Daniel Bryan's "Heel Turn": Could We Be Getting Played?

[Jack-Hammer]

Over the course of the past few weeks, there's been a lot of talk & speculation among the internet that WWE is slowly turning Daniel Bryan heel. The speculation & talk is with good reason as WWE itself has given little hints that Bryan might be turning:

Bryan seems to be showing much more confidence and his enthusiasm at winning and being the World Heavyweight Champion has made him seem a little cocky. Nothing outrageous, mostly just his mannerisms and little comments he's made such as being Big Show's "good luck charm".

This past Friday on SmackDown!, it did look as though Daniel Bryan intentionally provoked Mark Henry into pushing him. Big Show had just broken out of the LaBell Lock and Bryan had taken a powder to the outside to regroup. His facial expression did seem to convey frustration and uncertainty. At the same time, Mark Henry had been talking and yelling trash on Bryan & Show throughout the match.

WWE, in my view, kind of threw a curve ball last night on Raw. Bryan's match with Kofi Kingston started with a handshake, something that's not often seen in guys that are being turned heel. The brief promo segment also had Bryan literally offering Big Show another shot at the WHC and not backing down after being told that not only had Teddy Long given Show another shot, but that it was in a no DQ & no count out match. He looked a little dismayed at the prospect yes, but that's natural when you look at the storyline overall. Bryan is 5'10" about 210 pounds and his opponent is over 7 feet tall and billed at 441 pounds, even though he's really about 397 which is still a big weight difference. Bryan didn't seem cowardly, he hasn't shyed away from competition as of yet.

Now where am I going with all this? Well, I got to thinking about Big Show. Since Show's program with Bryan started, Big Show has taken Bryan lightly. Naturally, the WWE has built a naturally believable storyline between two very different sized men. Even though Show said in a brief promo prior to his match this past Friday on SD! that he didn't take Bryan lightly, that's not been the case at all. He's basically talked down to Bryan and has used his size in promo segments to try & intimidate Bryan. What if it's Show who's actually the one going heel and goes heel due to an inability to beat Daniel Bryan? Daniel Bryan's extreme enthusiasm and his newfound confidence could simply be just that, only taken somewhat out of context by specific circumstances.

Show not being able to defeat someone who he considers to be greatly inferior due to his own size & strenth advantage could be used as a catalyst to put Show over the edge. After all, Show has sold his frustrations well at not being the World Champion, for having a less than 1 minute championship reign, and finally winning a World Championship after more than 9 years since his last reign. Not being able to beat someone that he believes he should be able to beat could send Show over the edge.

Another thing that makes me think that Show will be going heel is because of his rumored match against Shaq at WrestleMania. It'll be a big match that will garner tons of attention in which Show will be literally facing one of the most beloved & respected athletes & celebrities of a generation. Shaq is sure as shit not gonna be heel. He's not going to be playing the ultra cocky, super rich jock like Floyd Mayweather did because it's not natural.

I might be completely off base and Bryan might drop the title at the SD! tapings tonight. I hope not but it's a possibility. Still, it's an alternative scenario that I do think has some degree of feesibility.

 

[This Is My Name Thank You]

Why can't Bryan just show confidence in being a champion now? He is our World Heavyweight Champion whilst he is a true Light heavyweight. I think Bryan is just showing that no matter what Show does he is going to beat him. Bryan to me is just the guy who doesn't want to be touched since he is the WHC and he doesn't and shouldn't be touched by any man since they're not in his level. He isn't turning heel just because he is disrespected and doesn't feel he should be since he has Cole disrespecting him on a nightly basis. Bryan is just showing his confidence in being champion and since when is showing confidence a heel thing only? See John Cena who is always confident every time he steps inside the ring. Bryan to me is finally being allowed to be himself a little bit more. See his ROH days. This to me is just Bryan saying to Big Show that no matter how hard you try you will not be able to beat me. I don't think that is a heel turn starting even after his incident with the shoulder and the Kofi match on RAW. He is a face just a very proud and confident face for sure.

I do think this is leading to a Big Show heel turn. I think Show will become out right pissed that he can't beat Bryan and will just try to destroy him like he was back in his ECW days where he was a true monster that used his force and power to take everyone out. Big Show will become irate with Bryans cocky attitude and it will cause him to beat him and he will probably keep being a thorn in his side until he gets the title, or this feuds pans off. Big Show to me should be the Heel at the end of this since Henry will more than likely be out with injury time and Smackdown will be without a major Heel now. Christian is out and now Henry so who else could step up to the plate; the fresh new champion or a highly over Big Show, who is even more over then Bryan right now? I believe it will be Big Show in which this will elevate Bryan into become a top face of Smackdown. It makes more since to me to have Big Show turn since he is a lot more popular then Bryan at the moment. I see it as if Show turns then more people will buy into Bryan since it takes a more over face to turn into a better heel. So Big Show turning seems like the logical and clearer choice for the WWE to do and they are playing this out since everyone seems to want to know who is turning.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I still think he's turning heel. But I wouldn't put it past them to turn Bryan heel now (or soon), and turn Show heel after the Rumble where he'll get a decent reaction and draw excitement in the actual match. IN fact, losing the Rumble and never having won it could be another catalyst for show in itself! It looked to me like Bryan intentionally threw the match on Smackdown. I think the handshake was part of this cocky personality to make people think he's a good guy. Or maybe because he believes, in character of course, that his actions are just and deserving. He accepted the title rematch, and I think they played it up that he was scared when they said he couldn't get DQ'd or countout out (that doesn't mean they can't bring in somebody else to take out Show... Keep that one in mind). They still have yet to discuss him being a hypocrite by cashing in early, and his actions do point to a slow turn.

But I agree, as I thought about this last night during Raw. It's a very real possibility that Show might turn heel as well. With Orton being off Smackdown, you'd think they would want to keep Bryan face...I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm not going to pretend that SmackDown's writing is nuanced and intelligent. This isn't exactly Shakespeare we're dealing with here. That said, for writing on a professional wrestling show, this is perhaps slightly more nuanced and intelligent that one might expect. Whereas storylines are normally painted in vast swathes of bright colours, we're getting a little bit of a gradient here. That's not to say that I'm going to have to read the cliff notes to comprehend this; I've got a handle on it.

Bryan's turning heel. Slowly turning heel and, rather counter to what one might expect, showing stronger performances as he does so, but he's quite plainly the bad guy to The Big Show's good guy. If this were a cowboy film, he'd be wearing a black hat and would have a big scar across his face. And he'd sexually assult innocent Mexicans. His new patented overenthusiastic celebration, stolen by Chris Jericho the very night Bryan invented it, is a pretty clever touch. Daniel Bryan - a better heel, but a heel nonetheless.

It's not entirely incomparable with Punk's second world heavyweight title reign, is it? In fact, the similarities are quite drastic. Punk, a face, cashed in on Jeff Hardy, a face. Bryan, a face, cashed in on The Big Show, a face. Now we're getting a comparable slow burn heel turn - which is just fun to say - and I think the end result will be the same; Bryan getting plenty of plaudits, but ending up flat on his back like a hooker in July once a more viable contender than Big Show waltzes in.

 

[Mustang Sally]

That they've found a way to make Daniel Bryan an interesting character (outside his actual wrestling skills) is quite an accomplishment in itself. It's all in the contradictions. On the one hand, you have Bryan presenting as a good guy in facing down the biggest dude on the block, using his superior wrestling skills during the match, which makes you regard him as a face. But, after he's content to hold onto his title by sitting outside the ring until the match is over, yet daring to celebrate his "victory" by standing on the ringside barricade with his title belt, we start to think of him as an obnoxious little jerk, ready to turn heel at any moment.

Other posters in this thread are right about Big Show, too. One minute, he's waving to the crowd and patronizing little Daniel.....and the next he's showing deep-seeded frustration at his inability to win the title he thinks is his by right. You figure he's a tick away from turning into a bad guy.

The interaction between the two has been a surprise, too. Who ever expected Daniel to talk back to the giant, even as he knows he'd better watch his mouth? When they're standing with an interviewer backstage, Big Show presumes Daniel will back down in a second if Show flexes his muscles, yet he's plainly confused at Daniel's defiant attitude. Show expects Daniel to quietly acquiesce to him, yet Bryan hasn't blatantly disrespected Show yet, so the big guy doesn't know quite how to respond to the runt standing in front of him.

To all that, add the fact that Daniel launched more offense than Show in their match. From the LeBell Lock to Daniel methodically attacking Show's legs, he clearly had the better of the action, which was a shocker in itself.

Either one of them might go bad, yes. In fact, after their program has been completed, I wouldn't be surprised to see them both go bad and join forces as heels. This is the WWE Creative team at its best. The mix of psychology and open warfare has taken a program I thought was going to be boring and made it more exciting than I ever believed possible.

 

[Davi323]

A few months ago, I got ripped apart by certain posters who shall remain unnamed for suggesting that Daniel Bryan needed to have a little more edginess to his character...and now that the WWE is actually letting him be a little more edgy, I am loving the crap out of it.

I don't know if they are going to turn him into a full blown heel or not, right now, it could just be more of a cocky face persona. That overall, Bryan is still a face, but that keeping the World Heavyweight Title is very important to him, and he will cut corners to keep it. Not that he will completely backstab his fellow faces, but that his priority is keeping the belt. He was 100/0 face/heel, and now it seems like he is closer to 70/30 face/heel. Overall face, but with a few heelish tendencies as it relates to keeping the belt.

As for the Big Show, I think a heel turn is inevitable if the match with Shaq at Wrestlemania is going to happen. Personally, I love the Big Show whether he is a face or heel, so it doesn't really matter to me. But, there is no way that Shaquille O'Neal is going to be the heel. Not in Miami, where he helped the Heat win an NBA World Championship. It just isn't going to happen. They could try to pitch the match as two giants, keeping Show a face, but it would be much simpler to turn Show heel, and the best way to do that, like Jack Hammer suggested, is to continually have him fail to beat Daniel Bryan.

 

[slice_of_life]

I think WWE is already regretting him winning MITB, and theyre really just counting the days until they can get a good enough story line to have him lose the title. I have absolutely zero interest in the Big Show and hope he doesnt lose it to him.

I think the heel turn was too soon and poorly executed, but since they've already done it, I want to see them book him like Bobby Roode. Get all of his title victories the cheap way. I would love to see him in the Elimination Chamber with five other guys and all of the sudden disappearing underneath one of the steel grates that surround the outside of the ring and then when whoever is the last man thinks they've won, he jumps out with a chair and wins.

 

[berlinbrawler]

I disagree. I think D. Bryan is indeed turning heel. He's a tweener now, doing tweener things. That means he can be nice (shaking hands before the match), but he also can be a total douche (celebrating like he just won the freaking Super Bowl because Big Show got disqualified). It's all very formula. Soon now the turn will come full circle. If the hand-shaking thing continues at all it will soon turn into a sarcastic gesture.
Bryan is turning heel, there is no doubt about it. (And it's a good thing, too.)

 

[Cats Pajamas]

He shook Kofi's hand because he was offering condolences for Bourne f'n up his career.

Big Show loses to every midget on the roster; Bryan doesn't need to worry about turning heel until someone with a little momentum challenges for his title. At this point, especially with Henry consistently up their asses, he can still pull off a clean win.

Bryan is the most random wrestler I've ever seen.