Report: Officials Unprepared For The Backlash Last Night

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a report at wrestlinginc.com via F4WOnline.com, WWE officials expected a backlash against Bryan's elimination, but they were surprised at the level of it. Due to the atmosphere in the building before the Rumble match even began, officials panicked early in the show and moved some things around.

The report also states that there won't be a triple threat match at WrestleMania with Bryan, Lesnar & Reigns as Vince feels that it'd be "going to the well" too many times. Allegedly, The Rock himself was said to have been upset as well. The Rock was presumably upset over the Bryan elimination and the reaction but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

IF this is legit, then I'd honestly find it funny if it wasn't so sad. Officials didn't expect the backlash to be as big as it was? Vince feels making it a triple threat is a mistake and it won't be happening? I think it's fair to say that trust in Vince's decision making among fans is at or near an all time low.

With Raw & SD! cancelled this week due to the snow storm, WWE has been given something of a reprieve. They have an additional week to come up with something in order to placate fans. If Bryan isn't going to be put into a triple threat match, then the only way I can see fans not trashing the WrestleMania main event is if an angle is done where Bryan & Reigns have a match over Reigns' spot and Reigns' loses. Of course, the various dirt sheet writers will still have a field day with the obvious question being why would Roman Reigns willingly put up his spot? The last time we saw this was a few years ago with John Cena & CM Punk. They put on one helluva match, but there was no logic behind Cena's decision to do so.

 

[laodaron]

I have to disagree. No one should expect the morons in Philly to be such asshole marks. Did DB go out earlier than we expected? Yep. did it confirm that Roman would win? Yep. Does it matter enough to shit all over a decent performance from a guy that has dedicated his life to this? Absolutely not. I mean, they shit on Rock for God's sake. Did you see his face on TV?

No, the blame lies 100% in the fans on this one. We have known for months that Roman was picked to win the Rumble. Daniel Bryan v. Lesnar is a stupid match, as evidenced by Lesnar doing full release German Suplexes on Cena for 30 minutes straight last night. The only young guy that looks like a threat to Lesnar is Roman Reigns, but the assholes can't let Reigns have his moment.

I can't imagine any sane person that would have expected what the horrible fans in attendance did to Roman Reigns, Ambrose, Kofi, Dolph, or any of the faces last night. But I knew it was going to be a bad night last night when Cena got the reaction he got.

 

[L@RISANO]

Reigns vs Bryan in a fight for a Main Event spot wouldn't make sense given the way Daniel Bryan was eliminated. It could be done, but it would lack logic as to how it comes about. I do think, based on HHH and Steph's appearance at the end of the show, that the Authority will be giving Reigns trouble on the road to Mania.


As for the report. I call it B.S. I think every man, woman and their dog knew that a backlash would happen if Bryan was eliminated. Having him eliminated so quickly and non-chalantly, with not even any interaction with Kane, for example, was a clear example of the WWE insulting the fans' intelligence last night.


Through it all, they have singlehandedly managed to turn Roman Reigns into a heel going into Mania, and he is not a heel with true heel heat, but probably 'get off my TV' heat... all because of DumbAss booking by Vince.

 

[L@RISANO]

I have to disagree. No one should expect the morons in Philly to be such asshole marks. Did DB go out earlier than we expected? Yep. did it confirm that Roman would win? Yep. Does it matter enough to shit all over a decent performance from a guy that has dedicated his life to this? Absolutely not. I mean, they shit on Rock for God's sake. Did you see his face on TV?

No, the blame lies 100% in the fans on this one. We have known for months that Roman was picked to win the Rumble. Daniel Bryan v. Lesnar is a stupid match, as evidenced by Lesnar doing full release German Suplexes on Cena for 30 minutes straight last night. The only young guy that looks like a threat to Lesnar is Roman Reigns, but the assholes can't let Reigns have his moment.

I can't imagine any sane person that would have expected what the horrible fans in attendance did to Roman Reigns, Ambrose, Kofi, Dolph, or any of the faces last night. But I knew it was going to be a bad night last night when Cena got the reaction he got.

This here.

That made it obvious to me the kind of treatment to expect for Reigns. Only it was magnified based on how Bryan was eliminated.
Cena even did some different moves in the ring and was booed even more. Go figure.
And Seth Rollins got cheered by them.


lMO, Reigns vs Lesnar needs to be a hard-hitting slugfest, with some blood if possible. If so, I think casuals would eat that stuff up. I know personally, I'd enjoy every minute of it.

 

[Navi]

If they were unprepared for the heat, even though some of the WWE management don't think Reigns is ready, then they are liars. Or idiots or both.

It was a fairly decent Rumble until Kane and Show got in the ring and started throwing people out like bags of garbage. As soon as it got down to the final four, Kane, Show, Ambrose and Reigns it was obvious who the winner was.

Even if Ambrose and Reigns had managed to get rid of Kane and Show, can you imagine the nuclear heat Reigns would have got for eliminating his Shield brother. Said it before and will say it again, they have risked ruining his career with their stupidity. He looked confused and pissed off last night with the fans reaction, and when your cousin, one of the biggest movie starts in the world can't help you, fuck.

 

[laodaron]

This here.

That made it obvious to me the kind of treatment to expect for Reigns. Only it was magnified based on how Bryan was eliminated.
Cena even did some different moves in the ring and was booed even more. Go figure.
And Seth Rollins got cheered by them.


lMO, Reigns vs Lesnar needs to be a hard-hitting slugfest, with some blood if possible. If so, I think casuals would eat that stuff up. I know personally, I'd enjoy every minute of it.

That Triple Threat really showed that Rollins is a qualified Main Event guy. But it also showed that 12 years in, John Cena is adapting as a wrestler, doing silly bumps, doing new moves, and letting Lesnar toss him around. I was much more impressed with what Lesnar and Cena were doing last night, Rollins was an afterthought for me. But even then, the crowd reaction was stupid and shitty. The face pop that Lesnar got, the heel pop that Cena got. The crowd was going to shit on everything that they didn't fantasy book.

 

[thebigbadfox]

everyone wants to blame the Philly crowd... and I was there so I know we were harsh... but were we the ones getting #cancelnetwork or whatever it was called? NO the people at home watching were just as frustrated with the overall show and way it was booked.... don't want bryan winning fine, just don't book him to loose like a schmuck! just saying we there couldn't cancel our subscriptions in the parking lot! unhappy with ziggs? let him last more than 2 minutes? I think they screwed up booking wise more than anything

 

[Pedigree1]

I think the officials were just unprepared for the crowd last night period.. The crowd was just looking to shit on everything that they didnt deem to their liking. I absolutely loved the triple main even event,and everyone worked their asses off. Cena even showed off new moves,and still the crowd boo'd so anything IMO WWE management did after that,they were screwed.

After DB got eliminated no matter what WWE management did Philly crowd was gonna shit all over everything. I think Roman is getting a lot of undeserved blame as yes he is the next logical choice to ME WM.

After DB went out,it all but confirmed Roman would win and it all downhill after that. Roman did not deserve none of the heat he got guilty by association i guess is what you call it. I dont know how you salvage it,maybe turn Roman heel if it continues i dont know!

 

[jholcomb22]

I love the thought that Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match is going back to the well too often, but having Austin win 3 rumbles in 5 years and really 4 when you count the Vince win, is not. Austin was what the fans wanted then, so McMahon gave it to them over and over again...its time to realize they want Bryan now, as often as possible.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You have to bear in mind certain realities...

Why was Kane booked so strong? For the express purpose of getting him that record of eliminations. They used he and Show as a unit to get it done. Why? because it was Kane's last Rumble by all probabilities... like it or not he deserved a "swansong" moment, it's not gonna be a Mania match as such but he got that Rumble record... of course fans crapped all over it. But if someone had said to you, Kane gets a lot of elimations and retires with that record before the match, and he'd have eliminated the guys Bray did (except Bryan) you'd have zero to say and nor would the fans who booed... You might, if you're lucky see Masked Kane in a couple of years for a one off... but Kane is to all real purposes gone as soon as this Authority storyline winds up.

Big Show likewise, may well not be in a Rumble in any other capacity as a cameo.

So yeah the booking was harsh on younger guys, but one argument is that they have the next 17 years to win one, or get that Record... Kane was in his his last of 17 in that gimmick... so if he takes out some up and comers, it's a "thank you" from Vince and those guys would probably get it, thank Glen Jacobs for the match and his career and not have a problem other than a silent one... let's face it they all KNEW they weren't going to Mania so who or how they get eliminated doesn't matter much to them...

However, the fans are clearly not in that mindset right now and haven't been for over a year. The warnings were there last year, indeed WWE was lucky to pull it round, last years Rumble was costly. It cost them a lot of bad publicity, a lot of goodwill and major talent. All has not been well for a long time... Punk didn't expressly blame the Rumble, but it was clearly an issue... likewise Batista was clearly not the fans choice from the moment he debuted back... they had time to see, read and adjust to the signs but chose not to rather than "we'll fix it later if we have to"... which they did, at a big cost.

This year the attitude seems to be one of either bemusement, genuine incredulity or sheer "fuck it, they get what their given". All are very bad for business... on watching again the talent concerned seemed to be completely dumfounded... Rock's, Show's jaws literally dropped at the reaction... Kane clearly knew it was coming and was resigned to it... Reigns face sank visibly...

I genuinely feel for the guy, hes doing nothing WRONG, just suffering for prior mistakes... but they're not even last years mistakes... they're the same mistakes that saw Diesel rise too quick and kill it, that saw Lex Luger fail and even Rocky himself fail the first time out. It's not a new lesson but it seems never to have been learned since 1993 so at this point not one person in that process can say "they never saw it coming", cos they were either there before when it didn't work out or saw it as "fans" or on footage... or from the testimony of guys LIKE ROCKY who lived it.

It was a BAD Rumble, but still not the worst... 1995 beats it, just... many of the "burials" were not, just guys not given what the fans wanted them to get... not all were gonna win, but you wanted at least some real drama as to who would... that ended the moment Bryan went out and it sank the match.

If they don't learn from this they never will... personally I REALLY hope the Mania stip is dropped for next year, either it's for a title (why not the IC title? or the World if need be) or just rest the stip... that match with no Mania shot up for grabs would have been fine with most fans...

The Audience of One concept died last night, publicly in front of the world... if it didn't then WWE deserves everything coming it's way.

 

[Potatogod93]

I feel like Lesnar needs to go over on Reigns then try to keep Lesnar around for another PPV for DB. OR have Rollins cash in and do a Shield triple threat and then have DB vs Lesnar non-title. It doesn't make sense for Reigns vs DB or even DB in a triple threat. Last year it solved the problems as no one wanted Batista. I don't think Reigns is entirely the problem, But Can he carry a match? Sure he can jump-punch (not a wrestling move) and do a sweet dropkick, but can he wrestle? Is he that over? Usually the champ is they guy who is the most over. Daniel Bryan.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I don't believe this report for one reason:

The booking clearly showed that they absolutely did not care what the crowd reaction was going to be at all. They stressed that by purposely trolling the live crowd at every turn for the entire final half hour of the event.

 

[stepnmeka]

Not sure anyone would agree with me but to me we all knew they weren't gonna have Daniel Bryan win the Rumble. To me his return to the ring should have been made after the Rumble. That way you don't have the fans turn Reigns as bad as they did and you still can have the show end on a good note instead of a repeat fan display of last year. just my opinion

 

[novaprime52]

The Rumble itself would have been easy to fix if they had connected a little bit of logic with their booking. I get Reigns was going to be booed. They were in Philly and the Philly crowds can be rough on everything. But Bryan SHOULD have been eliminated by Kane with the Help of J&J security. Boom Next PPV has a Match. Mizdow should have been pulled over by The Miz and they should have brawled to the back, officially breaking them up. Ziggler should have been allowed 10-15 min in the rumble, maybe have him come in at 20 to bump all over the place and look good, and just let Ambrose be Ambrose for a bit longer. Bray should have been one of the final four, and when he challenged the people in the back, I don't know if he was early or not, but that should have been Bryan coming out THEN. Again, simple logic would have made everything better.

Reigns winning wasn't the biggest issue it was just one of many.

 

[L@RISANO]

everyone wants to blame the Philly crowd... and I was there so I know we were harsh... but were we the ones getting #cancelnetwork or whatever it was called? NO the people at home watching were just as frustrated with the overall show and way it was booked.... don't want bryan winning fine, just don't book him to loose like a schmuck! just saying we there couldn't cancel our subscriptions in the parking lot! unhappy with ziggs? let him last more than 2 minutes? I think they screwed up booking wise more than anything

People were happy until Bryan was eliminated in the same manner that Zack Ryder was... like a sack of potatoes. From then on, the entire mood of the crowd changed to the now infamous,"Shit on the Rumble" mode and it never let up, but I don't disagree with that part, as I felt the Rumble booking, whilst it had a good idea, has poor execution of that idea whatwith Big Slow and Borane dominating the up and comers...


As far as the rest of the show was concerned... I thought it was booked rather well. But the Rumble booking from the time Bryan got knocked out was awful, to say the least.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Knowing today's idiotic moronic smark fans who don't know a good thing when they see it shitting all over a superstar like Reigns, I actually feel sorry for Reigns and to think it was the fans who actually started cheering Roman in the first place and it is because of you that he will turn on you guys

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

I have to disagree. No one should expect the morons in Philly to be such asshole marks. Did DB go out earlier than we expected? Yep. did it confirm that Roman would win? Yep. Does it matter enough to shit all over a decent performance from a guy that has dedicated his life to this? Absolutely not. I mean, they shit on Rock for God's sake. Did you see his face on TV?

No, the blame lies 100% in the fans on this one. We have known for months that Roman was picked to win the Rumble. Daniel Bryan v. Lesnar is a stupid match, as evidenced by Lesnar doing full release German Suplexes on Cena for 30 minutes straight last night. The only young guy that looks like a threat to Lesnar is Roman Reigns, but the assholes can't let Reigns have his moment.

I can't imagine any sane person that would have expected what the horrible fans in attendance did to Roman Reigns, Ambrose, Kofi, Dolph, or any of the faces last night. But I knew it was going to be a bad night last night when Cena got the reaction he got.

I've seen people try and pin this on the crowd and that is just hilarious. Two years running, crowds have dumped all over the Royal Rumble. Those Rumbles took place in Pittsburgh and Philly. I've been attending wrestling events in both of those cities for most of my life. Trust me when I say, those crowds are nothing alike.

If those two crowds can agree that the WWE is doing something wrong, something must be wrong.

I think they thought they could get away with garbage booking in Pittsburgh, but the out of town wrestling enthusiasts gave the Pittsburgh crowd a "smarkier" presence. For them to think they could get away with it in Philly, that is just dumb. For their stupidity, they deserve all the backlash they get.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

Vince needs to stick by Reigns. Screw this placating Daniel Bryan fans and reprieves and matches for Roman Reigns title shot. I don't agree with a lot of shit Vince McMahon does but if he caves to some fans over a got damn wrestling match a wrestling match a scripted wrestling match I'll lose the last bit of respect I have for him.

 

[kadroan]

WWE is bold for going through their plan. I guess they learned from last year how they got to stick with their vision.

 

[StunningBlackMamba24]

The idiotic fans are stubborn. I am sure nobody gave a shit about Daniel Bryan in 2011 where he was a mid card, and dont say any bullshit that people did care because I have looked at a couple of matches with him recently in 2011. He then starts to get pushed and his yes chants get him over once again like in 2010. Then in 2013 it was WWE's decision to give him a shot for the title, and apart of a huge storyline. Then when he's not put in the rumble they fucking complain like the fucking kids they are, and they go on to ruin the Wrestlemania main event because they want more WWE. WWE owns Daniel Bryan and they could do whatever the fuck they could do with him.

Long story short Daniel Bryan single handedly corrupted, ruined, and broke WWE.

 

[Y2JBL]

Dunno how many threads need to be made about this. There is no reason to make the WM main event a triple threat again. I sincerely hope Vince and the WWE stick to their guns and do what they want to do this year. WHY does Bryan need to have ANOTHER year totally dedicated to him? He got everything on a silver platter last year. They made him look like a beast defeating multiple people in one night and celebrating with the belt as WM went off the air. People seriously have to sh*t on everything that doesn't involve that exactly same scenario happening this year? Who in the history of this business was ever inserted to main event after main event like that? Daniel Bryan is NOT deserving of that special privilege. I hope he has some garbage match with Kane in the first hour of WM and watches the rest of the show. Ironically, I think Daniel Bryan has the least problem with what's happening to Daniel Bryan right now. I'm sure he's not throwing a hissy fit like CM Punk.

The backlash was what it was because they were in Philly. The could have put on that exact show somewhere else and it wouldn't have seemed so bad. And even all the hype people are trying to create around the Network cancellation page crashing and all that are still mostly things driven by the actions of the small vocal minority of the WWE universe. Average fans weren't pooping their pants and throwing fits last night. They were performing in front of a smark crowd and it came across pretty terrible.

This crap about Bryan is honestly the worst thing about the business right now. Fans are acting like idiots any time we apparently don't have 3 clones of Daniel Bryan in the main event and it's just becoming disgusting.

I wish WWE would just troll and give you what you want. Put Bryan in every main event and give him every belt until the IWC eventually does their classic change of heart where suddenly Bryan is "SuperBryan" and nobody wants to see him in the main event any more.

If you want a replay of WM30 this year, just watch a replay of WM30.

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

Dunno how many threads need to be made about this. There is no reason to make the WM main event a triple threat again. I sincerely hope Vince and the WWE stick to their guns and do what they want to do this year. WHY does Bryan need to have ANOTHER year totally dedicated to him? He got everything on a silver platter last year. They made him look like a beast defeating multiple people in one night and celebrating with the belt as WM went off the air. People seriously have to sh*t on everything that doesn't involve that exactly same scenario happening this year? Who in the history of this business was ever inserted to main event after main event like that? Daniel Bryan is NOT deserving of that special privilege. I hope he has some garbage match with Kane in the first hour of WM and watches the rest of the show. Ironically, I think Daniel Bryan has the least problem with what's happening to Daniel Bryan right now. I'm sure he's not throwing a hissy fit like CM Punk.

The backlash was what it was because they were in Philly. The could have put on that exact show somewhere else and it wouldn't have seemed so bad. And even all the hype people are trying to create around the Network cancellation page crashing and all that are still mostly things driven by the actions of the small vocal minority of the WWE universe. Average fans weren't pooping their pants and throwing fits last night. They were performing in front of a smark crowd and it came across pretty terrible.

This crap about Bryan is honestly the worst thing about the business right now. Fans are acting like idiots any time we apparently don't have 3 clones of Daniel Bryan in the main event and it's just becoming disgusting.

I wish WWE would just troll and give you what you want. Put Bryan in every main event and give him every belt until the IWC eventually does their classic change of heart where suddenly Bryan is "SuperBryan" and nobody wants to see him in the main event any more.

If you want a replay of WM30 this year, just watch a replay of WM30.

The idiotic fans are stubborn. I am sure nobody gave a shit about Daniel Bryan in 2011 where he was a mid card, and dont say any bullshit that people did care because I have looked at a couple of matches with him recently in 2011. He then starts to get pushed and his yes chants get him over once again like in 2010. Then in 2013 it was WWE's decision to give him a shot for the title, and apart of a huge storyline. Then when he's not put in the rumble they fucking complain like the fucking kids they are, and they go on to ruin the Wrestlemania main event because they want more WWE. WWE owns Daniel Bryan and they could do whatever the fuck they could do with him.

Sorry that these marks don't understand that the problems lie much deeper than Daniel Bryan. The problems with the WWE lie far deeper than any one wrestler. Roman Reigns. John Cena. Anybody. Sorry you marks don't see it. I won't get long winded about it, as I'm sure you don't want to, or maybe cannot, read something that long. At least somebody is enjoying the product.

To say nobody gave a shit about Daniel Bryan before he was in the WWE is pretty ridiculous. That's actually not even what this jabroni said. He actually said nobody cared about Daniel Bryan while he was in WWE's midcard. Just think about that statement. Like it or not, people cared. Don't be such a mark.

People cared about Daniel Bryan long before he went by that name. WWE DOES NOT = WRESTLING.

As a matter of fact, they've been trying to distance themselves from the use of the word "wrestling" as much as possible in recent years.

Anyway, great posts guys. Very thought provoking!

 

[MartialHorror]

The problem is that these days, fans want to make stars, they don't want the WWE to do it for them. Admittedly this might've always been a factor, but it just so happened that back then, Vince had a better mindset of what the crowds would respond to. Furthermore, he'd notice peoples responses and change his plans around that.

The reason why Mizdow is probably getting so much love is that the WWE Universe can tell he's being screwed. By being treated like a joke, his talent is going to waste. Ziggler was stuck in the midcard without any hope and Bryan's booking prior to his push was bizarre. It baffled me how much this Rumble botched everything, eliminating the people that the fans wanted to see either too early or too quickly and focusing on two aged performers whose drawing power has diminished. Even Reigns winning could've potentially worked if everything else clicked. But nope, it was a travesty.

 

[Reflection]

everyone wants to blame the Philly crowd... and I was there so I know we were harsh... but were we the ones getting #cancelnetwork or whatever it was called? NO the people at home watching were just as frustrated with the overall show and way it was booked.... don't want bryan winning fine, just don't book him to loose like a schmuck! just saying we there couldn't cancel our subscriptions in the parking lot! unhappy with ziggs? let him last more than 2 minutes? I think they screwed up booking wise more than anything

Good points. The network unsubscriptions and the online outrage proves that the Philadelphia fans weren't the only ones that were mad at the WWE, like some people are suggesting. The WWE showed their middle finger to the fans, and the fans did the same thing in return. The negative reaction towards Reigns will be carried on to the other cities as well, just like Batista last year.

Coming to the original topic, it is quite probable that they didn't think the fans would react that way for that long, especially since other fan favourites like Reigns, Ambrose and Ziggler were still yet to enter the match. They must have thought that the fans would forget about Bryan by the end of the match, and their anger will only be centered against Kane and Show (who would look like super heels) rather than the writers. And when The Rock finally graces us with his presence, nobody would remember Bryan anymore; kids would think Bryan lost because he wasn't good enough and adults would simply get lost in the "electrifying" moment. By the way, it also seems that they underestimated the proportion of people that know pro-wrestling is scripted and watch it mainly for the storylines.

 

[StunningBlackMamba24]

Sorry that these marks don't understand that the problems lie much deeper than Daniel Bryan. The problems with the WWE lie far deeper than any one wrestler. Roman Reigns. John Cena. Anybody. Sorry you marks don't see it. I won't get long winded about it, as I'm sure you don't want to, or maybe cannot, read something that long. At least somebody is enjoying the product.

To say nobody gave a shit about Daniel Bryan before he was in the WWE is pretty ridiculous. That's actually not even what this jabroni said. He actually said nobody cared about Daniel Bryan while he was in WWE's midcard. Just think about that statement. Like it or not, people cared. Don't be such a mark.

People cared about Daniel Bryan long before he went by that name. WWE DOES NOT = WRESTLING.

As a matter of fact, they've been trying to distance themselves from the use of the word "wrestling" as much as possible in recent years.

Anyway, great posts guys. Very thought provoking!

Just listen alright. Yeah people cared about Daniel Bryan. They were pissed when he got fired 2010. Then he came back. WWE fans are fake. Just like with Zack Ryder, they've been begging for him to get a chance, then when he finally does, they stopped caring, and that's exactly what happened to Daniel Bryan. Yeah some people may cared for Daniel Bryan in 2011, but people were mainly talking about Punk or Cena of HHH, or Nash, Orton, Christian , etc. Ever since he started getting a push in 2012, he was getting his pops again. As I said in 2013 WWE gave him a shot in a major storyline, but that wasn't enough for the fans. WWE fucks up their plans at wm30, and makes Daniel Bryan beat HHH, Orton, and Batista in one night to win the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and that wasn't enough for the WWE universe. The wwe fans are stubborn pieces of shits. Daniel Bryan is a good wrestler, but unless they turn him heel, he doesn't belong with WWE, since WWE is not wrestling like you said, but entertainment. WWE limits Daniel Bryan's moveset, so he clearly isn't entertaining. When he gets on the mic I usually just turn the whole thing off cuz I know its gonna be something stupid ending with questions that start off with this stupid yes chants. I would say that I respect what you have said, but with the jabroni comment and sarcasm at the end of your statement, I'm not, and I still know for a damn fucking fact that nobody cared for Daniel Boring in 2011.