Db is liked by CURRENT fans but he has absolutely nothing appealing to an outsider looking in. He isnt attractive, has no charisma, cant talk on the mic, and is small. I dont know how many others ways I can explain that. DB got over on a silly chant and wrestling skills. Nobody outside of hardcore wrestling fans cares about in ring ability. Look at Cena, Hogan, Rock, and Austin, non of them were particularly great in the ring. DB CANT draw anything besides people that already watch wwe and Vince understands this. Everybody on here completely ignores this concept. DB will never be on a show focused on mainstream media, he wont be on SNL or anything like that because he doesn't have the personality for it. He is the opposite of what is popular in mainstream media.
If Daniel Bryant can't draw, then why did the WWE issue refunds at their house shows last weekend when he was pulled from the card due to injury? If the WWE doesn't think Daniel Bryan is a big reason fans attend their live events, then their response to his not being there is akin to McDonalds issuing you a refund for being out of Big Macs when you'd only ordered a McChicken. It makes no sense to give refunds to people just because you can't provide them something you know they didn't even want. So don't tell me I'm ignoring what you think is going on in VKMs head when very recent evidence says your opinion on the matter is incorrect.
You're entitled to your opinion on Daniel Bryan, but it's baseless. There's no actual evidence to support it. It's ridiculous to say a guy can't bring in the mainstream fans when he's never been given an opportunity to do so. He's never been given the ball and told to run with it. So how can you so definitively say he couldn't run with it if given the chance? And please, don't tell me that constantly being screwed out of the title, and never once overcoming the odds before being pushed aside is your idea of giving Daniel Bryan a chance to take the ball and run with it.
You know who has been given the chance to take the ball and run with it over the past decade? John Cena. Randy Orton. Batista. That so many former wrestling fans decided to turn off their televisions during that time should tell you that your opinions on Daniel Bryan's inability to connect with the mainstream actually applies to those three superstars. Ratings are down, buy rates are down, mainstream attention is almost zero. If those three had the ability to connect with the mainstream, then explain why these three key pieces have suffered so dramatically during their time on top.
Over the past decade, the WWE has gotten mainstream attention for four reasons. 1) Wrestlers died. 2) Some random celebrity was getting in the ring. 3) Multiple sports personalities were interested in the CM Punk angle in 2011. 4) Daniel Bryan's Yes Chant caught on at sporting events.
Well, let's ignore the first two since one brought negative attention and the second one doesn't have to do with any type of long-term plan to keep fans watching once those celebrities leave the ring.
In the case of the first one, it piqued the interest of the current fans and caught the attention of former fans. So let's say they tuned in to see how this played out... Here's what they got. Punk, an anti-authority figure, called out the executives after being screwed out of the title by Kevin Nash - a Triple H crony - at SummerSlam. This led to Punk vs Triple H, and who won? Triple H. Now did Punk ever get his heat back from multiple beat downs by Nash? Nope. Did he ever get his heat back from his loss to Triple H? Nope. In fact, the WWE sacrificed Punk's heat multiple times in order to build the "long-anticipated dream match" between Nash and Triple H.
Keep in mind that after losing to Triple H, Punk joined forces with him. So now, this anti-authority figure that was catching fire with the fans was teaming up with the authority figures to take on the real rebels - Miz and R Truth. And who won? Awesome Truth - two mid-card talents that went on to lose a squash match a month later against the real stars, Rock and Cena. Of course, none of this even goes on to mention that Punk returned to a watered-down, sophomoric anti-authority figure in early 2012 by feuding with John Laurinaitis in an epic program that culminated in a main event pay-per-view match between Lauriniatis and... John Cena. WTF?
Now we know there are old wrestling fans that refuse to watch the programming. Furthermore, we know there are wrestling fans that refuse to watch because the programming is stale, that the WWE hasn't been able to build new stars since John Cena in 2005. So imagine telling a friend, a former fan, that he needed to start watching again after the Punk "worked shoot." And he agrees to your request. Now, if he's only giving it a chance because you told him he needs to see this Punk character - and this Punk character is continually having his heat taken from him, continually getting involved in programs with people only to have John Cena or Triple H go over in that program, then why in the hell is he going to keep watching? It's just more of the same stuff that he turned off years ago.
Now on to Daniel Bryan. Here's a guy that has been white hot for a long time, and it looked like the WWE actually pulled the trigger on him at SummerSlam ... that is, until Triple H turned on him and allowed Randy Orton to win the title. That's a great heel move, though. Part of being a great heel is making fans want to see you get your ass kicked - and there's no question that we wanted to see those two guys get their ass kicked. So then what happened? We spent the next several months watching Daniel Bryan get screwed by Triple H and Orton. Bryan won the title only to have the decision reversed. The Big Show caused a no-contest at the next pay-per view. And finally Shawn Michaels screwed him out of the title in late October before Bryan simply moved on.
So again, imagine you told your friend who stopped watching in 2007 to turn the show back on because he has to see this Daniel Bryan guy. What does he see? He sees multiple beat downs from Triple H and Randy Orton. He sees the wrestler fail to overcome any of the obstacles in front of him and continually get screwed at every corner. Basically, he sees a white hot wrestler whose heat has been sacrificed to benefit Randy Orton and Triple H. And you know what your friend does at this point? He turns off Raw again because this is the exact reason he stopped watching in the first place.
And therein lies the problem. When the WWE gets the tiniest bit of mainstream attention, when they have the opportunity to bring back fans whose interest might be piqued by that mainstream attention, they use it as a chance to push the same tired superstars down our throat - John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H and now Batista.
Now you say Daniel Bryan only got over because of the Yes chant and his wrestling ability. I disagree with that. Daniel Bryan got over because the live crowds got tired of VKM continually pushing the same type of guy down our throats, and when they perceived it happening again at WM 28 with Sheamus's squash match, they revolted and started chanting Daniel Bryan's catch phrase. That's why the Yes Chants have seemingly gotten louder over the past several months and why fans chanting Daniel Bryan's name is almost deafening. The more the WWE has screwed this guy and pushed him aside, the more the WWE fans have revolted with the chants. Now, there's a chance this was the plan all along. If you keep screwing a guy, and the fans keep cheering louder for him as a result, then the best course of action is to milk it by continually screwing him until the chants have reached a crescendo, at which point you pull the trigger, give him the title and watch as the crowd explodes.
I can't say for certain right now whether the WWE is doing that or not, but we'll likely know tonight. If Daniel Bryan wins the rumble, then it's possible this was the plan - at the very least, it's an acknowledgement that they're listening to the fans. If Batista wins, then it's pretty obvious that they accidentally stumbled on to this phenomena. Furthermore, it's also a nod to the idea that the WWE brass just doesn't get it. Think about this - if the fans in attendance are revolting for Bryan - if every time the WWE overlooks him, the crowd chants grow louder - then what do you think is going to happen at WrestleMania 30 when two guys - Batista and Orton - who have been pushed down the fans throat, square off in favor of the guy they want to see in the match? It'll be a deafening response, and a likely embarrassment for both performers, as 70,00 people chant during the main event match at the biggest pay-per view of the year for a guy who isn't even in the ring.
