Damage Control: What to do now?

[Rosco999]

I think the WWE made a mistake by having Batista win the RR, mostly as its a slap in the face to all the guys who have travelled and worked their ass off all year and not be given a chance to shine at WM.

But from what i've learned with WWE is instead of giving the fans what they want they like to string things out and look to time things to have big WM monents hence why i think Daniel Bryan is being surpressed until WM.

It will however be interesting to see how Elimination Chamber changes the setup before WM, the options for the WWEWH title match could be :

Orton v Bryan v Lesnar v Cena v Brat Wyatt v Sheamus

Or

Orton v Bryan v Reigns v Del Rio v Lesnar v Sheamus

Could the WM main event be Brock v Batista or Batista v Orton or Batista v Bryan , there are still so many turns things could take between now and WM and to be honest with WWE at the moment you jus't don't know what will happen.

So although a lot of people are not happy with last nights RR outcome , the way to look at it is Bray Wyatt, Reigns and Bryan came out on top but when you look at it WWE wanted Brock,Batista,Reigns and Sheamus to come out on top i.e the bulky muscle power type guys maybe coinciding with rumours earlier in the year that Vince wanted the big strong guys competing for the title.

Guess we just wait and see in the next two months.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's tempting to believe that there's some sort of long term plan for Bryan to ultimately get to the top spot, but it's difficult to say at the same time.

When it was announced that Batista was returning and that he was rumored to win the Royal Rumble match, last night's reaction was exactly what I predicted would happen. Daniel Bryan is the single most popular babyface on the WWE roster, Vince McMahon would have to be a complete fool not to realize that. I predicted if Vince tried to shove Batista up everyone's ass without them being given any sort of compelling reason to be interested in him beyond him simply being Batista, he'd get the "Daniel Bryan" treatment from the fans. Fans simply aren't going to drool over Batista and be in awe of him just because Vince might want them to, last night was rock solid proof of that.

If they go forward with Orton vs. Batista for the title at WrestleMania, Vince is going to wind up with a lackluster main event with fans either not giving a damn, booing the crap out of Orton & Batista, a big "Daniel Bryan" chant or some combination of all three. As I said in the thread discussing why Bryan, allegedly, was switched back to babyface, if Vince McMahon can't honestly see that Daniel Bryan's popularity isn't some flavor of the month, then maybe he genuinely is out of touch. If Orton vs. Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship headlines WrestleMania XXX and the fans give the match the cold shoulder, Vince has nobody to blame but himself.

 

[OrionDown]

not bad, but they can win back the hearts very easy by using bryan, have him come out on raw, big old yes chant, have a promo about his loss, but how his best went focused on the gold, setting him up for the elimination match try out, he wins, big old yes chant breaks out, everyone leaves happy from raw....but not the chamber ppv.
Bryan wont win the ppv, very easy. As much as we love bryan, his just not what WWE sees main eventing Wrestlemania, not even cm punk gets the chance, its guys like cena, orton and batista. Honestly i wish it was a triple threat, the new era generation on what wwe planned to be their top guys, go at it, for the new highest ranked belt, at the biggest stage of them all. That screams Mania. Its like joe vs aj vs daniels, but wwe version. it will set up though is sheamus is in that ppv aswell, a heel turn from him to set him their mania match

Now for damage control
As we know even if we dont want to. Mania is Orton vs Batista, so damage control? The crowd hated batista winning, they wanted byran to show up or even reigns to win, so lets turn this into money, into a story. What if the Authority saw Batista as the face off wwe. His back, his a movie star, his in amazing shape, his bigger than randy, and he wins cleanly (so far) orton just barely gets by, cant even win against kofi, so Authority draws their attention away from orton, turning orton baby face ( orton is great in the ring, and had some amazing story telling, and mic skills, just his so over done with cena that we are bored, its not his fault) and batista heel. THAT would be much better

 

[Jonny B]

I honestly don't know where the WWE is going with this, but I have a bad feeling it is going to be Orton vs. Batista at Wrestlemania.

I don't want to see that match close the show, not because I hate Orton or Batista but because I don't care about it... I don't care if Batista win's the title and I equally don't care if Orton were to retain it. This is the only problem with the match, not that Bryan isn't in it...

The WWE do what they do to make money. To make money they need to get a reaction out of the fans, and to get a reaction out of the fans they need to tell a compelling story that people are interested in. Last night at the Royal Rumble they got a reaction. Wrestling isn't necessarily about getting a positive reaction and I think some people have lost sight of that. I guarantee just as many people will tune into RAW tonight with Batista winning the Rumble as they would have if Bryan had of entered at number 30 and won the Rumble. However this is where the WWE run into a problem, if they continue with Batista vs. Orton as their Main Event for Wrestlemania does that sell the PPV? Do people keep tuning in when they know there is no chance of anything else happening? The answer is no, no they dont.

So the WWE have a choice to make, do they go ahead with Orton vs. Batista in the way they were planning with Orton as the big bad heel and Batista as the returning face and risk not only the live crowd taking a massive dump on the match but people actually not buying the show on the hope that the fact it's Wrestlemania and people will buy it anyway? Or do they throw some kind of curveball, do they turn Batista, do they have him lose his Shot to someone else, do they let him have his shot at Elimination Chamber? That's the decision they have to make and I honestly think they will go with the first option and hope it doesn't affect the buyrates.

 

[Wald]

There's no big plan to put Bryan over at Wrestlemania, if there were than the perfect storyline was Bryan coming in at number 30, winning the Rumble and going on to headline the event.

We're getting Orton vs Batista, the crowd will eat them alive and I won't be buying the show. The only real way to hit Vince hard is to stop giving him your money, if you're truly annoyed with what the company are doing just don't buy the shows, don't buy the merch and if profits fall his stockholders will take him to task for being the cause of it

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The important things to recognise here is that Vince and Trips didn't realised there was damage until the moment they had to call the audible and "turn up the music, turn down the crowd". In their eyes they had created 2 new stars that night in Reigns and Wyatt, debuted Rusev and had 2 big returns ending successfully for them with Brock looking great and in their eyes Batista doing what they wanted... At worst you could say the Rumble was disappointing as only really Diesel showed up... there was no Sting, Jericho or other real "shockers" this year... but as a match it was ok.

Then the boos...

When they had to adjust the sound mix, you could tell there was some panic there not a "how did we get this wrong?" kind of panic but a "Christ this is going to bury Batista" panic.

The issue they have is that for 6 months now they have charted their own course at the expense of what the fans "want". Bryan got screwed, then the authority stuff, then the Wyatts and Orton being in the main event... They have had no finishes to PPV's requiring refunds and people the fans want to see prominent like Punk and Ziggler relegated to the undercard. This is starting to seem like the end of WCW, where what Russo wanted as opposed to what Hogan wanted became the issue rather than what truly was "best for business". At some point they have to start to give the fans what they want, or they will stop tuning in... Madden made a great point, if you want Bryan then only watch his segments.

The interesting thing that makes me think this is more work than shoot is Foley... is Mick really going to risk not being on the biggest show ever for his "cheap pop" to speak out as he did about his "disgust"? No but it adds fuel to the "Yes Movement", other legends are speaking out like Duggan, who is gonna be a major part of the network in Legends House... these aren't guys burning bridges, they're playing a part in this... you could realistically end up with two factions made of of legends, current roster and even authority going into WM30.

The reasons for this are buried in the "news" items that WZ endlessly puts out...

Remember how they were going for a record attempt of masks? Well guess now Sin Cara "owns" his that won't be happening, so their next thing was the YES chant... the way to guarantee that is for Bryan to be SO screwed over that when he gets it at Mania that chant literally raises the roof and every person in attendance is chanting...

But there is damage here... Batista has a right to be more than a bit pissed off, this isn't his fault but it's going to be his problem. He could very easily find himself quickly relegated out of the Mania main event.

 

[Trivia247]

Had Batista not reacted to the Audience, he could have seen as an Innocent victim to the Crowd's Ire of the WWE's Direction as of late. The Crowd showed no mercy to Randy Orton vs John Cena earlier. Perhaps its just Batista wasn't really prepared how rabid the crowd has been getting lately?

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Let Bryan win the belt at the Elimination Chamber. Then you have Batista vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Orton for the belt at Wrestlemania.

I understand where the anger is coming from but people need to calm down. Until we see what the main event is at Wrestlemania, we can't say Bryan was "screwed" or whatever. Like I said, with the what transpired last night, there's a good chance Bryan wins the belt(s) at the Elimination chamber.

 

[Trivia247]

problem is Unless you make it a three way The person getting the Elimination Chamber match vs the Champion will be Brock Lesnar...

 

[LoudClearVoice]

problem is Unless you make it a three way The person getting the Elimination Chamber match vs the Champion will be Brock Lesnar...

Are they not doing an actual chamber match for the title? I thought they were.

 

[wwe fan2009]

If Vince doesn't put Bryan in WM 30 main event then he is just stupid, did he not see last night. people want Bryan in main event not Batisita, crowd has been dead with him since his return. Bryan is the most over, but since hes not big like Batista Vince doesn't care. remember vince its fans who make the wwe happen and they want Bryan if they don't get what they want they will stop supporting.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

If Vince doesn't put Bryan in WM 30 main event then he is just stupid, did he not see last night. people want Bryan in main event not Batisita, crowd has been dead with him since his return. Bryan is the most over, but since hes not big like Batista Vince doesn't care. remember vince its fans who make the wwe happen and they want Bryan if they don't get what they want they will stop supporting.

Vince McMahon has made BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars from WWE. He's done that by doing what's not always the most popular among the fan base but that makes the most money. With that said, it is hard to deny Bryan's popularity. Here's the thing though: For Wrestlemania, to make the most money, Vince needs star power in the main event. Bryan has star power among WWE fans but amongst casual fans and mainstream audiences, no one knows who he is. SO, Bryan being in the main even isn't going to attract fans that otherwise wouldn't normally watch wrestling or Wrestlemania whereas Orton and Batista and guys like Lesnar, Cena, Undertaker all attract mainstream audiences which equals more PPV buys. That's all Vince cares about.

I like Bryan and I could very well be wrong and they could give him the belt at EC BUT if they don't, I can understand WWE's perspective from the business aspect. It sucks. It's unfair to DB but it's the nature of the business. Vince didn't become a billionaire by listening to what the fans want.

 

[Jonny B]

The issue they have is that for 6 months now they have charted their own course at the expense of what the fans "want". Bryan got screwed, then the authority stuff, then the Wyatts and Orton being in the main event... They have had no finishes to PPV's requiring refunds and people the fans want to see prominent like Punk and Ziggler relegated to the undercard. This is starting to seem like the end of WCW, where what Russo wanted as opposed to what Hogan wanted became the issue rather than what truly was "best for business". At some point they have to start to give the fans what they want, or they will stop tuning in... Madden made a great point, if you want Bryan then only watch his segments.

I think comparing Bryan not winning the Royal Rumble to the "end of WCW" is a bit silly. When the WWE did the deal with Batista they thought they would be giving the Fans what they wanted. The idea was that Randy Orton had somehow managed to keep his title until Wrestlemania, all the fans wanted the title off of him so they give us Batista someone who has Main Evented Wrestlemania before, someone who has drawn before and someone that the fans could get behind to win the title from Orton... but that's not what they got... not really. The WWE didn't account for Bryan's popularity not only continuing but growing as much as it has.

When you look at the situation on paper 6 months ago, Batista was probably the best option. How on earth could the WWE trust someone that hasn't proven to be a draw to Main Event the biggest show of the year, and one of the bigger Wrestlemania's at that being WM30.

I don't understand why people think that WWE intentionally do things that the fan's hate. Why on earth would Vince, HHH and the rest of the creative team sit there and go "Hey I know what will really piss everyone off..." they just wouldn't. The only thing the WWE has done wrong is underestimating how much of a connection Bryan has with the fans.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I hope WWE really has something up their sleeve because if they think they can book Orton vs.Batista and have it be well received, they're delusional. And I'm not going to place any of the blame on the champion, because it doesn't matter who the champion is. Orton, Lesnar, Cena, Punk, ANYONE... if Batista is involved, and Bryan isn't... it'll be mayhem.

All you have to do is throw Bryan with them, and all your problems will be solved. However if they don't, and Bryan ends up with Sheamus... oh my. I don't even want to picture it.

 

[wwe fan2009]

yeah the causal fan may not know who Bryan is, but its not like they know who Batista is either.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

That this is now actually trending on major media such as the BBC here in the UK shows this is now work territory and what they wanted... When was the last time a wrestler NOT being in a match made the BBC news?

Hell Bryan could win the belt tonight...

As for the end of WCW comparison, it's not "rome burning while Vince fiddles" yet, but there was a definite shift - the fans wanted guys like Booker T, Benoit to be the focus, the management wanted Hogan, Goldberg et al as they had the big contracts and Russo when he took over wanted younger/newer talent over like Jarrett and the New Blood... we haven't really had a situation like this in WWE before, where the fans are quickly becoming so anti what is being presented to them. It's not so much damage control, now - perhaps striking while the Iron is hot... if Bryan won tonight, imagine the rating...

 

[LoudClearVoice]

The more I think about this, the more I think WWE is actually pretty smart if they're doing this on purpose. They KNOW how over DB is, how could they not? So, they know that no matter what happened last night, EVERYONE was going to cheer for DB and he'd be the talk of the Rumble. The crowd was on fire for Bryan last night. Hell, Undertaker could have returned and they probably would have booed him.

WWE got what they wanted: EVERYONE is talking about Daniel Bryan AND Batista is going to Wrestlemania. IF DB had won the Rumble, no one would be talking about Batista. He'd be lost in the mix of an otherwise bad Rumble. Maybe, just maybe, WWE is trying to get DB as much mainstream media attention as they can by having him not even be in the Rumble and having him trending on Twitter and all over news outlets with this "controversy"


One thing I just thought of is Money in the Bank? Are they doing a MITB ladder match at WM? If so, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that DB could win MITB and then cash in on the winner of Batista-Orton.

 

[steven87gill]

The only way I can see this working out now is troublesome. Bryan needs to WIN the title at Wrestlemania, not walk in with it and defend it (An EC win is the main option at this point).

This is just hopefulness, and im not even a huge DB fan but I recognise what needs to happen and Batista would never be happy with it. But the only why I could see them recovering from this is to now, and quickly, play up big heat between Orton and Batista. Have Batista come out on Raw and talk up his win and call out Orton for 'Mania, before Orton gives it to him about getting beaten down by a rookie and barely holding it togethor yada yada back and forth to the point where Batista uses his Rumble win at EC and wins, at the same time DB wins the chamber to become number 1 contender. Boom we have Batista walking in with the title and DB chasing for the huge win at WM. Orton can take Sheamus or something.

Only way I can see them recovering now. Could put DB against Taker that automatically denies the win he needs.

Yeah, I agree with DB actually winning the belt at WM, rather than going in as champ, doesn't fit with the 'underdog, held down my the machine' story they're trying to tell.

My way out? Chamber match at EC for Batista's title shot at WM, Batista v Cena v Punk v Bryan v Reigns v Lesnar.

You can have Lesnar v Orton earlier in the night, (heel v heel shouldn't close the show anyway) Orton retains & Brock pulls double duty.

Not thrilled with Cena v Wyatt at Wrestle-Mania (much rather have Taker v Cena) but it at least signifies that WM29 really was Super Thugs peak as a baby face & he's no longer going to be the focus of the show from now on.

 

[Kidpolean]

yeah the causal fan may not know who Bryan is, but its not like they know who Batista is either.

Batista is more known than Bryan. There's people that saw his movie and him in mma but DB has literally done nothing. I'm not defending Batista but it is obvious that he is more known than DB.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Yeah, I agree with DB actually winning the belt at WM, rather than going in as champ, doesn't fit with the 'underdog, held down my the machine' story they're trying to tell.

My way out? Chamber match at EC for Batista's title shot at WM, Batista v Cena v Punk v Bryan v Reigns v Lesnar.

You can have Lesnar v Orton earlier in the night, (heel v heel shouldn't close the show anyway) Orton retains & Brock pulls double duty.

Not thrilled with Cena v Wyatt at Wrestle-Mania (much rather have Taker v Cena) but it at least signifies that WM29 really was Super Thugs peak as a baby face & he's no longer going to be the focus of the show from now on.

There's another way out that I thought of but I don't think WWE nor Orton would agree to this: Prior to the Elimination Chamber you have someone (Lesnar, Shield, etc) beat up Orton to the point where he's "injured" and cannot compete for "a few months." This means the WWE World Championship is vacated. Then you have the Elimination Chamber match be for the WWE World championship. They can either have Batista win the belt in the Chamber and then go on to defend against Bryan at WM OR they could have someone else win the title and have it be Batista vs. champion vs. Daniel Bryan at WM.

Either way, they can have DB win the belt at WM.

This is assuming that they're already not planning on having Orton defend the title in the chamber. If they are, then they can simply have him drop the title in the chamber rather than being "injured" as I suggested above.

 

[rbv13]

There are a lot of planned and unplanned variables that have gotten us to this current situation. The E in signing Batista made a lot of promises they believed would be smart business moves. They have spent the past six months crafting this underdog Bryan character. I am sure what they had envisioned would have turned out pretty nicely in a perfect world. What did they did not plan for was a major portion of the fan base revolting. Either way they have to be happy to be receiving this type of response. The fan base hasn’t been this passionate about the business in many many years.

 

[L@RISANO]

Was this Rumble win and Main Eventing Wrestlemania a part of Batista's contract?? Because that is the only reason he could possibly be in such a position within a week of his return.

Now let us compare it to when Batista Won the Royal Rumble in 2005:
There was John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista as the Fresh new guys in the company who were being positioned to be the Main Stars at the time. The Royal Rumble 2005 ended originally with Cena and Batista going over the top rope and landing on the ground at the same time. Vince came out and restarted the match, Batista won it.
Now, at that time, John Cena was already over with the crowd in a Big way, as evidenced when he moved to RAW not long after. Randy Orton had already defected from Evolution and had become the World Champion already. Those two were already to the level they were being pushed towards. Batista however, was in the process of defection from Evolution and he more than the other two needed the Rumble win to cement his push to the top and also to further the storyline into the type of climax required.

With all the above being said; Besides a possible contractual obligation, what does having Batista win this 2014 Royal Rumble really achieve?

In terms of Damage Control;
The WWE can have Daniel Bryan in any of the following programmes to appease the fans for Wrestlemania:

1) Have Batista go after Orton from tonight on RAW.
Have Daniel Bryan come out and follow up on the subject of his tweet, and blame the "Machine" for not letting him get a chance at the Main Event. Have the Authority give Bryan his chance at Elimination Chamber(either a 1-on-1 or as 1 of 6 in the Chamber match alongwith Orton).
If people can wait till WM for Bryan's moment as Champion, then they could have him screwed at the last by Batista perhaps at Elimination Chamber. If there is no patience, then have him win at Elimination Chamber and go to WM as the new champion.
This sets up a Triple Threat for Wrestlemania with Daniel Bryan finally winning cleanly over Orton by making him tap-out to the YES! Lock.
Post-Mania, let him have a program with Batista over the WWE WHC title.
Of course, there is also the matter of Brock Lesnar, but they can have the Undertaker come in and start the rumoured program with him at some point, probably Elimination Chamber to take him out of the Main Event picture.


2) If they do not want Daniel Bryan in the Main Event on the Road to Wrestlemania:
They could go ahead with the rumoured Streak programme for Daniel Bryan. Whether he would be booked to win or lose is another matter altogether if this match does happen.
However, it could mean that one of the Main Superstars available at present will be left with an underwhelming programme for Wrestlemania.


3) If the WWE goes ahead with Batista vs Orton and the Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar as is rumoured.
Then in such a case, the programme I am hoping for, is to have Daniel Bryan align himself with CM Punk against the Authority once again, like it was before their paths were seperated by the Two Main Factions(the Wyatts and the Shield). With the NAO returning and with Daniel Bryan's known problems with HHH and HBK never resolved, a DX Reunion would be good in such a programme, and the fans would love it, I believe. Some sort of programme which ends with CM Punk vs HHH and Daniel Bryan vs HBK might be a good way to appease the obviously angry fans of the WWE.


Nevertheless, the above being said; So far the dirt sheets have been correct. So, a Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus rematch no.3 at Wrestlemania is what we have to look forward to.

 

[cherrickb]

That is true, I spose thats the most plausible way of it happening. I just feel like the 'hugeness' of the win is denied with three people, having someone else doing damage. I just like the idea of Bryan overcoming the Authorities big dog guarding the top, as opposed to two people where WWE has a habit of creating a cheap ending.

I don't think the hugeness is taken away, especially if Tista and Orton are big time heals, which after last night, Tista is going to be.

2) If they do not want Daniel Bryan in the Main Event on the Road to Wrestlemania:
They could go ahead with the rumoured Streak programme for Daniel Bryan. Whether he would be booked to win or lose is another matter altogether if this match does happen.
However, it could mean that one of the Main Superstars available at present will be left with an underwhelming programme for Wrestlemania.

I don't think they'll do Lesnar, and that is only because he doesn't want to do all the training with Taker for a match against him, where imo DB would since there is no one that works their tail off harder than him, cept maybe CM Punk.

 

[maloney414]

I like the idea of Money in the Bank at WrestleMania and DB cashes in at the end of the show.

 

[Rocky84]

ARE YOU SMOKING CRACK??? Daniel Bryan Ends the Streak?!?!?! That's like a little Hobbit simply Walking into Mordor and tossing the ring of power down the molten shitter to destroy all darkness in the land. What kind of story are you telling here?

Lmfao! Awesome analogy. I just think it's management is not willing to give him the title or even put him in a title match for some weird reason (maybe because they take it away immediately every time he wins it). That's why I figured beating the streak was the only way to appease the fans who are outraged...I personally wouldn't have created this debacle, but it's the only way I can see them getting out of it if they're too stubborn to put him in the title picture.