Criticizing my Personal Favorites: Daniel Bryan

[#hamler]

PART THREE of my "Criticizing my Personal Favorites" series. In the past two threads, I gave you my top two favorite Superstars currently in the WWE. Rules- No matter how perfect the said Superstar is, criticize him. Now's your chance. Feel free to rip posts apart piece by piece. I want a dicussion here. In this thread, you have a chance to criticize...ahhhhhhh yeah!

Daniel Bryan​

Daniel Bryan has been regaurded as the Best Wrestler, in ring performer in the world. He's held numerous championships in about every promotion he's worked for. Including such championships as Ring of Honor's pure and Heaveyweight Championships. The Wrestling Observer news letter awarded him "Most Oustanding of the Decade" award as well as 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009's best technical wrestler. Daniel Bryan bursted on the scene in NXT with Miz as his Pro. The Miz brought out the real Daniel Bryan out and he showed us a little personality we haven't seen from Bryan in quite sometime. Daniel Bryan was fired, re-hired and has been great ever since. Winning the US title from a little no body name Miz...oh wait...now Daniel Bryan is putting on great matches and we'll hopefully get a feud with his trainer William Regal. Oh I forgot, he was also trained by Shawn Michaels-but that doesn't mean anything. Bryan is simply flawless in the ring, but he lacks something that I can't quite put my finger on. Which leads me to the discussion questions...


What is one flaw you see in Daniel Bryan?

Would fixing this flaw make Daniel Bryan any better than he already is?


If you see no flaw in Bryan, state why. I'm sure most of you will see some kind of flaw, seems as if he's been getting a lot of shit lately, but whatever. Have at it.

Discuss this shit

 

[Ferbian]

There's one flaw that I kinda see in Bryan. The very fact that he doesn't have much of a size to really be someone I'd consider anything but a permanent mid-carder. It's obvious that Vince McMahon will always have the vision of a big guy carrying his company, because it's looks more believable. And Bryan Danielson does not have this specific treat, he's 5'10 and 86 kilo's which is hardly something that screams "Big wrestler".

I don't believe he could possibly ever be booked as a strong contender to the point where he'd be as believable as a world champion. Sure it worked for Eddie, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. But they all 3 had something to offer that made them stand out. Eddie was entertaining, a great wrestler and he was still build as fuck for his size, the same goes for Chris Benoit (Minus the entertaining, but he was brutal in the ring and that made him seem more legit) and Chris Jericho being decently build, as well as great in the ring and entertaining.

All of these things minus the great in the ring is something I fear Bryan might be lacking as well. Sure he's decent on the microphone for what he has provided as of late, so I won't add that as a flaw. But it is something that in general will keep him down because he doesn't have those specific things that helps him stand out to the point where you could expect Vince to push him towards a world title reign. At least not until he's been with the company for years to come.

 

[afark02]

facial expression and emotion. every time they do a promo of him backstage he has the same squinted eye look. He needs to show more emotion. the only time ive seen him show some was in nxt season 1 when he blew up on cole and miz. i want to see more of angry daniel bryan.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

As much as I love Daniel Bryan, he is the most vanilla wrestler in years. It's great that he's all about the wrestling but there's no sizzle to the steak. He has generic tights with generic designs, his one t-shirt just says his name and submission wrestling with a picture of a ring thrown in for good measure. If he wasn't as spectacular as he is in the ring he'd be future endeavored quicker than Ricky Ortiz if he bitch slapped Triple H.

 

[LegendKiller716]

His biggest problem at the moment is his gimmick. I want him to either show more intensity as a face or have a heel run on smackdown. His current gimmick of being a goofey generic wrestler got old fast. As a face I think he should be booked like Benoit and as a heel he should be booked like Jericho's previous heel run.

Also his name. I hope he can use his real name somewhere down the line. He has already mentioned it on TV. Daniel Bryan the name just sounds plain, its not a champions name.

 

[I Suck Ass]

I think his biggest issue is blandness. Between the generic shirt and tights, he has no personality to him. He has shown some, but not a lot, and that's what will kill him down the line if he doesn't change.

A smaller issue would be his size. The only other guy his size that flourished IMO is Mysterio, and he can do the fly around the ring thing all day. Bryan is more strength, but his size doesn't help him. And we all know Vince likes big guys.

 

[Ruddalin]

Whenever DBD does a promo on someone I always seem to think that the smile he does is very smarky like a "I know wrestling is fake and this company is fake and I could tell the world about it and you couldn't stop me hehehe"
But that's just one guy's opinion

 

[El Rev sXe]

I love DB, I'm always looking forward for his matches, he should be "the instant classic". Anyway, yes I see a flaw on him: his gimmick. I'm not sure what is he beside being the utimate technical underdog. He doesn't have too much of mic time, so I'm not sure if he is charismatic or not. However the few times he has spoken in NXT against Cole was amazing, a lot of passion.

 

[SullivanSmith]

A little more intensity and character to him would be pretty nice. It's easy to appreciate his matches as he's that awesome - his match with Regal on the last Raw (SO glad I got to see that live - wow) was just spectacular. But, personally, I'd just like to see some more character to him. But they can take their time with him. Having him be kind of bland now and having him get over with his ring work will just make it even better when the emotion and other things start to come out.

Or they can just do what WCW did with Norman Smiley and just give him a stupid dance to do.

 

[LSN80]

I see one major flaw in Bryan that will prevent him from reaching the upper echelon of the card. His size. He just doesn't have the height or build to be anything but a career mid-carder. Vince's vision for the company has always been to have a bigger athlete as the face of the company. That's understandable if you visualize it. Bryan's size simply isn't condusive to the belief that he could defeat many of the top stars WWE has to offer on the way to winning a World Championship.

Some may argue that smaller men have been pushed before on their way to World Championships. That may be true, but all of them were very muscular as well. Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit all looked incredibly strong for their size. Even Rey Mysterio is built quite well for his size. Bryan simply lacks that build to be perceived a threat. He just doesn't have the look that screams "World Champion" in any way.

The other thing that will affect Bryan is that he doesn't have that natural charisma to compensate for his lack of size. Charisma was something that has carried Jericho, Mysterio, and Guerrero a long way. Bryan has shown himself to be capable on the mic, but sorely lacking in the charisma that is necessary in the world of "sports entertainment." At least not enough to overcompensate for his look and lack of size. This isn't necessarily a flaw in him, rather just not enough to "get him there." He'll have a nice career in the mid-card opening up PPV's on a regular basis, but I fear he'll never rise into the realm of being truly elite.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Daniel Bryan's size doesn't really work against him like it would have years ago. It makes it harder to catapult him into a main event feud on debut like other bigger superstars, but luckily he's got a pretty solid list of moves which he performs well. Wrestling fans really like him.

He's a little bland at the moment but he hasn't been given a real storyline either. What is this thing with the Bella's?

 

[Freddy4190]

I gotta go with the size issue as well. Maybe he's not as charismatic as the rest, or doesn't really have like "The Look" or anything. Daniel Bryan is a phenomenal wrestler though. They could do damn near anything with this man. He could work a heel role quite well, say he grows his beard out and gets some badass tights or something. He looked quite vicious when he snapped a few times on NXT, why not let him be a technical specimen and have him just kick total ass? I don't think he'll ever be anything more then a mid-carder, but nonetheless he's a great talent.

 

[wrestlingfan]

If they really wanted to be creative they could push him to be the next Benoit with the whole silent guy persona. I mean in my opinion in terms of in ring ability and gimmick Davey Richards and Brian Danielson are the next Chris Benoit and since Chris Benoit was a submission specialist who better to take his place then the current submission specialist in the WWE?....Daniel bryan.

 

[Alastor]

In my opinion his on-screen character is bland right now. Compared to the emotions he showed during his NxT run and the first night of the Nexus invasion, his new persona is like watching paint dry. With the goofy smile and the Bellas, they are trying too hard to make him the best friend you knew growing up that is quiet and shy but really talented to hook the females, a Cena-lite for the new generation if you like.

I would have liked him better if they push him like a mid-card version of a bad-ass, knowing that he is better than the rest and proving it in the ring. He could say he knew he was better than the Nexus and he could strike it out on his own rather than stay in a group.

 

[dman1373]

he's not that good on the mic, he has a different look (to say the least), and he is afraid to kiss the bellas. And the last one is the worst of all.

 

[GetsHeat]

I think he could add more character, but I think it's very good he isn't trying to be some yelly, screaming, jackass.. he's just someone most can relate to.

That being said, I really think he should improve his promo skills, it just seems ridiculous that a guy is willing to train for hours a day in things like chain submissions but not spend a good amount of times practicing promos, which you clearly need to take you to the next level in WWE.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that if Bryan would insert more intensity into his character, it'd be great. I know that he's got it there, I just wish the WWE would just tell him to let it out.

For instance, during his match with William Regal this past Monday on Raw, Bryan let some of that out while he was trading blows with Regal and the fans responded to that. We all remember Bryan's promos after he was "eliminated" from NXT, but the second one in which he was in the ring and going off on Michael Cole was phenomenal. He was passionate when he was talking and the fans very much responded to that. Bryan's got it, he just needs to let it out more.

I don't think that Bryan's size or overall look is nearly as much of a hindurance now as it would have been 5 years ago. Since the Benoit murder/suicide investigation revealed that Benoit had been on steroids at the time of the incident, the WWE has very much pushed smaller, more natural looking guys. Randy Orton, CM Punk, Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston & The Miz are all examples of guys in good physical shape, good athletes but don't have these hugely muscular physiques of a Batista or Triple H or even John Cena. The WWE knows that they've got a great talent in Daniel Bryan. His matches have, quite often, been show stealers.

As far as his bland look goes, I think that helps him stand out quite a bit. There are tons of guys in the WWE, TNA, ROH and everywhere else that are loaded with flash. Their gimmicks, their tights, their pyro, their music is all designed to say "look at me". The fact that Daniel Bryan's overall look seems "generic" helps him stand out from the crowd in my eyes. Just as I said in a thread regarding Douglas Williams, Bryan takes a lot of what originally made professional wrestling, adds just a dash of modern flash in his moveset, mixes it all together and comes up with a recipe for exciting and entertaining wrestling matches. If they give him some real time on the mic and he taps into that love and passion he's got for wrestling, then I have little doubt he'll be main eventing in the WWE someday.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

This should be easy for me. Im not a fan of this guy at all. Not because im influenced by The Miz or Cole. But what can this guy bring to the table? He has Z-E-R-O personality, and scores a Z-E-R-O on the looks part as well. Everyone says he is the wolrds best wrestler. He hasnt shown me anything on WWE. I mean im not just saying this to shoot the guy down. I applaud him for his rise to WWE but he isnt shown me what everyone is promising he is. Iv seen a couple good moves from him, just a couple. As far as im concerned he is a trip to the bathroom or fridge when he comes on...

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Does anyone remember Lance Storm's last run in the WWe? Probably not - he was portrayed as a bland boring character (initially by SCSA) who had to tag with Goldust, dance and enter the ring with Val Venus and beautiful women to try and get over. Personally, I prefer to remember the WCW Storm who came out to the ring informed everyone that he was 'going to be serious for a minute' ended with the Canadian national anthem (which was always interrupted) and was quite possibly their most over guy - holding the US (Canadian), Cruiserweight (100kg) and Hardcore (Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title) Belts simultaneously.

Daniel Bryan is a boring guy who comes down to the ring with the Bellas... However, the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson is widely regarded as the greatest wrestler ever in the history of Indies. While small, if allowed to work somewhat stiff he can still come across as a legitimate threat to anyone and a personal crusade (along with CM Punk) to obliterate 'Sports Entertainers' should fit him like a glove and make his current weaknesses (blandness, size and Bellas) obsolete.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

The thing with Lance Storm though (who was one of my all time favs too) is that it WAS his gimmick to be serious. The whole stiff competitor, interrupted national anthem and everything was what he was supposed to do. It doesnt work with Daniel Bryan. He just has ZERO personality. I mean people loved to hate and put heat on Lance Storm cause of his anti-american gimmick. Daniel Btyan has no gimmick like that...Why hes over i will NEVER understand...Hes not even that good of a wrestler in wwe.

 

[Avrusha92]

I love Daniel Bryan, I really do.
He is one of the best technical wrestlers of this decade, might even be the best.

I was just at a house show in Madison Square, this guy gets huge pops, the moment his music went on the crowd went nuts.

Hes not just over with us, hes over with the kiddies too....

People say he has no personality, well thats part of his gimmick.
His gimmick is: Simple Submission Wrestler/Nerd/Internet Legend that doesnt have personality but can wrestle. The chicks dig him too lol

One flaw he has is...his size.

Vince sees "main event" when he sees "Big Guy that can talk"
Its not DB's fault, its the fact that Daniel will not sellout a wrestlemania main event.

I cannot picture Vince having him in the main event of his biggest show of all.

But I guess thats not even such a major flaw about him, hes just perfect.
Hes improving with his personality issue too.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

His size and his marketability.

Vince likes big guys. There's no denying this, he only cares for big guys. Now and again a small guy will get the shot but they need to have something spectacular about them that makes Vince willing to take that risk. The Miz isn't huge, but he can talk on that mike. Jericho isn't huge, but he can talk on that mike.

Marketability is a huge problem with Bryan. In this world, there are tons of talented people that will never be known because they can't sell themselves. You need to be able to do that. It greatly hurt Bret and Benoit (although Benoit did bring in the ratings for a time). Bryan is not as comfortable on the mike as he is in the ring. Now Bryan does have his fans, and his wrestling will garner him more attention. To be a success though he needs to show management he can a heel or a face and entertain on the mike which I haven't seen so far. They also need to know how to package him to their audience. T-shirt sales, posters etc. are a huge part of the business. PPV buyrates and so on are huge. Does the name Daniel Bryan make people run to buy his merchandise, the answer right now appears to be no.

 

[nerd4life]

great wreslter but boring. hes very quiet in real life so its not suprising. He lets the work in the ring do the talking.

But i agree with the bellas it looks soawkward, i dont know if thats him doing a good job or if hes just really awkward

 

[gurvinder372]

Best thing about Daniel Bryan is that everybody is bought into him being a technical wonder. This inevitably leads to a sort of pre-conceived notion that all him matches are going to be a show-stealers, under-rated gems, etc. He was a hot thing in ROH (which was a news), so many WWE fans knew (or thought) that he is going to be best thing in professional wrestling.
It is not surprising at all that WWE got him into NXT and made him look different than everybody else in that NXT rooster. I guess idea was to make sure that he doesn't come across as Cartoonish, bubbly, or energetic as any other professional wrestler. Miz and Cole isolated him from every-one else. He lost all matches in NXT (season 1), it was shown that he wasn't able to break out of his shell. This, i guess, has helped DBD in getting some sympathy from WWE fans.
He looks conscious in the ring, which really reflects on his face expressions or the lack of it. It appears that he thinks that being in a character and entertaining the crowd is not his thing, unless that is his gimmick . As a face, he needs a Miz like character to sell him all the time. I have watched his matches, but not sure if i have ever cared about wanting him to win, or wanting him to beat the heel opponent. I looks like when ever he takes a beat, either he doesn't take it personally or he doesn't know how show an expression on his face that can get me emotionally involved in his match.
For me, if he can work on showing expressions, intense emotions, and selling his opponent character and move (for example by taking it personally), he might well become another Kurt angle, which is not a bad compliment to have.

 

[xBANEx]

I personally think his only flaw(s) would be his gimmick/facial expressions.

I've seen enough out of Danielson to know that he can show actual facial expressions. Good ones. Not the goofy looking smile he always has on his face for whatever reason. For his gimmick, it's hard for me to say how he'd size up against people in the WWE unless I saw him side-by-side with ME talent. I know he has a lot of untapped potential in him he just hasn't let it out yet; while that may be because of the writers themselves or something else that's unknown, I just know he has it.

Less on topic though, I don't by the "His size is his flaw." Of course, it's an opinion, but honestly? In the past five years or so more smaller guys have been getting pushes. Sure, not all of them are ME talent yet (ie, see Ziggler) but he's getting a huge push. Take Orton for example. Does he have an in-shape athletic body? Yes. Does he look roided up like Triple H/Cena/Any-other-wet-dream-of-Vince? No, not really.