Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
After dropping the tag team titles with Kane last Sunday to Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules, it's looking as though WWE has begun the journey of turning Daniel Bryan heel. It began with Bryan's frustrations this past Monday on Raw in which, it looks as though, old wounds from the early days of Team Hell No have reopened. During the early arguments between Kane & Bryan, including the "I am the tag team champions" taunt they'd do to one another, the topic of who the "weak link" is has resurfaced. Or, rather, the story looks to be that it's resurfaced in Bryan's mind, at least, as he was the one pinned at Extreme Rules.
The next night on Raw, as part of a six man tag against The Shield, Kane winds up being pinned. On SmackDown! later in the week, Kane, again, tries to console Bryan that he isn't a "weak link" by reminding him that he, Kane, was pinned this past Monday. Rather than accept it, Bryan twisted Kane's words into an insinuation that Bryan was the "weak link" because he was unable to prevent Kane from being pinned. Later that night, Bryan wrestles a great match against Jack Swagger in which, surprisingly, Bryan scored a decisive submission victory over Swagger. It surprised me as I figured WWE would have Bryan lose as a means of continuing to plant doubts in Bryan's mind. After the match, Bryan puts the No Lock on Swagger again as the referee & Kane eventually pull him off. Bryan walks off doing his gesture while the fans chant, all while saying the he isn't the "weak link".
It's still extremely early in this angle right now, so WWE could change things quickly & easily. Over the months, we've all had various ideas or scenarios as to how Team Hell No would break up, which character would go in which direction, when it would happen, etc. Thus far, and as I said it's still very early, I really like how WWE seems to be handling it. Bryan has sort of been painted as being somewhat "emotionally unstable" during the course of his tag title run with Kane and they seem to be using that instability to drive a wedge between them. It's not uncommon for companies to make one of the team members seem "weaker" by having him lose often. It looks as though WWE isn't going that route with Bryan and I'm glad. Over the past year & a half or so, Bryan has been one of the most consistently over stars on the roster. He's demonstrated that he has the ability to be a genuine long term star for WWE and I wouldn't see the value in burying him during the course of his break up with Kane.
All that being said, would you prefer Bryan to go into a singles babyface or heel run? Also, what would you like to see done with him after Team Hell No have burned out?
Personally, I think that Bryan can work as a heel or face pretty evenly well. I think the most important factor going forward, whether he's a face or a heel, is that WWE keeps this more aggressive aspect of Bryan at the forefront. Bryan's provided fans with some genuinely funny moments during his time with Kane, thanks in part to the unique chemistry that I don't think very many expected them to have. Bryan hasn't been portrayed as some sort of bumbling clown or comedy relief, but I do think that a generally more serious character from him is the way to go at this point. We've seen some of that over the course of this past week, as well as off & on at various times during his time with Kane, and it's gotten a helluva response from the crowds. I think WWE will have Bryan as a tweener rather than a straight up heel or face. His aggressive assault on Swagger signals heel, but Bryan's interaction with the live crowd certainly has babyface aspects.
As for where he should go after Team Hell No breaks up, I wouldn't mind seeing Bryan built up into a really formidable singles competitor over the next few months. He's been working as part of a team for the better part of a year, so I think putting him in matches against some top singles guys is the way to go. Once sufficiently built, I'd like to see Bryan go after Dolph Ziggler & the World Heavyweight Championship. Possibly having him win Money in the Bank again could be a simple & effective way for WWE to lay down the ground work for a program between them. I wouldn't mind if he went after the IC title as well but, based on what we saw this past Friday, I think it's going to be primarily Barrett, Miz & Fandango making of the IC title picture. As Fandango is said to be enjoyed by Vince a lot, I don't think it'll be long before Fandango is the next IC champ. He could go after Dean Ambrose & the US title but, again, Ambrose is really over right now and I look for Ambrose to hold onto the US title for, quite possibly, at least the rest of the year. As a result, I think it could give the feel as though Bryan was just spinning his heels and Ambrose is already pretty damn over at it is. Putting him in the WWE Championship picture is something I just don't see happening. Maybe next year at some point, but I have a feeling that WWE is either going to keep Cena as champ for most of, if not all, of 2013 or they'll put the title on Ryback and he'll be given a long heel run with the title. Putting Bryan against Ziggler, eventually, is a program in which, at least to me, doesn't make Bryan look as though he's spinning his wheels or being used as cannon fodder for Cena & Ryback at this point.
The next night on Raw, as part of a six man tag against The Shield, Kane winds up being pinned. On SmackDown! later in the week, Kane, again, tries to console Bryan that he isn't a "weak link" by reminding him that he, Kane, was pinned this past Monday. Rather than accept it, Bryan twisted Kane's words into an insinuation that Bryan was the "weak link" because he was unable to prevent Kane from being pinned. Later that night, Bryan wrestles a great match against Jack Swagger in which, surprisingly, Bryan scored a decisive submission victory over Swagger. It surprised me as I figured WWE would have Bryan lose as a means of continuing to plant doubts in Bryan's mind. After the match, Bryan puts the No Lock on Swagger again as the referee & Kane eventually pull him off. Bryan walks off doing his gesture while the fans chant, all while saying the he isn't the "weak link".
It's still extremely early in this angle right now, so WWE could change things quickly & easily. Over the months, we've all had various ideas or scenarios as to how Team Hell No would break up, which character would go in which direction, when it would happen, etc. Thus far, and as I said it's still very early, I really like how WWE seems to be handling it. Bryan has sort of been painted as being somewhat "emotionally unstable" during the course of his tag title run with Kane and they seem to be using that instability to drive a wedge between them. It's not uncommon for companies to make one of the team members seem "weaker" by having him lose often. It looks as though WWE isn't going that route with Bryan and I'm glad. Over the past year & a half or so, Bryan has been one of the most consistently over stars on the roster. He's demonstrated that he has the ability to be a genuine long term star for WWE and I wouldn't see the value in burying him during the course of his break up with Kane.
All that being said, would you prefer Bryan to go into a singles babyface or heel run? Also, what would you like to see done with him after Team Hell No have burned out?
Personally, I think that Bryan can work as a heel or face pretty evenly well. I think the most important factor going forward, whether he's a face or a heel, is that WWE keeps this more aggressive aspect of Bryan at the forefront. Bryan's provided fans with some genuinely funny moments during his time with Kane, thanks in part to the unique chemistry that I don't think very many expected them to have. Bryan hasn't been portrayed as some sort of bumbling clown or comedy relief, but I do think that a generally more serious character from him is the way to go at this point. We've seen some of that over the course of this past week, as well as off & on at various times during his time with Kane, and it's gotten a helluva response from the crowds. I think WWE will have Bryan as a tweener rather than a straight up heel or face. His aggressive assault on Swagger signals heel, but Bryan's interaction with the live crowd certainly has babyface aspects.
As for where he should go after Team Hell No breaks up, I wouldn't mind seeing Bryan built up into a really formidable singles competitor over the next few months. He's been working as part of a team for the better part of a year, so I think putting him in matches against some top singles guys is the way to go. Once sufficiently built, I'd like to see Bryan go after Dolph Ziggler & the World Heavyweight Championship. Possibly having him win Money in the Bank again could be a simple & effective way for WWE to lay down the ground work for a program between them. I wouldn't mind if he went after the IC title as well but, based on what we saw this past Friday, I think it's going to be primarily Barrett, Miz & Fandango making of the IC title picture. As Fandango is said to be enjoyed by Vince a lot, I don't think it'll be long before Fandango is the next IC champ. He could go after Dean Ambrose & the US title but, again, Ambrose is really over right now and I look for Ambrose to hold onto the US title for, quite possibly, at least the rest of the year. As a result, I think it could give the feel as though Bryan was just spinning his heels and Ambrose is already pretty damn over at it is. Putting him in the WWE Championship picture is something I just don't see happening. Maybe next year at some point, but I have a feeling that WWE is either going to keep Cena as champ for most of, if not all, of 2013 or they'll put the title on Ryback and he'll be given a long heel run with the title. Putting Bryan against Ziggler, eventually, is a program in which, at least to me, doesn't make Bryan look as though he's spinning his wheels or being used as cannon fodder for Cena & Ryback at this point.
