Daniel Bryan: Should've taken the raw offer

[The Con Volt]

So now that the first episode of WWE NXT is behind us, I have to say, this show AWESOME. And by AWESOME, I mean that this show is going to revolve around Miz and Daniel Bryan. I'm sure I'm not the only person that woke up their neighbors screaming after Bryan's announcer table bump tonight. That looked fucking vicious. And the question this raises in my mind: is Daniel Bryan now getting a trial by fire for turning down the offer to debut on RAW? I think this is entirely possible due to past experiences. One in particular is when Elijah Burke was first considered to come up to the main roster, it was meant to be in the form of him basically being the tokin' black guy of the spirit squad, to put it bluntly. And Burke actually refused. So instead he came up to the roster about half a year later, and I think it's safe to say, his career suffered as a result.

So tonight, Daniel Bryan got the most face time out of any of the guys, pro or rookie. But it definitely came a very real physical price. He started having a bruise from that bump immediately, and on top of that, you have douchebag "vintage" Cole making that school gymnasium comment. NEWS FLASH COLE. First off, ROH is televised. So no, this wasn't Bryan's first time on television. And second, he got a better crowd reaction tonight than dare I say some veterans in WWE. Such as Mark Henry, Goldust, and Finlay. I'm sure someone's gonna say that Cole's comments were coming from Vince, but it seemed to me that Cole was a little more passionate about his close minded and damn near ignorant statements tonight.

Welcome to the WWE Bryan Danielson, I guess.

 

[The Champ]

Okay, first off, Cole's rant on the 'net was absolutely hilarious to me, and I just read that he's asked to have his WWE Universe profile removed to no longer be associated with "online fans." Seeing a heel Cole on NXT every week is going to be great fun, he basically dissed me as well as every other "smark" and yet I thought it was one of the best parts of the show.

As for Bryan, he did impress me tonight, maybe not as the god that everyone describes him as, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of him and I have no problem with NXT being based around him. I think it speaks volumes about WWE's opinion of the guy that he's getting far more attention and focus than everybody else on the show combined, and that he main evented with Chris Jericho in the very first week. I haven't seen much of his Indy stuff, but you can rest assured I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in WWE. The guy's going to be a star, there's no doubt in my mind about that one.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

To be fair, we saw a very toned down Bryan Danielson from what he can really do in the ring, to preserve this image that he supposedly is not at the level of other WWE superstars yet. So we really didn't get to see the real deal here.

As far as whether or not he asked to be placed back in FCW, that was likely a political move as discussed. WWE is clearly more wrestling-focused than they have ever been and wants all of their stars at tip top performance in the ring. Danielson, who is a world renown wrestler knows this, and therefore humbled himself before them, which was a good move on his part.

Because he did this, he will be the primary focus of NXT and is bound to amass a greater fan following going the NXT route, as opposed to just being sprung right into Raw. This way, fans can follow him at a somewhat "rookie" stage, and see him develop into an eventual Main Eventer in the WWE.

 

[The Con Volt]

Yeah, let me say this. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the show. It was probably the best piece of WWE programming that I've seen probably since WM X-7. Thats a HUGE accomplishment. And now that I've calmed down a bit, it's clear that Cole's comments were kayfabe, it just made me clench my fist a bit. And that's probably a good thing.

 

[Kliq4Life]

Well i loved what i saw, except for the my DVR only recorded 54 damn minutes of it! Is he gonna pay for the RAW thing? I dont think so i mean the first show was built around him so we shall see. On a side note anyone know where i can watch that match online?

 

[johnbragg]

I'm not sure that Elijah Burke made a bad move turning down a spot in Spirit Squad. Sure, he could have been the black Dolph Ziggler. Or he could have been future endeavored like the rest of them.

Bryan is better off starting on a show where he's one of the main focal points, instead of being on the bottom of the totem pole on Raw and jobbing to Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and Carlito.

WWE showcased Bryan big time tonight--nearly submitting World Champion Chris Jericho, and setting up a feud with upper-midcard star Miz.

As far as Cole's comments, I expect that to be a recurring NXT theme--debate over the value of non-WWE pro wrestling experience. Cole (and some Pros) will denigrate anything not done "on the big stage", while Byron Saxton and some Rookies will talk up accomplishments in ROH, Japan, Mexico, maybe Europe.

 

[Derekjt]

I too was interested in NXT tonight. First I must say I am a Danielson fan. I have seen him many times live. I don't think that he's going to turn into anything special in WWE tho. He doesn't have the look or the mic skills. I think WWE really tried tonight to get him over. Putting him with Miz can only help.

Nigel comes to my mind because they both had so much in common. I believe Nigel as Wolfe has been a tremendous move for him. Danielson will have to do a lot to get over as much as that. I'm sorry all that I see in the future for Bryan is a Evan Bourne role. He's going to be jobbed and I think he'll be gone. Not that Evan is a bad wrestler, but seriously look at his role. He was better as Matt Sydal.

Some of the other FCW guys from tonight fit the WWE mold and will make a better transition. Sorry to all of the internet community, but I don't see Danielson making it huge in WWE. I am rooting for him tho and hope I'm wrong.

I do like the idea of a heel Michael Cole as well. To address the Elijah Burke issue, the Pope. Need I say more? He's soon to be on top of the wrestling world. Any set backs for him can only be looked at as blessings.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Danielson didn't REFUSE to come to Raw. He felt it would be better for him to perfect his skills down at FCW. There is nothing wrong with that, and how would he be punished for that? That is probably something Vince and company actually respect.

I have seen several of his matches on youtube (don't get ROH up here). He is a hell of a wrestler, but he is going to be wrestling much bigger and faster opponents in the WWE, and it will take him some time to get used to that. I would like to see him beef up a bit now that he is in the WWE with a lot of really big, ripped up guys, but it's not really that big of a deal. I hope he does well, but saying that he is already better than most of the guys they have is just wrong. In the ring, he isn't on the same level as guys like Orton, HHH, Jericho, Undertaker, CM Punk, or Edge. He's just not, and to say that is just plain stupid.

I think EVERYTHING he said to the Miz was true (and I loved his Regal reference). He and Miz are a great pairing, and I would guess this will be Danielsons first big feud on Raw after NXT season 1 is done with.

As for Mitchel Cole...wow. I haven't heard him get that excited in YEARS. Unless Vince was absolutely going INSANE on the other end of that headset, telling Cole to show some F*****G enthusiasm, I think this was actually how Cole feels. Cole NEVER acts like that when something is scripted. In some ways I agree with what he said, and in some I don't. I think indy fans believe Danielson is the best in the world just because they hate anything that is "mainstream." I like the guy a lot, and think he has a bright future, but he is NOT the best in the world.

 

[Mr. TM]

Punisment? Guy has an entire show based around him. I haven't seen someone this honoured since RVD was practically given ECW until he fucked that up. The Miz is going to get huge recognition for this show, and as The Miz's man, Bryan Dan bryanson Daniel will be showcased. Good move on both their parts.

 

[Mrs. Randy Orton]

Danielson didn't REFUSE to come to Raw. He felt it would be better for him to perfect his skills down at FCW. There is nothing wrong with that, and how would he be punished for that? That is probably something Vince and company actually respect.

I have seen several of his matches on youtube (don't get ROH up here). He is a hell of a wrestler, but he is going to be wrestling much bigger and faster opponents in the WWE, and it will take him some time to get used to that. I would like to see him beef up a bit now that he is in the WWE with a lot of really big, ripped up guys, but it's not really that big of a deal. I hope he does well, but saying that he is already better than most of the guys they have is just wrong. In the ring, he isn't on the same level as guys like Orton, HHH, Jericho, Undertaker, CM Punk, or Edge. He's just not, and to say that is just plain stupid.

I think EVERYTHING he said to the Miz was true (and I loved his Regal reference). He and Miz are a great pairing, and I would guess this will be Danielsons first big feud on Raw after NXT season 1 is done with.

As for Mitchel Cole...wow. I haven't heard him get that excited in YEARS. Unless Vince was absolutely going INSANE on the other end of that headset, telling Cole to show some F*****G enthusiasm, I think this was actually how Cole feels. Cole NEVER acts like that when something is scripted. In some ways I agree with what he said, and in some I don't. I think indy fans believe Danielson is the best in the world just because they hate anything that is "mainstream." I like the guy a lot, and think he has a bright future, but he is NOT the best in the world.

Danielson is overrated, imo. Not that he is a horrible wrestler, I don't think he is, but he also isn't as amazing as a lot of fans make him out to be. He was a bit held back and that was most likely because he's suppose to be the 'rookie' and he can't look as good/better than the 'pros' but I still don't think he is an impressive and godlike as people make him out to be.

 

[C.M.Savior]

I think being on NXT will only help Danielson get over more with the wwe. What better way to get him over with the fans then to base an entire show around him. Depending on what direction the NXT thing goes (it still hasnt been fully explained, is there only one winner? does that winner get a spot on the main roster) lets say Danielson wins the whole thing. That would give him a lot of momentum going into raw or smackdown and probably put him right into the upper mid card spot. If they continue to build on the miz feud, it could cary over to raw.

If Danielson was put on Raw right when he got signed, i think he would have gotten lost in the shuffle. Especially since it was around the same time they were building into the Royal Rumble and now Wrestlemania. He would have nothing to do right now and I think that would hurt him. WWE fans dont really know who he is right now and they need to give it time and establish him. They took a step into the right direction tonight. I know he was somewhat limited in the ring tonight than in his other matches in roh and on the indy scene, but it was his first match on the debut show and they only had about 10 minutes. I thought waht they did was solid though and I see nothing but positive things for danielson in the future

As far as comparing him to evan bourne and saying that he is not going to make it in wwe, he may not, but everything that happened on NXT indicated that they have confidence in this guy and do want to build on him. The stuff with Miz was great. I thought Danielson did better on the mic than i thought he would. He was in the main event against the champion and had a good match. Its not like he even came close to geting squashed by jericho. He had some good offense. Diving out of the ring and smacking the announce table made for a cool spot in the match and the backflip over jericho and counter into the submission also looked impressive.

If anything, the fact that bourne was put on raw really hurt his career, which is why i think building danielson on NXT is a good move. Bourne was a star in ECW, went to Raw, got injured, came back and got lost in the shuffle. He hasnt had anything good to do since, not because he is a bad wrestler, but there is just no spot for him on raw. I think he will eventually get pushed but he is still young and they havnt given him any time to build on him. He has had no good opponents to accomodate his style and he is too small for all of the big main eventers that are on raw. If he was on smackdown I think he would be doing a lot better. And i would really like to see a cruserweight division back in wwe in which he would really thrive and have good opponents to face. Danielson has a much more technical style than bourne does so comparing him to bourne is not a fair comparison. There are lots of opponents that he can have good matches with and I do not think his size will hurt him.

Danielson will only continue to improve on NXT and once he is done with that and ready to take the next step, I think he will go on to do great things in the wwe. If they do build the show around him and continue to have solid shows every week like tonight, he will really get over with the fans. He was already somewhat over tonight and it was the first time a lot of wwe fans have ever seen him. They were hyping NXT like crazy for the last 3 weeks and also hyping up the Miz/Danielson feud as well by featuring the comments Miz made on wwe.com. It is clear they think Danielson is talented and can be a star, otherwise they wouldnt be puting more attention on him than the other rookies.

As far as the Cole comments, I actually enjoyed, well i guess i should say didn't mind his commentary tonight. It was a nice change. He is usually horrible and boring and shows no emotion when calling a match, but by being heel it was kind of funny to hear him rant and came off like he actually somewhat cared about what he was doing as oppose to every week on raw.

 

[aman7525]

No i don't think that he should have taken the raw offer if this is the alternative. i believe that he and the miz will have a match at wrestlemania with him pulling off the upset. i know it's a long shot, but the miz isn't involved in any major feuds right now. he could try to embarass him and get upset by danil bryan.

 

[Davi323]

I am not convinced Danielson has a long career in the WWE ahead of him. That isn't to take away ANYTHING from his phenomenal wrestling ability, but, he needs a huge makeover. If he took off his boots, he would have been a clone of Kevin Von Erich. He was very bland. Plain red trunks, with plain red kneepads and boots? No alternative colors at all? The haircut needs work too. The way he presented himself, I just don't see him on TV every week. Part of it might be the height (or lack thereof), he was a dwarf standing next to the other wrestlers. But, his overall presentation was incredibly dull. Hopefully during his time on NXT, he will polish up his look, but, had he taken the RAW offer, he would have lasted one or two weeks, before someone backstage says they cannot market him, as he currently is. The other NXT guys "looked" like professional wrestlers. Bryan Danielson doesn't. Better he tweaks his look on NXT, than on RAW.

Its clear that the WWE likes him, NXT seems to acknowledge that he has an internet fanbase, that they want him to be the breakout star. Putting him up against Jericho on the first ever episode kinda bears that out...but, he has to change his look before he will be given a serious chance on Raw or Smackdown.

 

[Dagger Dias]

is Daniel Bryan now getting a trial by fire for turning down the offer to debut on RAW?

No, I don't think so at all. This is better for him and he probably knew that was the case. What happened in organizations like ROH is left at the door once you reach WWE. In ROH he was huge, but he would have run the risk of getting a terrible push if he went straight to the roster. Being on NXT (and possibly featured the most out of the rookies on it) is one of the best things that could happen to him because he has a chance for fans who aren't familiar with him to see what he can do before he gets promoted to the main roster, resulting in a much better push later on. Turning down the offer to debut straight to the main roster might be one of the smartest decisions that Bryan Daniel ever made because it could really pay off in the end. It depends on how well he does on NXT, so we'll just have to watch and see.

 

[sincade20]

The Nxt show was great i like the way they expose Bryan Danielson to the Mainstream population. i dont think him is henden(sp) him. if that was the case he wouldnt main event the show with the heavyweight champ Jericho.

As for the Cole comment, he really got under my skin with his Gym comments but that a good thing becuz the guy only being in the WWE. All in All i like the way they Showcase Danielson.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

This show from the get go has revolved around Brian Danielson from and the Miz from the get go, its great to see this kind of action its like FCW but to the next level, This show has just enough storyline to make it a wrestling show and just enough reality tv to make it seem more authentic then other WWE programming.

I don't believe this is trial by fire from the WWE brass to Danielson i believe its more the WWE utilising his talent and buzz from the indies in aide of seeing if they can make their new show a sucess onwhile adapting Brians style to the WWE, its brilliant loan wolf not wanting to be mentored by the WWE's reality tv junkie who brags a good game but doesnt have the experience his protege has.

I believe NXT can do for WWE what the old ECW failed to do, bring people from development to the next level of their careers, I just hope that Danielson gets the contract because i believe he deserves this more than anyone on the roster.

 

[Shocky]

Pretty much don't understand the negativity surrounding Danielson and his failure in the WWE. He lost a match to the World Champion, yeah, must suck to lose to the world champ in your first match in the big leagues.

Danielson looked golden last night, and it's clear that he's going to get the push out of all of the NXT guys. The WWE seems to be well aware that the IWC is all over this guy, so they are pushing him. Danielson is going to be a star. He might not be a mega star, but asolid mid carder for sure.

 

[maar130]

I think Lord Sidious nailed it completely on his las post, he played it very well and now he is pretty much the focus of the show.


With that and how it played a feud with the Miz is clear and at some point you will see Danielson getting a spot on any brand by the end of all this.

He also agreed The Miz in an interview so he is playing it very well and with WWE will give him an opportunity in no time.

 

[Super Crazy]

I'm really glad someone made this thread. I was just about to come on here and rant about Cole's comments during the match. Even if they came from Vince, they were very ignorant in my opinion, as ROH is very popular and is also televised.

However, on a more positive note, by going to FCW and shaking off his ring rust and getting suited for the WWE style was a smart move on his part. Not only does it make himself seem like a good person to the WWE, but it allows the fans to watch as he works his way up the ladder.

The match with Jericho, while very toned down, was a fairly decent match for the time allowed. That spot where he was " caught " and pushed into the announce table rib first was fairly good. You could tell it actually hurt too because of Bryan's reaction. Nice submission by Bryan too.

He made the smart move by not excepting the Raw debut.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As Sid said, Danielson humbling himself and volunteering to work out some of his ring rust in FCW is something that I think has impressed the WWE and it's a move that's going to prove beneficial for both himself and the WWE.

If Danielson had just debuted on Raw, he'd start out as just another one of the boys. However, he's quickly becoming the centerpiece of NXT and he's already managed to impress a lot of people that, prior to NXT, didn't really know jack about him except what they may have heard and read via the internet. NXT gave Danielson an opportunity to shine last night and he didn't disappoint. His angle with the Miz is great, Michael Cole shitting all over him only makes him more interesting and, incidentally, is the most interesting Michael Cole has been in a LOOOOOONG time, and Danielson got a chance to show some of what he's got against the reigning WHC. During his match, even though nobody expected him to win of course, he got over with the crowd and they were impressed overall by what they've seen out of Danielson thus far.

 

[20thCenturyBoy]

I don't know, in retrospect it's a tough decision. You either start on Raw and probably get lost in the shuffle or you become the star and centerpiece of a brand new show with a lot of hype around it? That's classic tough decision right there.

In all seriousness, I thought Danielson did very well. He looked brilliant in defeat against THE WORLD CHAMPION. Hell he almost submitted the world champ. On top of that he won over the crowd with his performance in the ring and got a load of sympathy via the post match attack by the Miz. I for one have seen only a few Danielson matches, I was always impressed but last night he and Jericho put on one of the best 5 minute matches I've ever seen. It had everything from spots, to psychology, to a story and although he lost in five minutes he looked incredibly strong in defeat. I think this NXT program will do wonders for Danielson, he'll be all right.

 

[Nugzy]

Does anyone else think Jericho slammed him into the ringside table on purpose because Bryan botched a few things prior or maybe it was Jericho just saying welcome to the big leagues? Or maybe because Bryan wasnt selling well. Either way why would Jericho catch and reverse him into the table? And then the Walls afterward seemed a bit harsh.

 

[Davi323]

I would go with "welcome to the big leagues". Hardcore Holly used to do something like that all the time. He would beat the holy hell out of youngsters, to teach them respect, to get them to "earn their dues", etc. I have a feeling that because the show is geared towards Danielson, that Jericho was giving him a friendly "you aren't there yet" reminder.

 

[The Con Volt]

I would go with "welcome to the big leagues". Hardcore Holly used to do something like that all the time. He would beat the holy hell out of youngsters, to teach them respect, to get them to "earn their dues", etc. I have a feeling that because the show is geared towards Danielson, that Jericho was giving him a friendly "you aren't there yet" reminder.

This might have been a "welcome to big leagues, rookie." type of moment, but with how fooled Cole had the IWC with his comments, I am now leaning towards the idea of Jericho coming to Bryan before the match and saying, "We need to make this hurt if you're going to get these people behind you." And Bryan, already proving himself to be amongst the most humble in the business could have even suggested that exact spot. Cuz lets face it, that spot looked BRUTAL. But, It was definitely not a botch or anything like that. I mean, doing a stereo dive on the announcer's table side rarely turns out good for the offender. I've seen quite a few spots that went the same way now that I think about it. But there ain't no faking those cuts he had. That was simply the icing on the cake of a very short, yet spectacular debut match. Jericho even twittered after the match that he thinks Bryan will be a star, so Jericho was definitely not looking down on him.

 

[20thCenturyBoy]

I would go with "welcome to the big leagues". Hardcore Holly used to do something like that all the time. He would beat the holy hell out of youngsters, to teach them respect, to get them to "earn their dues", etc. I have a feeling that because the show is geared towards Danielson, that Jericho was giving him a friendly "you aren't there yet" reminder.

I don't know, many wrestlers have gone on the record stating that Holly went overboard (I'm not sure who, I don't remember) and by the time he was released the rumor mill started spinning things like Holly due to his aggressive behavior (particularly to the rookies) he had virtually no more allies backstage. Chris has always seemed to be quite willing to put over new talent and he doesn't have any sort of precedence with this sort of thing so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt.