Breaking News: Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan Fined

WWE announced Friday that Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have been fined an undisclosed monetary amount for their chair shot exchange in a Street Fight on Monday's RAW. This is not a storyline angle as WWE takes chair shots to the head VERY seriously these days, especially with all the recent concussions.

“We don’t allow chair shots to the head in WWE,” said Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events. “We understand it was in the heat of the moment but we take this very seriously and as a result, [Orton and Bryan] were fined.”

Orton offered comment on the fine, stating, "Trust me, it was enough."

Here is the full WWE statement:

Following their intense Street Fight on Monday Night Raw, WWE fined both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan an undisclosed amount for chair strikes to the head during their match.

“We don’t allow chair shots to the head in WWE,” WWE COO Triple H informed WWE.com. “We understand it was in the heat of the moment but we take this very seriously and as a result, [Orton and Bryan] were fined.”

Though not disclosed, the heft of the fine was evident in Orton’s reaction.

“Trust me, it was enough,” Orton said.

For those wondering, the Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton fines from WWE are legitimate. According to WWE sources, the actual fines were for the top rope spot. That was the only chair shot that was directly to the head. Orton did try and protect Daniel Bryan because he held back on the swing of the chair, but the move is still banned in WWE.

As we've reported over the past few years, chair shots to the head are banned in WWE and have been for quite some time now. It's a very smart move to protect their talents from suffering serious injuries. The company is taking chair shots to the head VERY seriously these days with all of the recent concussions. Randy Orton's "punt kick" to the head and the "piledriver" are also banned in WWE. The punt kick Orton delivered several weeks ago was a one-time deal and was rehearsed numerous times before it took place.

WWE.com has a new interview up with WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann where he talks about Impact testing and how concussions are handled in WWE today.

Amann added, "We manage concussions as do other professional sports organizations. The latest guidelines out of Zurich, Switzerland, that were created in 2012 in a consensus statement give us the latest guidelines and expert opinion on how to manage concussions. We use ImPACT Testing and we also use exertion testing.

"Exertion testing is a process of getting somebody in the situation of their own sports-specific exertion. For example, with a Superstar, we want to get them in the ring, exert them in the ring and have them do moves and activities similar to what their sport is. We want to see if that provokes any symptoms of a concussion, such as headaches, blurred vision or dizziness."

Good call.
I can understand there reasons.