Daniel Bryan's Gimmick is simple!

[Milkyway!]

Ever since the WWE fired Daniel Bryan after he choked that guy with the cord during the Nexus invasion he has had a very odd, unidentified gimmick within the WWE. Daniel Bryan's gimmick is very simple, the WWE plays into it quite well, you people eat it like giving candy to a small kid too.

Daniel Bryan's gimmick is the more we make it look like we're legitimately shitting on this guy, the more the crowd loves him, the more they cheer for him, the biggest star we have, the more merchandise he sells, the more money we make.

It's not necessarily a gimmick in the regard of this is how Daniel Bryan acts, nor is it in the traditional sense of let's book him to be an underdog and then build him up to overcome the odds like we've seen with Cena in the past.

He got beat in 30 seconds by Sheamus, he got snubbed out of two Rumbles, he got fired and rehired by your reaction, got snubbed of of a WrestleMania event and placed into a dark match, etc. It's happened again and again, but every time the fans have went BALLISTIC for him; so why would you not keep doing it?

The gimmick is designed to make it seem like the WWE legitimately views him a B player, but he wouldn't be making nearly a million dollars a year if they viewed him as in invaluable asset. The WWE values Bryan. They know he's main event. They don't treat him like he's main event because you people go absolutely bat shit crazy for him and throw all kinds of cheers, sales, etc.

You give this guy 15 minutes of fame, snub him intentionally, fans go bat shit crazy, rinse, wash, repeat, and it stays looking fresh and continues to work. We've seen it how many times now with the guy?

 

[JDHale]

I was talking about this with some others too, and I think it's incredible how much it works if it is indeed intentional. It's not just how they've booked Bryan either, as they've done it with others (Ziggler and Ambrose). The fact is that these guys can be booked poorly, then be given a big win every so often to make it seem like they're heading up the ladder, just to be brought down a rung on the ladder again. It creates the feeling these guys are heading places, causing more and more fans to buy their merchandise, and then when they are brought down again fans start paying for more merchandise to 'show' WWE that these guys should be in other's spot. It made me wonder whether or not it was actually a problem for guys that get over by themselves, as it shows WWE that they can make money off their fans with little effort. It's interesting to think about.

 

[Prince Vee]

I was talking about this with some others too, and I think it's incredible how much it works if it is indeed intentional. It's not just how they've booked Bryan either, as they've done it with others (Ziggler and Ambrose). The fact is that these guys can be booked poorly, then be given a big win every so often to make it seem like they're heading up the ladder, just to be brought down a rung on the ladder again. It creates the feeling these guys are heading places, causing more and more fans to buy their merchandise, and then when they are brought down again fans start paying for more merchandise to 'show' WWE that these guys should be in other's spot. It made me wonder whether or not it was actually a problem for guys that get over by themselves, as it shows WWE that they can make money off their fans with little effort. It's interesting to think about.

Okay fine. So they booked Ziggler and Ambrose in a pretty shitty way just to make money? Well the Fans want their stars to win more than they want their merchandize. So give the fans what they want!! This wasn't like last Rumble that the crowd only wanted DB to win! After Bryan got eliminated they wanted at least Dolph or Dean to win the Rumble or at least in the last 4. Pretty screwed up booking.

this sounds like Cena changing his ring Attire's colours every 2 months just to sell more merchandize

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I think a lot of what's gotten Daniel Bryan over is something that can't just be taken credit for by WWE management. Daniel Bryan's a down to earth, hard working, passionate wrestler that genuinely loves being a wrestler. He's not an over the top kind of personality, which is something that's helped him stand out from the crowd. He doesn't come off as someone that's sort of been manufactured by the WWE Machine, which he isn't really.

Part of what's made Daniel Bryan so popular is that a lot of fans are burned out and frustrated with Vince McMahon expecting them to embrace the wrestlers that he wants them to embrace. In actuality, a LOT of fans are burned out on the notion that all the support is supposed to go to wrestlers that have a physical look and presence that Vince deems important. They're tired of Vince's formula, or at least certain aspects of the formula, for what he believes a top guy is supposed to be and it becomes more apparent each week that Vince's perception is out of touch with that of modern wrestling fans. They look at Daniel Bryan and see someone that's more "normal" when it comes to his physical appearance, yet he's extraordinary inside the ring, he's passionate about what he does, he works extremely hard and people want to see that rewarded. They've embraced him, which means there's a lot of money to be made from him by WWE, so I don't see what the reluctance is to push him to the top. Vince seems concerned about public perception if the promotional face of WWE isn't some 250 pound god of muscles. The problem is that the public, ranging from wrestlers working for him, other wrestlers & wrestling companies, wrestling journalists, fans and even company stockholders, believe that Vince no longer has his finger on the pulse of what modern day wrestling fans want and who they want.

 

[timothy26]

I don't think it's a gimmick. His popularity comes from the fact he comes across as a regular guy, he dresses casually, he isn't overtly large and muscular, doesn't have the "good looks" etc. Fans can actually relate to him. He doesn't fit the WWE mould of a bodybuilder who is being forced on fans by Vince, what he is is a normal person who has worked hard to get where he is and genuinely doesn't need a look or false persona to get himself "over"

 

[Navi]

Personally, I think a lot of what's gotten Daniel Bryan over is something that can't just be taken credit for by WWE management. Daniel Bryan's a down to earth, hard working, passionate wrestler that genuinely loves being a wrestler. He's not an over the top kind of personality, which is something that's helped him stand out from the crowd. He doesn't come off as someone that's sort of been manufactured by the WWE Machine, which he isn't really.

Part of what's made Daniel Bryan so popular is that a lot of fans are burned out and frustrated with Vince McMahon expecting them to embrace the wrestlers that he wants them to embrace. In actuality, a LOT of fans are burned out on the notion that all the support is supposed to go to wrestlers that have a physical look and presence that Vince deems important. They're tired of Vince's formula, or at least certain aspects of the formula, for what he believes a top guy is supposed to be and it becomes more apparent each week that Vince's perception is out of touch with that of modern wrestling fans. They look at Daniel Bryan and see someone that's more "normal" when it comes to his physical appearance, yet he's extraordinary inside the ring, he's passionate about what he does, he works extremely hard and people want to see that rewarded. They've embraced him, which means there's a lot of money to be made from him by WWE, so I don't see what the reluctance is to push him to the top. Vince seems concerned about public perception if the promotional face of WWE isn't some 250 pound god of muscles. The problem is that the public, ranging from wrestlers working for him, other wrestlers & wrestling companies, wrestling journalists, fans and even company stockholders, believe that Vince no longer has his finger on the pulse of what modern day wrestling fans want and who they want.

JH has hit the nail on the head here.

Daniel Bryan looks like the guy walking down the street in front of you, the man sitting having coffee at the doughnut shop, in other words any other normal guy you see on the street today. There is nothing outstanding about him at all when you look at him. He's not particularly good looking, he's average, when he's wearing a shirt and jeans looks like every other guy wearing a shirt and jeans. It's only when he gets into the wrestling ring does he stand out.

And that's why men, women and kids can relate to him. You can't relate to someone like Roman Reigns, he's had everything handed to him. He said it last night in the RAW interview, he was born into this business, he comes from a wrestling dynasty. That's why we expect him to be bigger than life and better than everyone else.

Daniel Bryan on the other hand, got his backhanded comments in and it was great. He said he wasn't fed by the WWE, he's had to work his ass off to get where he is today, and fans around the world recognize that fact. They've rewarded him by getting behind him in a way that we haven't seen for a long time. Let's face it he was on the shelf for 9 months and still came back to the biggest pop of the entire roster. Roman Reigns on the other hand was gone for about 6 weeks, and while he got a pop, Ambrose stole his spot.

I don't understand for the life of me why they aren't pushing Bryan to the moon and giving him all the opportunities that other's are getting. This will only come back to bite them in the ass in the end game. Fans don't want their hand picked guy, they want the underdog, the guy who is being held back and the fans are the ones who are keeping this boat afloat. Piss them off often enough they will find something else to spend their money on.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Yep. The fans have been worked to death when it comes to DB. I don't know if the Sheamus WM win was a stroke of luck due to a secret injury or time constraints but that moment made it pretty clear that "disrespecting" DB would get him more over.

Here's the problem though - they gave the guy one of the greatest WMs of all time. Before that he spent months as being a featured player for the title and before that he got a clean win over John Cena. How much longer are fans/marks supposed to be fooled by in to believing that Vince only wants muscle bound demigods heading up his biggest shows?

I think enough people still love Daniel Bryan but those same people are no longer just assuming he is being held back. They are no longer rabid, they've cooled off or matured or been educated to realize what is going on. It is probably back to business as usual for building DB as a superstar.

 

[JoshRP81]

I didn't watch Summerslam 13, but I did read the results once it was over. As soon as I heard the whole pins Cena/HHH Pedigrees/Orton cashes in chain of events, I said to myself right then that DB is going to win the title at wm 30. It was so obvious! The whole B plus player thing was a total work. Not even a worked shoot, just a total work. Even down to the news we read on the net about the office not really being behind the guy etc etc. Total work! I mean seriously, were we really meant to believe that they were even considering Bryan vs Sheamus at mania? This was also at virtually the same time that we find out that HHH pays more attention to the internet than his predecessors. "Hey guys, let's leak out that we're planning Bryan vs Sheamus at mania. They'll absolutely shit on that idea and drum up even more support for this new star we're trying to make." I'd like to think that DB is still their long term plan. I just don't have much faith in Reigns/Lesnar.

 

[XXJJ]

I agree 100%..

Firing him from the WWE, Sheamus embarrassing him at WM, Orton and HHH screwing him out of title, not putting him in the Rumble etc... these are the events that made him really popular. Maybe, they stumbled on it by accident, but they are absolutely working his fan base and it's been going on since Summerslam.

He is a natural underdog. If they give him a long-title reign and not screw with him I feel he will lose a lot of his luster. A big part of the reason why people are cheering for him is because they think they are giving a big fuck you to Vince and the WWE "machine".

 

[BuriedByCena]

I don't think WWE is working us. They are not that smart. They have made waaaay too many mistakes in the last 5 years alone as proof. They legit wanted to bury Bryan and when they couldn't shut the fans up, they bit the bullet and gave him the WM main event.

Plus with Punk leaving, it opened up a huge door for Bryan. That is the real truth. They have done it so much especially with Cena burying everyone from Bray Wyatt, the nexus and soon Rusev. WWE still wants the Cena's/Roman's/Sheamus' in the main event.

They don't want Bryan there but they know they will have to cave in sometimes.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

OP is onto something IMO.
The WWE as a whole is taking the Daniel Bryan blueprint and putting it on the entire roster right now basically. Even if it works for ONE MORE guy it will make them truck loads of cash. Ziggler? Nah. Ryback? Nah. Rowan? Of course not. But they will keep throwing shit at the wall until something sticks.

My thought is it will be Seth Rollins who finally breaks through as the face of the company. After his run as HHH's chosen one and golden boy they will turn on him somehow. Likely be choosing Roman Reigns instead. Not sure if this is gonna happen at Mania or before hand but I would bet my bottom dollar by this time next year Seth Rollins is the top face of the WWE.

They will never let him win the gold. It will come out that he was nothing but a puppet for HHH and since cheating didn't work he will make a proclamation that he is going to do it on his own and do it HIS WAY type gimmick. Then we will suffer a year of "The Authority" burying him and screwing him before he finally breaks through and lives up to the high expectations.

 

[Milkyway!]

I didn't expect a good post when I read your username, and man did I hit the nail on the head with that assumption.

I don't think WWE is working us. They are not that smart.

Right. The billion dollar company is not that smart.

They have made waaaay too many mistakes in the last 5 years alone as proof.

I've been watching the WWE since I was around 4 years old and truth be told I don't always find it enjoyable.

That being said, professional wrestling is much like professional baseball. I'm going to give you a scenario. A player walks out to bat 100 times in a professional baseball game, and he hits the ball 30 times, and gets on base an additional 10 times through walks, balks, hit by pitch, etc. That means he's batting a .300, and has an on base percentage of .400.

Do you know what the difference in pay between the guy that bats behind him 100 times, hits the ball 25 times, and gets on base an additional we'll say 5 times? He bats .250 and has an on base percentage of .300. Literally millions. You're talking about a half a swing.

Professional wrestling is a lot like baseball. From my gatherings of the IWC community I can go back to the Attitude era, and I'd say the batting average was .350 with an on base percentage of like .450. This new "reality" era is hitting a .300 and on base percentage of .385. Yet wrestling is shit now, the WWE is crumbling, they make a billion mistakes, and because of this we're going to bitch, moan, gripe, and complain about it until Daniel Bryan wins dammit.

Does the WWE bat a perfect .1000? Hell to the no. Will they ever? Absolutely not. Stop acting like they're going to bat a .500, .600, .1000. It's impossible. They're going to make mistakes on international television on a very consistent basis, but overall, the product is no where near as bad as you're making it. The WWE is a half a swing away from an excellent product.

They legit wanted to bury Bryan and when they couldn't shut the fans up, they bit the bullet and gave him the WM main event.

That's why they pay the guy nearly a million dollars a year, right? Right. They don't value him at all. Clearly, they do, and it's around the million dollar range. Hell, my employer doesn't pay me 1/10th of that. I wish I were valued that much.

Plus with Punk leaving, it opened up a huge door for Bryan.

I think we can both agree if Punk were there, he earns the title over Bryan.

They have done it so much especially with Cena burying everyone from Bray Wyatt, the nexus and soon Rusev.

Did John Cena really bury Bray Wyatt? Truth be told Bray Wyatt brought out a very unique serious non-stale side of John Cena we haven't seen in quite sometime. For the first time in a very long time John Cena looked vulnerable. Realistically though this is still Professional Wrestling, and you can't have your 16 time World Heavyweight Champion looking weak over an extended period of time.

Cena had to come out on top during their feud after looking as vulnerable as he did for so long because that's what sells T-shirts, hats, wrist bands, blue jean shorts, sneakers, action figures, WWE Subscriptions, etc. Not Bray Wyatt.

WWE still wants the Cena's/Roman's/Sheamus' in the main event.

Cena - #1 Merchandise selling superstar. Face of the company. TERRIFIC public relations guy.

Reigns - He's been pushed heavily throughout the course of the last month, and the WWE has seen roughly a 37% increase, 24% domestically in the month of January. Clearly he's putting asses in seats, and more importantly generating WWE subscriptions. Why the hell shouldn't he be in the main event scene?

Sheamus - He's the United States champion currently. That's the 3rd tier title in the company behind the WWE championship and the Intercontinental championship. That's main event? Good try.

They don't want Bryan there but they know they will have to cave in sometimes.

No. They're doing exactly what they want to do with Daniel Bryan. Snub, fans go crazy, 15 minutes of fame, snub, fans go crazy, 15 minutes of fame, rinse, wash, repeat. It's been working for 2-3 years now, and is proving to still work. It's what makes the reaction for Daniel Bryan tick, so they will continue to do it until it doesn't work.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It doesn't work with everyone, but it works with Bryan. Fans think they know how things work. They think the office hates Bryan. If Bryan had won the Rumble last year, he wouldn't have been as over so intentional or not (and I will always think it was), he was more over last year.

Bryan is the most over guy. Never lost the belt. Biggest underdog. Brock is the biggest monster. Bryan/Brock would be stupid not to do. I have a sliver of hope left they will right the ship.

 

[DB-Fan]

I have never believed, and will not believe now, that the WWE brass can be given any credit (other than signing him) for Bryan being as popular as he is. Every bit of real evidence points to the company thinking Bryan is a nice addition to the roster, but it was truly the fans that pushed him to the moon. Vince & Co. would never have given him the match with Cena, nor the Wrestlemania spot last year, on their own. Danielson has said as much himself. He was NOT in the mix for the championship last year, hence them not evening putting him in the 2014 RR. So no, I don't think the company can be given any credit, much less that they have orchestrated everything up to this point. To use an expression that's apropos to this thread: No! No! No!

 

[Mustang Sally]

I have never believed, and will not believe now, that the WWE brass can be given any credit (other than signing him) for Bryan being as popular as he is.

I can see the point, yet when one thinks back on Daniel's WWE career, I'd say the company has done a lot for him, certainly more than they've done for many others on the roster who sit in the back and pray they don't hear: "We don't have anything for you at the present time."

There's been plenty for Daniel to do. Remember, upon being re-hired after the Nexus mess, he was essentially a jobber. I recall him serving as fodder for Sin Cara's push. Bryan's ring wrestling was always fine, but it would be interesting to know when management finally got the idea to use Daniel in skits........and elaborate skits, no less. The whole "crazy, paranoid" persona which featured the little guy whining to Kane and Randy Orton about everyone being against him gave Daniel a chance to entertain fans outside the ring & in. It led to the "No! No! No!" chants .....which evolved into "Yes! Yes! Yes!" ......and the whole thing took off from there.

Is his gimmick simple? Damn right it is; and simple is always better.....but what led to it was a fairly complicated series of vignettes with Kane and the psychiatrist.

No one should think Daniel Bryan has done it all himself....or done it despite the WWE braintrust. He started with the simple, hard-working, likeable little guy persona......he's surely more like Joe Everyman than is Roman Reigns, for heaven's sake.... but we shouldn't think he didn't have management in his corner, paving the way to success.

 

[MCMG]

I suppose many fans want so much more. They just want him to be treated as a guy who is on par with all the other big names. Being the underdog is fine but if you win every match then are you really an underdog or merely underestimated.

I like Bryan being the underdog. It does suit him and his match with HHH at WM30 showed that. Lots of selling; taking a beating but winning in the end. That can be Bryan's formula when wrestling the majority of heels on the roster. Sure some (Cesaro, Rollins) there can be more back and forth. With others - such as Rusev- Bryan may have to take control of the match.

The overwhelming problem in my eyes was at the Rumble, Bryan was eliminated as just another guy. Ziggler and Ambrose could double-teamed. As did Wyatt. Harper had his back-turned and Rusev was eliminated by the eventual winner and was runner-up anyway. They had some protection, something Bryan did not. How can anyone accept that as logical? It doesn't matter if that's part of the appeal, it was just way too much.

I enjoyed what they did with Bryan during the road to Wrestlemania last year and even in the feud with Kane. They physically had him get beat-down time and time again. Verbally The Authority reminded us he wasn't a top star and that helped build the character and gimmick. Now? It can work, sure, but there are times where you have to asses the situation and the WWE completely misjudged it.

Overall, Bryan works well as the underdog fighting against the higher-ups in both real life and fiction, but the Rumble was poorly executed.

 

[berlinbrawler]

I'm sorry, but not for a second do I believe that the WWE has this bigger picture masterplan. And what a plan it is!
"Hey, the people love Bryan. Hey, they did not like us shitting on him. Great, it gets them talking. Let's shit some more on him! HA! They are really mad now! Oooh, he's getting really hot now, time to yank the carpet from under his feet. WOHOO, the fans downright hate and reject the WWE product now! SUCCESS!! Time to have him beat by Kane or Heath Slater. Yay, the ratings are tanking!"

If there ever was such a tactic, it could only ever benefit the product short term. Sooner or later you have to give the people a satisfying pay-off, which they never planned on doing. Bryan main eventing Wrestlemania was never in the books, the fans downright forced the WWE to do it. Unfortunately, Bryan's run got cut way too short (although given their current track record I have a feeling they would have screwed his run up even without the injury), so there still was no satisfying run.
Almost a year later Bryan returns ... only to lose his first match back. And then the Rumble. I'm sorry, but if this is WWE's idea of playing the fans like a fiddle, then they are morons. .......... On second thought, maybe it's true after all. I have no doubt they are morons. The smell surrounding the WWE is more and more reminiscent of WCW in 2000. Nothing makes sense, everything is pointless, no one gives a hoot about anything, backstage politics make everyone's lifes miserable and the same two names are on top forever and ever and ever.
I can't remember ever the WWE going so strongly against what the people want as they do in recent years. It's as if they finally, finally realized they got the monopoly and stopped giving a shit what anybody thinks.
If that's the masterplan, then it's time for a new master.