WWE superstar Daniel Bryan appeared on April 21’s edition of “Monday Night Raw” just hours after the death of his father.

Bryan, whose real name is Bryan Danielson, learned of his father’s passing shortly after returning from his honeymoon with new wife and fellow WWE star Brie Bella. While the exact circumstances of his father’s death are unknown at present, a statement posted to WWE.com confirmed that it was unexpected.

“WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan’s (Bryan Danielson’s) father has unexpectedly passed away,” the statement read. “Bryan was made aware of his father’s passing after returning from his honeymoon with Brie Bella. Despite the news, Bryan has insisted on performing for the WWE Universe tonight (April 21) and will be on Raw. WWE extends our deepest condolences to Bryan and his family.”

For the sake of story continuity, a “visibly emotional” Bryan appeared on Raw on Monday, where he met his wife in the ring, the Baltimore Sun reports. The 32-year-old stuck around long enough for Stephanie McMahon to announce that he’d face Kane in a match at Extreme Rules, the WWE’s annual May pay-per-view event.

Kane then assaulted Bryan, delivering several of his trademark “Tombstone Piledrivers” to the WWE champ. After the attack, an “injured” Bryan left the ring on a stretcher.

As the Baltimore Sun notes, the WWE likely staged Bryan’s encounter with Kane in order to allow him some time away from the company to mourn his father within the bounds of his ongoing storyline. It appears that Bryan will miss next week’s episode of Raw and return to face Kane at Extreme Rules.

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