Daniel Bryan sucks on the mic!

[AegonTargaryen]

Raw. 10/03/14.

Michael Cole : The YES movement is taking over Memphis.
Daniel Bryan: The YES movement is "live" right here tonight in Memphis TN. (Mick Foley?)
DB : Now earlier tonight Stephanie Mcmahon came out here and apologiseddddd. Did any of you thing that was sincere? (Audience- Nohhhh). Yeah. Me neither.
(NO chants)
DB: And you see the Authority wants to scare me into falling in line. They want to scare me into coming out here and apologizing for something I should've done a long time ago..which is kick HHH in the FACE.
DB: But you see "hunter" you can't have it both ways. If you want to be all corporate and come out here in your suit and tie, that's fine.
DB: But if you wanna lay your hands on me, if you wanna send people down here to beat me down, if you wanna pedigree me, if you wanna get in my face and you expect me to back down, "I'M NOT GOING TO. I AM GOING TO FIGHT." (YES chants break out)
DB: And if you want me to apologize for standing up to myself, I don't "got" two words for ya, I've got one- NO. (NO chants break out).
DB: And hunter, it ends here tonight. Tonight is when it ends. Because we're all tired of you. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO THESE PEOPLE. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ANY OF US (that's what Owen Hart sounded like when he whined that he's not a NUGGET). "But tonight, we're going to make it, so you HAVE to listen to us" .
DB: Because tonight the YES movement is in full effect and tonight "WE" are going to occupy raw. (YES chants again).
DB: You see, I'm not going to leave this ring until I get what I want. (How many times has that line been used? and effectively I might add, by a heel Chris Jericho, or Randy Orton demanding a title shot in 2008/2009)..which is a match with HHH at Wrestlemania and I know..I know that you've heard people say that all the time, that they're not gonna leave this ring, but tonight I AM NOT ALONE. I am going to fill this ring, I am going to fill this arena, I'm going to fill this whole place with the YES movement right here. (Mild cheers). I know, it's unlawful, it's dangerous, it's subject to prosecution, all that jazz, but I talked to some members of the YES movement earlier today and I'd like them to come out here right now.
DB: Because you see, we're not going to take it anymore. We are one. We stand together. We are united. And we are not going to leave this ring until the Authority gives us what we want.

I then see a bunch of idiots in DB T-shirts doing the whole pointer fingers in the air thing and screaming YES.

Alright. Here's the discourse analysis. Throughout the promo, DB does just two things. Cater to the people and suck them up real nice in every conceivable way possible. He begins the promo by Mick Foley's cheap pop tactic which even Hogan did earlier. "Right here in Memphis". Guess what, the response is mild. The Memphis crowd is tired of hearing the same "Right here in Memphis".
He next tries hard and unnaturally to make the people belong so-to-speak by utterances like "WE" , "The YES movement" , and so on. Guess what Bryan, a babyface does suck up to the audience , but THIS MUCH? When the Rock cut promos, he had his own catchphrases and audience involvement was only insofar as they finish half of it alongwith the Great one, but when did the Rock ever come out, week after week, and beg the audience to be involved in his "MOVEMENT" against the Mcmahon-Helmsley Regime?

The second thing he does is feign anger on his face and in his tonality, but ends up sounding like Owen Hart trying to be angry because they call him the Nugget. He doesn't seem really angry(like how CM Punk usually emitted out real fury and one could see it on his face and read it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice). Bryan fails at both the levels, expressions and voice modulation. What he did is the usual babyface underdog thing , by pandering to every Joe in the arena, but the responses were mild, and the only thing the audience begins to do at frequent intervals is chant YES or NO after Bryan covertly or conspicuously makes them do it.

I won't go so far as to say that he looked like a tiny man who looked abnormal with all that beard and hair and his arms looking short, but the hair/beard makes it worse. I will merely resort to saying that, I never knew DB sucked so much on the mic and as a character. I surmised he did suck but this much? And this is the first time I watched an entire DB segment, or even any WWE segment in 9 months.

When the Rock came out to challenge HHH, he'd call his wife a **** and ask him to get his candyass out there, or that he'd whoop it. Same with Austin.

When Kurt Angle, despite being considerably smaller then guys like Rock and HHH came out, he'd always talk with intensity and believability with his "broken freakin' " and everything and one would believe that when Angle says he's going to break Undertaker's ankle, he MEANS it.

Eddie Guerrero had the Latino heat thing, the audience loved him for the Lying cheating schtick, his mannerisms, but if there was ever a more believable personification of "anger, fury, frustration", that can be seen in his segments from 2002 with the Rock, Ric Flair, and in 2005 as a heel against Mysterio.

Needless to say, I love DB the wrestler who comes out and wrestles stellar matches in ROH with Cesaro/Claudio and others. He doesn't have a shabby appearance nor looks abnormal because he's too tiny to sport the Wyatts' beard and hair. Your thoughts?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I didn't read the original post because it was overlong and started off with some kind of teleplay.

People might not appreciate Bryan's mic skills. But I have one question, why were such faults overlooked when it came to a guy like Chris Benoit (great wrestler, lackluster personality) yet it's a negative for Bryan (great worker, so-so personality)?

 

[Catacomb]

I didn't read the original post because it was overlong and started off with some kind of teleplay.

People might not appreciate Bryan's mic skills. But I have one question, why were such faults overlooked when it came to a guy like Chris Benoit (great wrestler, lackluster personality) yet it's a negative for Bryan (great worker, so-so personality)?

i dont think it was overlooked for benoit, he never won the wwe title, vince gave that to the better talker, eddie. once benoit lost the whc he was never a serious contender again. id say the mic skills were the thing holding benoit back, and to go back on topic, the mic skills of db are slightly better than guys like benoit, not because bryan is a better speaker, its because despite bryans lack of skills he has a lot more charisma than guys like benoit, greg valentine

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I didn't read the original post because it was overlong and started off with some kind of teleplay.

People might not appreciate Bryan's mic skills. But I have one question, why were such faults overlooked when it came to a guy like Chris Benoit (great wrestler, lackluster personality) yet it's a negative for Bryan (great worker, so-so personality)?

You make a superb point and I was going to add Chris Benoit into the OP itself but I'm glad I didn't.

Nobody in the world can ever deny that Chris Benoit-the wrestler was singularly uni-dimensional and didn't have any personality at all. I cannot even recall if he ever had a gimmick, like how Kurt Angle played the goofy American Hero thing, Guerrero had various gimmicks, Latino Heat, Lying cheating, Overcomin addiction thing. Even Daniel Bryan has a gimmick, and Owen Hart was the blue blazer. But, I'd like to say that except Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit succeeded more than all these aforementioned technical wrestlers, in every way, whether as a tag team champion with Chris Jericho or Edge or Kurt Angle, whether as the IC champ, whether as the WHC, or when he was wrestling William Regal on Velocity and delivering a Wrestlemania-calibre match.

IMO, Chris never really needed more than what he displayed by his in-ring expertise and he did wrestle the most awesome technical/submission with the BEST wrestlers spanning 2 decades and 3 major companies- Bret Hart , Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and the list goes on. In fact, it was easy to perceive Chris Benoit as a machine, or a cyborg if you will. He really was one.

That's what technically excellent guys should be. Go out there and wrestle. Unless they're as good as Guerrero or Kurt Angle on the mic, they shouldn't really try to be a Mic guy week in and week out like how they're making Daniel Bryan be. And more importantly, he looked A WHOLE LOT BETTER from his Indie days, without this hair/beard thing because he neither has the stature, physique and charisma to look like a creepy or intimidating Wyatt, nor the looks of Shawn Michaels, nor the charisma/exuberance of Damien Sandow as the renaissance man, which I believe he's even lost since he's gotten rid of his long spiritual locks.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan)>Chris Benoit any day in the personality department, it's just like people who knocked Bret Hart for the same shortcomings. Both Daniel Bryan and Bret Hart have a keen sense of emoting their best expression through body language, something that I don't think Benoit shared in the same way. Granted, Benoit truly defined the moment with his post match WrestleMania XX celebration, because it was of course a reflection of his true efforts and work in the business for all those years finally paying off, but on a consistent basis I don't ever think that someone like Benoit ever had that same sense of expression through his actions like a Bret Hart and more recently Daniel Bryan has had.

Bryan's struggle against the WWE's authority figures carries itself through more than just words. While I of course am not going to be audacious enough to question Benoit's in run abilities, because it goes without saying how great he was in the ring, I really think that when it's all said and done Daniel Bryan is going to show people just how much more charismatic and inspiring of a character he can be as opposed to Benoit, who I give credit where it's due but I think Bryan has the potential to surpass Benoit as far as career accomplishments in WWE go.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

There's nothing wrong with Bryan's mic skills. If you think there is then you're comparing him against the elite in the business. The Rock, Hogan, Austin etc. Bryan isn't part of the elite. He says what he needs to say and gets it across well. Like pretty much every wrestler other than the absolute great mic men.

 

[jc_ultimate]

Normally I don't like promos that do too much pandering to the home crowd, but in this instance it didn't bother me at all. The reason being that the entire angle that they were working with the "yes movement" and "occupy raw" bits were designed to be in part about the crowd. I think in order for these angles to have any success a fair amount of crowd pandering was going to be necessary in this promo.

 

[Headman]

Bryan is bad on the mic. As a face he either panders (Come on Cena haters. Be consistent and back this up.) or he comes off like a spoiled brat who thinks he should get his way for no other reason than "It's what the people want!". And then you through in this occupy wallstreet inspired garbage and you've completely lost me. This was a great idea WWE. I mean what does America love more than a bunch of entitled hippie protesters? I'm not putting that one on Daniel Bryan since he probably didn't come up with that crap himself, but it sure as hell didn't do him any favors in my book.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Bryan's mic skills aren't the greatest when you compare him to guys like The Rock, Austin, Ric Flair and some others. However, as Jake mentioned, they don't really need to be. He says what he needs to say, he delivers it in a way that gets the fans going and when it's all said & done, that's really all he needs. Bryan's personality generally lies within the sort of "every man" persona and Bryan can genuinely deliver a passionate promo. I honestly believe that Bryan can be better than what we've seen. I remember a "shoot promo" he conducted after being "eliminated" from NXT towards Michael Cole. Bryan was passionate and his delivery was great, he got a huge pop from the fans when he called Cole a "poor man's excuse for Jim Ross."

When I think of guys who flat out suck on the mic, two guys who immediately spring to mind are Batista and Jeff Hardy. If the fate of the world depended on either of them delivering a strong, captivating promo, then I'd be resigned to the fact that I needed to try shoving my head between my legs to kiss my ass goodbye.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Bryan's mic skills aren't the greatest when you compare him to guys like The Rock, Austin, Ric Flair and some others. However, as Jake mentioned, they don't really need to be. He says what he needs to say, he delivers it in a way that gets the fans going and when it's all said & done, that's really all he needs. Bryan's personality generally lies within the sort of "every man" persona and Bryan can genuinely deliver a passionate promo. I honestly believe that Bryan can be better than what we've seen. I remember a "shoot promo" he conducted after being "eliminated" from NXT towards Michael Cole. Bryan was passionate and his delivery was great, he got a huge pop from the fans when he called Cole a "poor man's excuse for Jim Ross."

When I think of guys who flat out suck on the mic, two guys who immediately spring to mind are Batista and Jeff Hardy. If the fate of the world depended on either of them delivering a strong, captivating promo, then I'd be resigned to the fact that I needed to try shoving my head between my legs to kiss my ass goodbye.

I don't see anyone, especially myself asserting a comparison between DB's mic skills and superstars like The Rock and Austin. That'd be like comparing Owen Hart's mic skills with The Rock's in 1999. However, I also think that Bryan is not being Bryan(even though I've hardly begun watching his pre-WWE matches and haven't seen/heard his promos) but trying to be something beyond his arena the way he's been pandering to the crowd so much and that gesture where he bends his knees a little and brings them back up with his pointer fingers jerking towards the sky. It looks absurd. Tell me why does a technically excellent wrestler who could just be his real self has to do that gesture for 2 minutes as a post-victory celebration? It really cannot be described with any other adjectives than foolish, ******ed, or absurd. Eddie Guerrero had the latino dance which suited him and was natural. Kurt Angle did that rotating/dancing thing which can be seen in his early years from 2000 and it looked rhythmic with his gold medals swaying and all. The Rock climbs the ropes and does the right arm in the air pose. Randy Orton has his own signature pose which makes him look nothing but Classy/Starry. Undertaker had his own schtick whether it's as the Deadman or as the American Badass. I cannot recall any serious main-eventer do what DB does with his pointer fingers. That's what you'd do to make 4 yr olds stop crying.

Thus, it's not just his lack of realism/credibility displayed in his face/voice at least in recent memory, but his look, and his gestures/signature pose which over-all do little to make him seem like a credible technically flawless and superb challenger to the WWE WHC. Or else tell me what you'd have thought of if Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle , or Chris Benoit had done that, and weekly too. Could you imagine Eddie Guerrero doing that pointer fingers in the sky thing while furiously challenging JBL?

 

[zomigosh]

That's what you'd do to make 4 yr olds stop crying.

Or, in Daniel Bryan's case, get thousands of people to rally behind you. That's why he does it, to gain crowd support. And that's why he won't stop it, because he doesn't want to lose his crowd support. But he should totally drop his entire shtick that's gotten him as popular as he is and play his exciting real-life personality instead, right?

As the others have said, he did what was needed to be done just fine. He needs to pander to the crowd, that's a major part of this storyline and his gimmick: He's the guy the fans want to see, and the authority don't want to give it to them because of their own opinions.

He is no Rocky no, but he doesn't need to be (and to be quite honest, I'm completely fine with him not having a cringeworthy potty mouth). With or without amazing mic skills, he's garnered the biggest crowd following in all of wrestling through his natural likability and (dare I say it) charisma.

 

[DB2CMPUNK]

You, Daniel Bryan's haters, are starting to annoy me. He haven't had that one moment that stand out for his career and yet everyone is trying to pick him apart. I understand the criticism, but I do not expect Daniel to be perfect. Come on, even John Cena and your fellow, Stone Cold Steve Austin have some flaws especially on the mics.

It is the same argument over and over again. But you know what, his mic skills actually work because he GETS reactions. That is the name of the game in this business. If you have the whole stadium crowd supported the heck out of you with chanting your name and your gimmick, then you must do something right. He's not one trick pony and he garnered the best reaction for a FACE since 10 years ago. Even John Cena can't even garnered that much of a reaction especially in his prime and the "machine" pushed merciless.

So please, just cause he's not a CM Punk illiterate does not mean his mic skills sucks. Not everyone be like CM Punk or SCSA and speak out of line. Everyone have their unique personality in their character and its works and sells. That all its matters!

 

[DB2CMPUNK]

I don't see anyone, especially myself asserting a comparison between DB's mic skills and superstars like The Rock and Austin. That'd be like comparing Owen Hart's mic skills with The Rock's in 1999. However, I also think that Bryan is not being Bryan(even though I've hardly begun watching his pre-WWE matches and haven't seen/heard his promos) but trying to be something beyond his arena the way he's been pandering to the crowd so much and that gesture where he bends his knees a little and brings them back up with his pointer fingers jerking towards the sky. It looks absurd. Tell me why does a technically excellent wrestler who could just be his real self has to do that gesture for 2 minutes as a post-victory celebration? It really cannot be described with any other adjectives than foolish, ******ed, or absurd. Eddie Guerrero had the latino dance which suited him and was natural. Kurt Angle did that rotating/dancing thing which can be seen in his early years from 2000 and it looked rhythmic with his gold medals swaying and all. The Rock climbs the ropes and does the right arm in the air pose. Randy Orton has his own signature pose which makes him look nothing but Classy/Starry. Undertaker had his own schtick whether it's as the Deadman or as the American Badass. I cannot recall any serious main-eventer do what DB does with his pointer fingers. That's what you'd do to make 4 yr olds stop crying.

Thus, it's not just his lack of realism/credibility displayed in his face/voice at least in recent memory, but his look, and his gestures/signature pose which over-all do little to make him seem like a credible technically flawless and superb challenger to the WWE WHC. Or else tell me what you'd have thought of if Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle , or Chris Benoit had done that, and weekly too. Could you imagine Eddie Guerrero doing that pointer fingers in the sky thing while furiously challenging JBL?

Do you want to discuss what is not real? Rock keep "hulk up" and knock people out with the People's Elbow and the Rock Bottom. What does it mean being "real"? It is not supposely to be realistic because he's Daniel Bryan, not Brian Danielson. For him point his finger in the air and shout "YES", that's his character. That's his gimmick and its WORKS! Just like The Rock keep scream "Do you smell what's the rock cooking" or Cena "You Can't See Me". The thing about Daniel Bryan is unique and different. He does not go over the top unlike John Cena. Nothing is really realistic in WWE. Daniel Bryan is about being the underdog that no one expects and he work it well. Just how Cena and the Rock overcame the odd so many time in their rise.

 

[Pedigree1]

Daniel Bryans mic skills sure aren't the greatest in the world and i doubt they ever will be... When you bring up SCSA,Rock,Angle,Punk you talking about some of the elite talkers ever.. Daniel,says what he wants to say,doesn't go on a 10 minute promo..

Daniel gets to the heart of the matter in his promos,rather quickly and says what he means. Daniel doesn't need to be elite right now on the mic,his YES movement,his popularity are all that are needed.. I am going to venture to say once he becomes champion.that this is only going to get bigger... Daniel Bryan's mic skills are not bad though,he is believable on the stick.. At least he isn't like Batista (Who would wake up people up in a coma, so they could just yell to tell him to stop talking)

 

[wwewz]

Personally i'm not a big Daniel Bryan fan. I don't hate him, he seems like a nice guy. I liked him lower on the card where I didn't have to have so much of him.

But I cringe at his promos now. He's reminding me of Cena, in terms of the nice guy, coming out smiling after all his beat-downs, and then he'll start giggling to himself when someone says something to him, and then he'll ask the audience a question.

JR has said he hasn't got his tempos right in his promos, when to emphasize what he's saying. And I think Austin said he needs to get more serious at times. And I think that's it.

I get it. He's the new everyday Joe, underdog workhorse, who's gives 100% in the ring.

But there's no change in his promos. It's always just asking audience the yes and no questions. How about after he's been beaten down, just be super serious and say he's gonna make Triple H tap-out. No asking the audience a question, they'll chant YES! on their own, he doesn't need to force it.

 

[The Brain]

I don't see anyone, especially myself asserting a comparison between DB's mic skills and superstars like The Rock and Austin.

You didn't?

When the Rock came out to challenge HHH, he'd call his wife a **** and ask him to get his candyass out there, or that he'd whoop it. Same with Austin.

Looks like you did

However, I also think that Bryan is not being Bryan(even though I've hardly begun watching his pre-WWE matches and haven't seen/heard his promos) but trying to be something beyond his arena the way he's been pandering to the crowd so much and that gesture where he bends his knees a little and brings them back up with his pointer fingers jerking towards the sky. It looks absurd. Tell me why does a technically excellent wrestler who could just be his real self has to do that gesture for 2 minutes as a post-victory celebration?

Because it got him over with the crowd more than his technical skills ever would have. The people like the yes chant. It's really that simple.

It really cannot be described with any other adjectives than foolish, ******ed, or absurd

.

Sure it can. Popular. The Rock's elbow was foolish and absurd but it was very popular so he continued to use it.

Eddie Guerrero had the latino dance which suited him and was natural. Kurt Angle did that rotating/dancing thing which can be seen in his early years from 2000 and it looked rhythmic with his gold medals swaying and all. The Rock climbs the ropes and does the right arm in the air pose. Randy Orton has his own signature pose which makes him look nothing but Classy/Starry. Undertaker had his own schtick whether it's as the Deadman or as the American Badass. I cannot recall any serious main-eventer do what DB does with his pointer fingers. That's what you'd do to make 4 yr olds stop crying.

So would you rather DB just copy someone else? Isn't it a good thing that he's doing something that no one has done before? It's his own thing and it's more over than Eddie's or Angle's little dances were.

Thus, it's not just his lack of realism/credibility displayed in his face/voice at least in recent memory, but his look, and his gestures/signature pose which over-all do little to make him seem like a credible technically flawless and superb challenger to the WWE WHC. Or else tell me what you'd have thought of if Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle , or Chris Benoit had done that, and weekly too. Could you imagine Eddie Guerrero doing that pointer fingers in the sky thing while furiously challenging JBL

If Guerrero, Angle, or Benoit would have known how over a simple little chant would have been I'm sure they would have happily done it. It's cool if you don't like the yes chant but how could you blame a guy for using something so popular? Take a look at this.

[YOUTUBE]esCvMOMAFf0[/YOUTUBE]

When was the last time the crowd was behind anything as much as that?

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

Well first off way to layout a SCRIPTED promo... one that Daniel Bryan obviously didn't write.

Daniel Bryan is in John Cena mode, he's being the super clean goody two shoe babyface right now.

Go watch him on youtube when he was World Champion and heel/tweener, Daniel Bryan was a lot more edgy and controversial in his words.

But the bottom line is, no matter what the line is, Daniel Bryan knows how to deliver and play his role, and that's all the matters. He doesn't whine and cry when you give him a role, he just exceeds your expectation when PLAYING that role.

Look you WWE marks are already turning on Daniel Bryan because you think that's what we(the smart fans) are going to do, because we're cool. No. Daniel Bryan is not John Cena, if the crowd turns on Bryan, he will turn heel and make you like him again with his ability to excel in any wrestler's role. Or he'll know he has to mix it up a bit, he won't phone it in and play superhero ragdoll when the fans start chanting he sucks, he's going to get very aggressive in the ring when that happens. Remember it was Daniel Bryan being such a damn good heel in the first place that made him into the wanna-be face of the company.

 

[sTyLnK]

It's rare that a wrestler has both. And by both I mean good on the mic and good in the ring. It's one or the other in most cases. Bryan isn't amazing on the mic, but he's certainly not bad either.

 

[Weems2k]

The only reason Daniel Boring is over with the crowd is because wrestling fans, mostly E fans, are short attention spanned, idiots. Ever wonder why people get ripped on for liking, and watching wrestling? Well, here you go. Just like American Society, simple and stupid will always be popular. Just how "What" has ruined wrestling, now this stupid "yes" will take it even further down.

 

[dhines1671]

I agree with Headman. DB either comes of like he's pandering too hard, or spoiled and entitled. WWE doesn't do him any favors with segments like occupy Raw. I think they proposefully found the guys that looked like nerdy fan boys that normally sit around mom's basement writing fantasy storylines.

 

[StingerSplash22]

I totally agree with this opinion, Daniel Bryan bores the hell out of me any time he opens his mouth. Yes, he can wrestle his ass off but his mic skills are just horrible. Aside from his time with Kane, I have never been a fan of anything Bryan has done outside of the ring. In all honesty, he is what sucks about wrestling right now and I am sure that if they put the title on him it will be a huge let down to all of his fans and management. Within a week, the high of the chase will be over and there will really be nothing left.

 

[HamSwissman]

Bryan's mic skills are fine. He reminds me a bit of Bret (as someone noted), someone who isn't super charismatic with promos, but exudes a sort of "unseen" charisma in the ring. He doesn't lack personality (as I felt Benoit did), but he'll never be The Rock on the mic. This is certainly okay in my book, as I'm a fan of all different styles of pro wrestler.

To be honest, I've never been crazy about the "Yes" TAUNT, but the catchphrase is awesome and incredibly over. Although I thought it was really entertaining when he used it against Bray in the cage. A slow, methodical gathering of the crowd's energy made it amazing in my eyes. The taunt is something that could gradually change over time, to maybe a one finger in the air kind of thing. I'd like to see him get a bit more serious (especially after the Triple H beating) and back off of the taunt a bit. The fans will chant "YES!" anyway.

 

[BigThunder]

Anyone who thinks he sucks on the mic needs to go watch his "Bears" commentary from Saturday Morning Slam.

The days of 20 minute opening promos as a regular feature, as Cena noted, are coming to an end. RAW's a global brand, and long stretches of talk bog down the action, which is more accessible to a foreign audience. This doesn't mean an end to Bray Wyatt or Dean Ambrose (or at least I hope not), but it does mean mic work isn't as important a skill as it was in the Attitude era, at least when it comes to long form promos. It will be enough for a star just to be convincing and sell the storyline, which Bryan (and a few other non-great mic workers like Rollins) are more than capable of doing. We've seen Daniel go from pissed off underdog to abusive boyfriend to comedic tweener to anti-authoritarian face. He's got range. He's not the Rock, but then, no one is, and he doesn't have to be.

 

[StingerSplash22]

Anyone who thinks he sucks on the mic needs to go watch his "Bears" commentary from Saturday Morning Slam.

The days of 20 minute opening promos as a regular feature, as Cena noted, are coming to an end. RAW's a global brand, and long stretches of talk bog down the action, which is more accessible to a foreign audience. This doesn't mean an end to Bray Wyatt or Dean Ambrose (or at least I hope not), but it does mean mic work isn't as important a skill as it was in the Attitude era, at least when it comes to long form promos. It will be enough for a star just to be convincing and sell the storyline, which Bryan (and a few other non-great mic workers like Rollins) are more than capable of doing. We've seen Daniel go from pissed off underdog to abusive boyfriend to comedic tweener to anti-authoritarian face. He's got range. He's not the Rock, but then, no one is, and he doesn't have to be.

So, you reference one promo he did on Saturday Morning Slam as his best work? If that is true, it is rather sad. You said he doesn't have to be great on the mic but if he is going to be a top guy for an extended period of time, he really does. Just being a great worker and mediocre talker does not keep anybody on top for long at all.

 

[CyberPunk]

Raw. 10/03/14.

Michael Cole : The YES movement is taking over Memphis.
Daniel Bryan: The YES movement is "live" right here tonight in Memphis TN. (Mick Foley?)
DB : Now earlier tonight Stephanie Mcmahon came out here and apologiseddddd. Did any of you thing that was sincere? (Audience- Nohhhh). Yeah. Me neither.
(NO chants)
DB: And you see the Authority wants to scare me into falling in line. They want to scare me into coming out here and apologizing for something I should've done a long time ago..which is kick HHH in the FACE.
DB: But you see "hunter" you can't have it both ways. If you want to be all corporate and come out here in your suit and tie, that's fine.
DB: But if you wanna lay your hands on me, if you wanna send people down here to beat me down, if you wanna pedigree me, if you wanna get in my face and you expect me to back down, "I'M NOT GOING TO. I AM GOING TO FIGHT." (YES chants break out)
DB: And if you want me to apologize for standing up to myself, I don't "got" two words for ya, I've got one- NO. (NO chants break out).
DB: And hunter, it ends here tonight. Tonight is when it ends. Because we're all tired of you. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO THESE PEOPLE. YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ANY OF US (that's what Owen Hart sounded like when he whined that he's not a NUGGET). "But tonight, we're going to make it, so you HAVE to listen to us" .
DB: Because tonight the YES movement is in full effect and tonight "WE" are going to occupy raw. (YES chants again).
DB: You see, I'm not going to leave this ring until I get what I want. (How many times has that line been used? and effectively I might add, by a heel Chris Jericho, or Randy Orton demanding a title shot in 2008/2009)..which is a match with HHH at Wrestlemania and I know..I know that you've heard people say that all the time, that they're not gonna leave this ring, but tonight I AM NOT ALONE. I am going to fill this ring, I am going to fill this arena, I'm going to fill this whole place with the YES movement right here. (Mild cheers). I know, it's unlawful, it's dangerous, it's subject to prosecution, all that jazz, but I talked to some members of the YES movement earlier today and I'd like them to come out here right now.
DB: Because you see, we're not going to take it anymore. We are one. We stand together. We are united. And we are not going to leave this ring until the Authority gives us what we want.

I then see a bunch of idiots in DB T-shirts doing the whole pointer fingers in the air thing and screaming YES.

Alright. Here's the discourse analysis. Throughout the promo, DB does just two things. Cater to the people and suck them up real nice in every conceivable way possible. He begins the promo by Mick Foley's cheap pop tactic which even Hogan did earlier. "Right here in Memphis". Guess what, the response is mild. The Memphis crowd is tired of hearing the same "Right here in Memphis".
He next tries hard and unnaturally to make the people belong so-to-speak by utterances like "WE" , "The YES movement" , and so on. Guess what Bryan, a babyface does suck up to the audience , but THIS MUCH? When the Rock cut promos, he had his own catchphrases and audience involvement was only insofar as they finish half of it alongwith the Great one, but when did the Rock ever come out, week after week, and beg the audience to be involved in his "MOVEMENT" against the Mcmahon-Helmsley Regime?

The second thing he does is feign anger on his face and in his tonality, but ends up sounding like Owen Hart trying to be angry because they call him the Nugget. He doesn't seem really angry(like how CM Punk usually emitted out real fury and one could see it on his face and read it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice). Bryan fails at both the levels, expressions and voice modulation. What he did is the usual babyface underdog thing , by pandering to every Joe in the arena, but the responses were mild, and the only thing the audience begins to do at frequent intervals is chant YES or NO after Bryan covertly or conspicuously makes them do it.

I won't go so far as to say that he looked like a tiny man who looked abnormal with all that beard and hair and his arms looking short, but the hair/beard makes it worse. I will merely resort to saying that, I never knew DB sucked so much on the mic and as a character. I surmised he did suck but this much? And this is the first time I watched an entire DB segment, or even any WWE segment in 9 months.

When the Rock came out to challenge HHH, he'd call his wife a **** and ask him to get his candyass out there, or that he'd whoop it. Same with Austin.

When Kurt Angle, despite being considerably smaller then guys like Rock and HHH came out, he'd always talk with intensity and believability with his "broken freakin' " and everything and one would believe that when Angle says he's going to break Undertaker's ankle, he MEANS it.

Eddie Guerrero had the Latino heat thing, the audience loved him for the Lying cheating schtick, his mannerisms, but if there was ever a more believable personification of "anger, fury, frustration", that can be seen in his segments from 2002 with the Rock, Ric Flair, and in 2005 as a heel against Mysterio.

Needless to say, I love DB the wrestler who comes out and wrestles stellar matches in ROH with Cesaro/Claudio and others. He doesn't have a shabby appearance nor looks abnormal because he's too tiny to sport the Wyatts' beard and hair. Your thoughts?

I get it. You don't like Bryan in the ME and you've been very vocal about it. And it's fine. Judging a skill is subjective and everyone has a right to his/her opinion. But then there is my opinion.

Daniel Bryan is fine on the mic. He's not the most charismatic talker, but as so many have already said, he doesn't need to be. He is good at what he does. He is amazing charisma and likeability. The underdog storyline is tailor-made for him.

Can Daniel Bryan do better? Of course he can. Sometimes it's not him, but the material he's been given to work with. His delivery is still good enough and what he lacks on the mic, he makes up inside the ring.

See, whether he'll have a sustained ME push or fall by the wayside is yet to be seen. At this point though, it's an amazing ride for Bryan and I am enjoying it.