that. I don't need to make any money on these t-shirts. If I'm going to sell anybody anything, or if somebody wants to buy something because it's a Daniel Bryan something, I want it to not only not do harm, but I would like it to do something positive."
It won't surprise many fans that WWE is baulking at taking more environmentally friendly measures. The McMahon family are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump who is a famous climate change denier. Linda McMahon was even a member of Trump's administration as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
While he has abandoned his heel persona, Bryan has continued to work with WWE to make the company more environmentally friendly. During a recent interview with Nick Talbot at San Antonio Express-News, The American Dragon revealed his t-shirts will now be made from 100% recycled materials. He admitted he wanted to go further, whereby for every Daniel Bryan shirt sold, WWE would plant a tree, but the former WWE champion explained the company was "balking a little bit on that."
Daniel Bryan said: "Actually, I'm working with WWE and its merchandise team. In that whole run, while they did make a Daniel Bryan 'Planet’s Champion' t-shirt, I never wore one to the ring. One of the things I've always felt very guilty about is the amount of stuff that I've specifically sold to people, and I've never done it with the intention of, 'Oh, I want to sell all these things.' It's just part of what you do. It's like, OK, you wear your shirt to the ring, so that people see your shirt and buy it. Well, this was a good opportunity for me to be like, 'Oh, no, I shouldn't wear a shirt to the ring because I'm The Planet’s Champion.' And that's one of the things that I can criticize other people for - they're just out there for other people's money.
"Now that I'm a good guy again, they're like, 'Well, we'd really like you to wear a shirt, and let's get back to making t-shirts for you again.' I was like, 'Well, I don't really want to do that.' And so now I'm working with them about that, and the next Daniel Bryan shirts are going to be made out of recycled materials. And I think five plastic water bottles will be used for every shirt. So they'll be made out of plastic water bottles and recycled materials and that, to me, is cool, and that's something that's a good guy thing that's also kind of environmentally friendly. And I'm also trying to get it - and this is where we're coming into a little bit of a holdup here - where for every shirt that somebody buys, I would like for a tree to be planted. They're balking a little bit on that. I don't need to make any money on these t-shirts. If I'm going to sell anybody anything, or if somebody wants to buy something because it's a Daniel Bryan something, I want it to not only not do harm, but I would like it to do something positive."
It won't surprise many fans that WWE is baulking at taking more environmentally friendly measures. The McMahon family are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump who is a famous climate change denier. Linda McMahon was even a member of Trump's administration as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Written by Aidan Gibbons
Editor-in-Chief of Cultaholic.com Twitter: @theaidangibbons
