A year or so after the 18 second debacle, Daniel Bryan is still super over and in a position where he could (arguably) be propelled to Cena-like levels of superstardom, as evidenced by the affable way in which he presents himself during promotional interviews, the Make a Wish thing he did for that kid with cancer, and his general clean cut and hard working attitude. Not to mention the fact he has everyone from the 5 year old kids to the 30+ year old smarks chanting his name. I like many others are dreading a potential heel turn, so my question for you is do you think a heel turn would work right now for Bryan? Surely (as seen with CM Punk) the crowd will still cheer for him. Where do you think this is headed and are you as confident as other Bryan fans are that he can become an even bigger star than what he is now.
Thanks
Well…hang on, I’ve got another call.
Hey Scott, got some questions for you. After turning almost everything WWE gave him into gold and showing more personality than many could hope to have, how high do you think Daniel Bryan is gonna go in WWE? And with all the responses he's been getting for a solid year, why hasn't WWE bet on him more seriously? After all, isn't that what Triple H said to CM Punk that he needed to do: win "them" over? Isn't that what saved John Cena? Is it safe to say, then, that the problem is still the size?
I'd like your thoughts on all this and thank you for all your work!
I think they have confidence in Bryan to a certain level, but they just have the size fetish that won’t let them accept someone that small at a top level. That being said, I think the Kane alliance is fine for him, because Kane is a guy who gets protection all the time, and by staying associated with him that kind of puts Bryan on that higher level automatically. Plus Bryan is an increasingly connected guy who is a reliable merch seller and a noted super-clean non-drug user who top guys like to work with. That usually adds up to an eventual re-push when someone inevitably gets injured or fucks up or both.
As to the first question, I don’t think they’d be dumb enough to turn him given the monster reactions he gets. Plus they can always put him with Punk again when he comes back and reverse the dynamic from last year.
I feel Daniel Bryan is at that "Eddie Guerrero in 2003" level where I'm certain that if they turned him heel, the crowd would just start cheering louder.
ReplyDeleteI so badly want you to be wrong. But sadly I think your probably right.
ReplyDeletePS: That smackdown piece sure looked like a Bryan heel turn to me.
Everybody is so quick to assume that because he's a smaller smark darling that they're going to shit on him but people gotta remember: he had HBK putting him over to HHH, and he's in good with Cena, Punk, Sheamus, Show, and who knows who else. There was once another small guy, former indie star, had a beard, did a lot of karate kicks, teamed with Kane, and was in good with HHH and HBK. And D-Bry won't have the drug problems and lack of mic skills that X-Pac had, so there's no reason to assume he won't be more successful.
ReplyDeleteAssuming they had a plan for Team Hell No in the first place is misguided at best and insane at worst. They have gone through two head writers since the team formed. This is the same writing staff that has a guy like Christian--one with A+ mic skills--sitting on the sidelines for months because they can't think of a storyline for him. This is the same writing staff that changes their mind about Cesaro and how to book him on a weekly basis. The only two certainties seem to be Cena and The Shield.
ReplyDeleteScary time to be a wrestler. Scary time to be a wrestling fan. With that being said, Daniel Bryan is a force of nature at this point and it would take a nonsensical 6 month de-push to strip him of his heat.
Seeing him beat Swagger the way he did proves to me that they have plenty of faith in the guy.
ReplyDeleteIncreasingly there is no one WWE is willing to go "all in" with outside of the select inner circle, because there is no one they trust not to go TNA at some point.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine that Kane is going to get another run with any belt. Much like Big Show, he's bought as big and intimidating by most fans in the bleachers, and this status is assured. By keeping him strong, it doesn't matter if he jobs, means something when he puts people over, and they can randomly insert him into a main event match/feud if they really need to.
ReplyDeleteI also don't see them depushing Bryan - well, not to the level you described, and certainly not to Zack Ryder levels. They wouldn't be trotting him out for corporate gigs or letting him be an evangelist for the company in any capacity if they didn't see some kind of value to him.
Then again, this is modern WWE we're talking about, an environment where sense, reason, rationality and anything approximating to satisfaction cannot be expected and should't be hoped for.
Shave. The. Beard.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem IS that Kane is so protected. That means if anyone is ever going to eat the pin or be the one to lose singles matches against their individual tag team opponents, it's almost always going to be Bryan.
ReplyDeleteTen will get you twenty Bryan will be turned heel and sacrificed to the alter of John Cena, super-cunt.
ReplyDeleteHaving cut Punk's legs off from underneath him and buried Punk's golden cage under a mountain of feces, let alone the bullshit going on with Ryback, once Ryback is disposed of, Bryan will be the next victim to Cena's increasingly out of control egomania and paranoia.
"Increasingly out of control egomania and paranoia"
ReplyDeleteSince you're so close with John, maybe you should try coaching him through this turbulent stage in his life.
NO, although the hair should eventually go
ReplyDeleteI really hope that's not the case. I don't mind seeing them trade a win or two, but anything less than Bryan tapping Kane clean with the No/YesLock to end the feud is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI still want to see Punk/Lesnar vs Bryan/Kane. I think the dynamic would be awesome in a long main event tag match.
ReplyDeleteBryan needs to tap Kane out clean in the middle to end whatever feud they end up having.
ReplyDeleteI'd be down with a Bryan vs Cesaro feud
ReplyDeleteyeah, I almost hope they do it just to see Bryan get cheered even more. I would love to see a Cena vs Bryan feud because I think it would be the ultimate in "shit all over Cena" madness from live crowds.
ReplyDeleteBryan has been my favorite wrestler for close to a decade now. I bought into him after watching the Epic Encounter match against Paul London and have marked for him ever since. He's probably the only wrestler that has ever "drawn" me in the sense that I've gone to many shows just because he was on the card. All that being said, the first time I saw him, on the cover of an ROH tape, I thought 'This guys is supposed to be the king of the indies?!?! His face is ridiculous; he could never be a WWE star.' (to be fair, he was clean shaven and rocking a really unflattering page-boy cut back then)
ReplyDeleteI worry that this is the thing which will always prevent him from being 'THE man'. He isn't accessible at first glance the way Austin, Hogan, Cena, Hart, Punk etc... are. He isn't 'cool' looking. It may only take a few minutes to be admitted to the cult of Bryan--and once you're there, you are really there--but it's something that won't happen over the course of a press-packet photo or poster. You need to experience the guy to understand him, which hasn't been the case with most other major superstars. And stuff like the beard and the curl, those may be off-putting to the uninitiated, but they are gold to those that 'get it'. He's a dork, who's also a lethal weapon. Ever since he entered the WWE I've though of him as if Charlie from Always Sunny in Philadelphia with the ability to break limbs and smash faces. It's an amazing character, but I'm not sure how the company could center itself around that.
No. NO NO NO NO NO!
ReplyDeleteThe beard is one of the things keeping him from looking like another clean cut guy in speedos, which seems to be go-to look for most Superstars these days. The beard makes him stand out and honestly suits him.
The same applies for Cody Rhodes and the 'stache.
No way Punk's coming back as a heel.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be Punk vs Lesnar methinks.
I get you.
ReplyDeleteMost non-fans I've been around see Bryan and say something to the effects of "WTF is this?"
The problem is that WWE doesn't sell the lethal part. Whenever he is out there, it's non stop goat jokes.
ReplyDeleteWhile that's something WWE should NOT be worried about, mainly because they can just offer so much more on most fronts than TNA could afford to even come close to...
ReplyDelete... it is EXACTLY the type of thing that Vince/Steph WOULD be afraid of... and have been afraid of probably since before the Monday Night Wars.
It's a shame Lesnar has been so diminished, he'd be perfect for Bryan.
ReplyDeleteAlso, here's hoping this "size fetish" bullshit goes away when HHH realizes his little buddy is considered the greatest of all time.
I mean HBK, not H's "Steph Hammer".
Brock/Bryan could be the epic-est of feuds
ReplyDeleteDidn't Bryan win their feud that was kind of the preface to them teaming up in the first place? Agree though, he should win again if they go that way. But I'd prefer they stay "allies" even if they do drift apart.
ReplyDeleteI had wondered where you've been. Busy cyber-stalking comic book creators?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Regal. Regal is another one of Triple H's inner circle and he's a HUGE Bryan supporter.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be shocked if he's later cited as a major reason Ambrose is getting the singles push in The Shield.
"...but they just have the size fetish that won’t let them accept someone that small at a top level."
ReplyDelete*coughmysteriocough*
It serves the purpose of making him stand out and no longer look like Generic Vanilla Midget #177.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this. Alongside the goat jokes, the announcers put over his skills a lot, especially in lengthier matches where he has the chance to showcase them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you're only watching Raw I could kind of understand this sentiment but if you're seeing stuff like his SD matches with Ryback and Swagger or his PPV stuff and still only getting the impression that the announcers treat him like he's Santino, then you're missing something.
Most definitely. The ROH alums (most of whom who did the PWG, Dragongate, and Japan circuit) are the closest thing to the old school "territory" alums, AND they happen to have the capability of putting on 4-5 star matches. They are the most versatile guys on the roster and need to be utilizaed accordingly.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I think the main issue is with Lawler. Cole, JBL, and Matthews have been pretty adamant about how good he really is as of late.
ReplyDeleteBut the majority of the audience is only watching Raw.
ReplyDeleteHe's only as close to John Cena as the law will allow.
ReplyDeleteYeah I never really even thought of that connection but there ya go. Bryan was trained by HHH's first and last partners, he's gotta be in good. Plus I bet he impresses people by porking a Bella.
ReplyDeleteAnd what balls he has to bitch about someone being paranoid.
ReplyDeleteWell... there was a catch with Mysterio.
ReplyDeleteLook everyone! The cunt-faced Dougie! Should you not be killing yourself and sparing the gene pool from your tainted bloodline? Then again, since you have a cunt for a face, we don't have to worry about a shithead like you breeding and creating little cuntfaces to further pollute the gene pool....
ReplyDeleteMysterio who was booked like a loser for his entire title reign, that Mysterio
ReplyDeleteIs that a yes?
ReplyDeleteUpvoted for "super-cunt".
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love Jesse?