Daniel Bryan as a babyface

[CM Steel]

Ever since the WWE TV debut of "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan on NXT season 1. We've seen many sides of Daniel Bryan's character.

-NXT: Babyface of the season

-Birth of the Nexus: A Heel for that one night before getting released by the WWE for a short while.

-Summerslam 2010: A returning Face back to the company

-TLC 2011: Shades of a heel cashing in "Money in the Bank" on another face


But whenever DB turns into a face or a babyface in the future with the "YES!" chant being wayyyyyy over with the WWE universe all over the world. Could we see Daniel Bryan evolve into the backbone of the WWE as a strong face?

Daniel Bryan coming down to the ring for a big match with the crowd strongly on his side chanting "YES! YES!! YES!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!!" as if he was a hero of some sort. Remember when Kurt Angle turned babyface for a good while in 2001. People didn't think it would work or get over. But it worked!

So could the same thing happen with DB in the future? Some would say, "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!"!

 

[asiatic7]

I think if Daniel Bryan were to turn face in the future (I hope it's distant, because I love his character!) He would be a solid face but probably not the backbone of the company. He had the hardcore indy fans respect since he showed up on NXT. Remember how big a joke it was that MIZ was his mentor? He will always have that core audience and plus, I think he's picked up a few new fans along the way...a lot of new fans! I think his fanbase would embrace a face turn in the future.

In my opinion, todays "face" needs a little edge to him, a little attitude. I like John Cena and Kofi Kingston, but sometimes they seem a little hokey at times.

Daniel was a little lame when he was a face and came off kind of nerdy. ROH fans remember heel Daniel Bryan. He always had a little personality but this version of Daniel Bryan is awesome! He already appeals to the fans now. Even though he's not considered a face, he gets a good pop and "YES! YES! YES!" chants everywhere, so a "good guy" Bryan would probably be a good thing.

It would be a positive thing if WWE played up the fact that he's a vegan (like myself), and tried to endorse a clean healthy lifestyle, but they won't. They'll cater to the hotdog and beer American Joe and make it seem like their is something wrong with people who don't eat meat and dairy products. Remember how they made "Staight Edge" seem like it was a sin.

I think WWE could probably open a new demographic if they use Daniel Bryan as a figure head to promote clean eating. But, I'll cheer him as as heel or face regardless...

 

[LashXIX]

A few years ago I would say there was no way he could be the top face for the company. At that time he was relying solely on in-ring work and barely had any personality shine through. I'm not saying that was his fault either, if you watch any of his past work in ROH when he was playing a heel, he was full of personality. Over the past year or so he has developed a great character, whether face or heel and that coupled with his amazing in ring work is what has made him the star he is today. Lets not discount the "lucking" into of the YES YES YES.

He can be the top face for the WWE and probably will be by Royal Rumble or WM nxt year.

XIX

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Daniel Bryan could easily be turned on a moments notice if he needed to make that full transition. Vince knows it, the writing staff knows it, and you all know. Then again, he's such a good heel that it would leave a major void they'd have to spend a considerable amount of time trying to fill. Daniel reminds me of several people in the WWE who can flip like a switch and easily be a top brand carrying face/heel. Among those talents are Randy Orton, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Big Show, and (even though "it" won't happen that way when "it" does) John Cena. That's some REALLY good company to be among in WWE with ANYTHING. Daniel Bryan has officially made himself in-disposable to the WWE.

The next time we see Daniel Bryan as a face, he's going to be a BIG TIME face. Those "Yes!" chants he has going for him as a heel are going to explode when Vince tells the audience to cheer for him. He's going to win a championship at Wrestlemania one day, and those are going to be the loudest "Yes!" chants we're ever going to hear. He's also my super early favorite to win the Rumble this year. However, he'll do it as a heel. He's too good as a heel right now for WWE to turn him back.

 

[xavyer]

I think that if Daniel Bryan turns face, he can be another Bret Hart like face, a fighting champion, he has the talent to be whatever he wants to be, he can get the crowd's attention, he has become a must see superstar, Raw or Smackdown is not a good or decent show if Danyel Bryan is not in it, that's how good he is.......

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's possible. Daniel Bryan's stock only seems to be going up with each month. Daniel Bryan has momentum on his side right now. He's very over with WWE fans right now and the WWE brass is no doubt pleased that Bryan has taken the opportunity given to him and run with it. Bryan has been consistently entertaining with his current character and has been very comfortable. He has the fans ultimately caring about what he's doing and it's extremely unlikely that fans will abandon him if he continues to be entertaining. Daniel Bryan is among the top in-ring wrestlers in the world today, fans have known that for a long while, but Bryan has excelled in being a dislikable douche bag heel that it's either fun to cheer for or against.

I don't see Bryan going face anytime soon, I'd say there's a reasonable chance it'll happen next year, because he's working too well right now. I think the passion & emotional intensity Bryan puts into his promos has won over a lot of fans. He doesn't do tons of catchphrases, he doesn't try to be cute or particularly flamboyant and uses simple tactics like reverse psychology to get over. For instance, when he told the crowd to stop chanting "YES!" because only he was allowed to do so, 13,000 people started chanting it at the top of their lungs. It's simple, it's basic and it works because Bryan's good at what he's doing.

Could he be the backbone of WWE? I'd have to see how he'd do in a babyface role now that he's one of the most over stars on the roster. If he can bring the same level of intensity to his promos and continue to do his stellar work inside the ring, then it's a possibility. If he can do that, I see no reason why Bryan couldn't be among, at least, the top guys in the company for the next decade.

 

[Swarles Barkley]

It would be a positive thing if WWE played up the fact that he's a vegan (like myself), and tried to endorse a clean healthy lifestyle, but they won't. They'll cater to the hotdog and beer American Joe and make it seem like their is something wrong with people who don't eat meat and dairy products. Remember how they made "Staight Edge" seem like it was a sin.

I think WWE could probably open a new demographic if they use Daniel Bryan as a figure head to promote clean eating. But, I'll cheer him as as heel or face regardless...

For starters, being a vegan doesn't mean you live a "clean healthy lifestyle." A balanced diet with regular exercise, whether you are a vegan or not, is what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. So let's get that out of the way right now.

Secondly, they didn't make "Straight Edge" seem like a sin; Punk was a heel because he was preachy. He was a face from his debut and didn't hide that he was straight edge, and it wasn't until he started acting like a heel and getting preachy about his lifestyle that he was made a heel. It wasn't that he was straight edge, it was that he said being straight edge made him better than you. Kinda like how you just implied that being a vegan meant you were better than people who aren't. It makes you come off as an asshole. The problem isn't what you are, it is saying that people are beneath you if they don't prescribe to your lifestyle. See the difference now?

As for Bryan, he could easily transition into being a face and I actually see where he is now to be very similar to where Triple H was in the summer and fall of 2000. Triple H was in this little bit of a tweener role where he was feuding with heels (Angle at Unforgiven; Benoit at No Mercy) and it looked like he was about to go face... and then they swerved us by having him stay heel and feud with Austin. It sorta looked like they are doing that with Bryan after he proposed to AJ. It still reeked of heel-ness, but it was a chance to turn him face if they wanted to. But they didn't, they swerved us (though not as drastically as they did with Triple H) and kept him heel, at least for the time being.

Now, his ex set up as the GM, he's going to be put in a lot of no-win situations, Monday's Raw, for example, and that could lead to some crowd sympathy (people like to cheer for the underdog, after all) which could lead to a face turn. They've done a great job (and by "they" I mostly mean Bryan) keeping his character a heel, but the fans do like, or at least respect, him as a performer. I don't know how long they can keep him that way, but regardless of what happens with Bryan, he has established himself as a viable commodity for the WWE and, whether a heel or a face, he is going to be around for a very long time.

 

[asiatic7]

For starters, being a vegan doesn't mean you live a "clean healthy lifestyle." A balanced diet with regular exercise, whether you are a vegan or not, is what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. So let's get that out of the way right now.

Secondly, they didn't make "Straight Edge" seem like a sin; Punk was a heel because he was preachy. He was a face from his debut and didn't hide that he was straight edge, and it wasn't until he started acting like a heel and getting preachy about his lifestyle that he was made a heel. It wasn't that he was straight edge, it was that he said being straight edge made him better than you. Kinda like how you just implied that being a vegan meant you were better than people who aren't. It makes you come off as an asshole. The problem isn't what you are, it is saying that people are beneath you if they don't prescribe to your lifestyle. See the difference now?

As for Bryan, he could easily transition into being a face and I actually see where he is now to be very similar to where Triple H was in the summer and fall of 2000. Triple H was in this little bit of a tweener role where he was feuding with heels (Angle at Unforgiven; Benoit at No Mercy) and it looked like he was about to go face... and then they swerved us by having him stay heel and feud with Austin. It sorta looked like they are doing that with Bryan after he proposed to AJ. It still reeked of heel-ness, but it was a chance to turn him face if they wanted to. But they didn't, they swerved us (though not as drastically as they did with Triple H) and kept him heel, at least for the time being.

Now, his ex set up as the GM, he's going to be put in a lot of no-win situations, Monday's Raw, for example, and that could lead to some crowd sympathy (people like to cheer for the underdog, after all) which could lead to a face turn. They've done a great job (and by "they" I mostly mean Bryan) keeping his character a heel, but the fans do like, or at least respect, him as a performer. I don't know how long they can keep him that way, but regardless of what happens with Bryan, he has established himself as a viable commodity for the WWE and, whether a heel or a face, he is going to be around for a very long time.

Did I offend you in some kind of way? By my standards, being a vegan IS a clean healthy lifestyle. I'm not knocking anyone who isn't. I'm not judging anyone so save your sensitive sarcastic emotions to yourself!

When CM Punk was The Straight Egde Savior, his whole gimmick was based around being better than everyone else because he didn't smoke or drink. That is reverse phsycolgy on the fans. The majority of fans, people smoke and or drink so they automatically look at CM punk as someone who thinks he is better than them, like you assumed about me for eating "clean", It's a phrase we use. Sorry to offend you. But isn't staying away from tobacco and alcohol something we teach our kids?
If anything, Straight Edge is what we teach them to be, but WWE spun it into a "Holier than thou" mentality.

About Daniel Bryan being a vegan face, He can teach people to start to try to live a healthy lifestyle. That won't happen because as Vince McMahon put it, "Who's gonna belive in somebody who doesn't eat meat? Ugh!"

It would be nice to see WWE actually promote positive people from all walks of life whether its Straight Edge, vegans or whatever... instead of teaching it' fans that these people are strange because of their beliefs.

 

[Heel Ziggler]

I think he would make a decent face, but he wouldn't be the backbone of the company. I think that he would be around the upper-midcard as a face, as his character wouldn't be as aggresive. He might go into a feud with a heel Kane or maybe Alberto Del Rio if he turned face. I think he should stay heel though

 

[IT Factor]

Bryan is much better and more interesting as a heel. They[WWE creative] booked him weakly as a face and he didn't become champion until after the heel turn. If they turned him face again, he'd be back jobbing on superstars again. He's perfect now as he is. His whole interaction with fans is worth keeping him heel for alone.

 

[hbkfan26]

I find Daniel Bryan to be quite dull as a face which makes it difficult to turn him into an interesting character. I prefer him as a heel and I'm liking this sort of 'mentally unstable' sort of gimmick that's going on at the moment. With the 'YES, YES, YES' of the crowd and the 'NO, NO, NO' of Bryan.

 

[Irig]

Now that Punk is slowly turning to heel i can see it happen in sometime. But on seeing his match with Cena the other day IMO he can turn only after he feuds with Cena if they plan on it. Hope they start off the feud after SS.

 

[Jake Khaotic]

NO! NO! NO! NO! Don't you remember how boring he was as a face? It may be different this time around, but, I wouldn't take any chances. He's got something good going for him as the weaselly prick, with a dash of crazy, who can back himself up in the ring. D-Bry is one of those guys who can really only work well as a heel. He didn't really seem to matter as a face, except for his matches were some of the most exemplary of 2010 and 2011. Remember Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler at Bragging Rights '10? A true work of art, besides the fact that there really was no story to tell, because Daniel was flat on the mic. The match made up for that, but, you can't rely on in-ring ability all the time. Keep him heel so I can chant YES every time he has the upper hand.

 

[Brothervis]

He already is a face but Cena didn't want another person(Punk) more popular than him so now they have Bryan interacting with the crowd like Angle did with the "you suck" chants

 

[TempestH]

Daniel Bryan would make a great babyface.

However, it would be a HUGE mistake to turn him face just because fans are chanting YES!

Cena is a face that gets booed, why can't Bryan be a heel that gets cheered?

 

[Brothervis]

Daniel Bryan would make a great babyface.

Cena is a face that gets booed, why can't Bryan be a heel that gets cheered?

That is why the Attitude Era will always be better. People talking about shades of grey during that time well what does it say when Cena a babyface gets booed and a heel Daniel Bryan gets more cheers.Since WWE logic is dumb i say that Cena is a heel Bryan is a face. Kane just turned face while big show turned heel. Cm Punk turned face after kissing ass since 7/25/11 and lowered himself with a hack like AJ