The fall of Bryan?

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

I'm admitingly not a fan of Daniel Bryan or never have even. It's easy to see the only reason he's achieved what he has is because of the IWC and fan support. He made a great Indie wrestler but I think that's where he needs to be. How many peoples push or win has been ruined because it wasn't Bryan who won? Like Reigns. He's suffered 2 major injuries that's put him on the shelf including being stripped of the title and now dragging the IC title down with him. There's not been any mention of stripping his IC title in fairness has there?? Has WWE even mentioned the belt?

I know nobody is gonna like this post because of Bryan's IWC fan base, but where is Bryan headed? More importantly where is the IC title headed? There's a lot on the roster that could carry it..like my guy Nevelle..

Thoughts? Or am I the bad guy?

 

[Navi]

Let me start off by saying I'm a Shield fan, and have been since day one, Ambrose in particular. Never was a Daniel Bryan fan, but that has never taken away from the fact I think he's a great wrestler. He just doesn't really appeal to me other than his in ring abilities, which are some of the best in the WWE.

I will disagree with the fact that he got where he is because of the IWC and his fans, the guy can wrestle and wrestle with the best of them. He has skills that others would give their eye teeth to have.

Now while it's true the Rumble two years ago got shit on because he wasn't in it, but no one wanted to see Batista/Orton. Did they? I know I didn't. And this year, yes I will agree that it sort of screwed up Reigns, but that's the WWE's fault. Bryan should never have been in the Rumble if he wasn't going to win. Quite honestly, and I've said this before, he didn't even have to be in it in the first place, he has an automatic rematch clause. Winning the Rumble for him would just have taken the spot from someone else.

With regards to his injury. He was out for 9 months, and the WWE should have made damm sure he was fully healed before he came back. I don't think they did. He was back for a month, and he's out again, so something isn't right there.

At this time, they should strip him of the title. He's been gone about 3 weeks now, and no timetable for him to come back. We don't even know what's wrong with him. I don't think he dragged down the title, he didn't have a chance to, only had it for a couple of weeks before he was injured again.

Let Bryan fix himself properly, and if he can let him come back. I wouldn't put another title on him though unless they are 100% sure he's okay. In this business though that's an impossibility, so I don't see him ever holding another title again. Unless there is a miracle. I feel bad for the guy, he's very passionate about the sport and it shows. Must be killing him he that his body won't let him do what he loves. He fans should understand that as well, and give him a break.

 

[akathelaw]

It's really not looking good. The nerve issue seems to keep coming up and his inability to retain the strength in his arm is very damning to his career. I think he aggravated an old injury and to be blunt, he's too banged up from impressing smart marks in the indies for over a decade. It clearly had an effect, and his vegan diet did more harm than good for him. He's my favorite pro wrestler and I'm frustrated that he's gone, but it seemed like he was awarded the IC title at 'Mania as a Legacy moment for a guy they probably knew was close to retiring sooner than later.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

That's true. I think the IC title on a healthy Bryan would elevate the title,but in the same sentence the title not being mentioned for almost a month is bringing the title down. I'm a huge fan of technical wrestling, I guess I keep looking at him comparing him to others. Your right, wwe should have not brought hm back with a title so soon without being tested. Now wwe is on the verge of loosing a superstar. Whether I like Him or not he's over like the moon. I can't figure out why the company hasn't even addressed the issue or the title absence.

 

[ASKane]

I highly doubt Bryan was 100% when he return, I saw that his method of rehab was not the one WWE recommended and he had a number of setbacks but for me the most concerning thing was when he returned on SD he was only medically cleared to a return a few days earlier. I think WWE felt they needed Bryan back for the Rumble to sell the PPV and he was happy to return even if it was a little premature. Bad booking lead to Bryan's fans destroying Reigns' opportunity at the title (unless Rollins was plan all along but Im pretty sure it wasn't) and while I do think his talent is what helped him get his WHC title run he only got the WWE title run and Mania moment because of that stupid YES movement from the IWC. The YES chant was stupid not the movement to get a guy to the top.

Daniel Bryan risked his long term health in returning especially considering how he return days after clearance and while I think he deserves his shot again I hope it doesn't happen because I dont think he is physically capable of being WWE champ especially if he stupidly continues to use the same moves that did the damage in the first place.

For me I think he has a beautiful wife he loves and he wants to be a father soon so I would recommend retiring and starting a family and if in 2-3 years time he is happy and fully healthy and wants another run then WWE should consider give him the chance then but for me for his own and WWE''s benefit I think he needs to go.

 

[Ronin]

I hope he doesn't have to retire. But I hope that if he does, that he actually does. It would be a sad thing if he thought that he had something to prove so refused advice and continued. It would be a sadder thing if WWE knowing he shouldn't really be there, continued to milk the cash cow that is Daniel Bryan.

If he needs some healing time, I hope they keep him on TV.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

So basically you are saying that Bryan needs to be back on the indies because his popularity has limited other wrestlers? Yeah, that makes sense. WWE should send one of their most over superstars back to the indie circuit because he's "too popular".

Daniel Bryan has worked his ass off for years to earn the opportunities he finally received in WWE, it wasn't just handed to him as a "company favourite" like Roman Reigns, The Rock or Randy Orton. It's like you are saying it's a bad thing that the fan support helped WWE to make the decision to push Bryan to the top- do you really think any superstar would have been successful with the fans being uninterested in them and not caring about them?

However, I think they need to take the Intercontinental Title off him, especially if there's no timeline for his return. I know that's something they don't want to do, but it's important for Bryan's future health that he gts this problem prperly sorted and if that means ending his career as a wrestler, then that's something he'll have to accept.

I'm pretty sure WWE would want to keep such a popular guy around the company in some capacityif he did have to call it a day, especially as his wife is still with WWE. Bryan would make a great trainer in NXT, but he'd be very useful in an on-screen role too. He's too popular for WWE to just forget about if he needed to retire.

 

[OYDK]

Few quick points on OP.

I'm admitingly not a fan of Daniel Bryan or never have even. It's easy to see the only reason he's achieved what he has is because of the IWC and fan support.

Every wrestler achieves what they achieve because of fan support... that's the whole point of pro-wrestling. You can suck at every aspect and still get pushed if the fans are behind you, Lex Luger is a great example of that. This is a pretty dumb statement man.

He made a great Indie wrestler but I think that's where he needs to be. How many peoples push or win has been ruined because it wasn't Bryan who won? Like Reigns.

It's not Daniel Bryan's fault that he's over. Maybe the other wrestlers should find a way to get over as well? Just a thought.


As for the rest, I can agree with it (or at least stomach it). If the guy is legitimately injured (which I still don't know that he is) than he should obviously be stripped. I'm not going to assume anything about the strength in his arm or stiffness in his neck or whatnot, because the truth is, I don't really know what's wrong with Bryan... as much as we like to think we know it all, none of us do. Until there is a legitimate report stating Daniel Bryan is going under again, I'm going to assume that this isn't as bad as some are making it out to be.

 

[kadroan]

I'm admitingly not a fan of Daniel Bryan or never have even. It's easy to see the only reason he's achieved what he has is because of the IWC and fan support. He made a great Indie wrestler but I think that's where he needs to be. How many peoples push or win has been ruined because it wasn't Bryan who won? Like Reigns. He's suffered 2 major injuries that's put him on the shelf including being stripped of the title and now dragging the IC title down with him. There's not been any mention of stripping his IC title in fairness has there?? Has WWE even mentioned the belt?

I know nobody is gonna like this post because of Bryan's IWC fan base, but where is Bryan headed? More importantly where is the IC title headed? There's a lot on the roster that could carry it..like my guy Nevelle..

Thoughts? Or am I the bad guy?

I wouldn't say Bryan ruined anybody's pushes. WWE just went with the best option at the time. The IC title - unless Ziggler was going to win. People wanted to see Bryan vs. Ziggler, Ambrose would have been another good choice but as we can see now Ambrose is bigger than IC title.

Reigns, they're saving the man from being the next Jack Swagger, Sheamus, getting pushed harder than the fans are asking for. Thankfully he's still young and they're being patient with him now.

Bryan. It's unfortunate he couldn't stay healthy. I'd say strip him of the title and just have another battle royal like last year at Battleground. Just be sure the competitors are legit competitors for the title and not jokes like R Truth.

 

[Wald]

I really hate this idea that Bryan and/or his fans ruined the Royal Rumble for the past two years. Dreadful booking ruined the Royal Rumble for the past two years, not Bryan and not his fans. Make no mistake about it, Bryan was the most over wrestler in the world in 2014 and fans were demanding he win the gold and they were right to and they right to trash the product when they weren't given what they want.

Imagine if in 1998 Vince decided that instead of having Steve Austin, the most over guy in the company, winning the Royal Rumble they would instead have him lose to Ken Shamrock in the opening bout and not even be entered in the Rumble match instead. What do you think would have happened?

This year the booking team were again the ones to let down Reigns, not Bryan or his fans. There was ways of protecting Reign's win that they simply didn't do. They shouldn't have had Bryan in there coming back off a potential career ending injury in the first place. They shouldn't have had Bryan eliminated so soon and so easily. They shouldn't have had Reigns hide on the ground for most of the match. They shouldn't have had fan favourite after fan favourite dumped out by Big Show and Kane so easily either. The booking for the 2015 Royal Rumble was so bad that I almost think it had to have been on purpose. I mean I don't think I could have sat down and planned a worse match if I tried.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Every wrestler achieves what they achieve because of fan support... that's the whole point of pro-wrestling.

That's true, and when it comes to Daniel Bryan and all that's known of his superior in-ring skills, it's what he's done outside the ring that has made him such a huge fan favorite.

Face it, his in-ring repertoire consists of the same moves, match after match. In his indie days, folks saw that he had an arsenal of maneuvers far above what he shows in WWE. Presumably, he hasn't forgotten those moves and logic tells us he wrestles this way in the big time because that's how the company wants him to wrestle. I don't see WWE as offering the type of matches that wrestling purists want to see, do you?

Personally, I agree with the company when watching a match in which the guys are working instead of hitting spots..... half the people in the first few rows that we can see on our TV screens are looking anywhere but the ring. They don't have the patience or interest for real wrestling.....and if Daniel Bryan or anyone else tries to give it to them, they're going to tune out of the match.

Even Daniel was a jobber early in his WWE career (I still cringe when thinking of him losing to Sin Cara) and it wasn't until he started doing stuff outside the ring that his popularity took off. The skits with Kane.....and the ever-present "Yes!" chant.....were what brought him to prominence, far more than his wrestling ability.

Where is he headed? Depends on his injury. If he has the surgery and heals, they'll probably be so excited by his return that they'll have him physically overpower Brock Lesnar and win the world title...... as long as the fans can chant their asses off.

A little "Yes!" can go a long way.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I'm admitingly not a fan of Daniel Bryan or never have even. It's easy to see the only reason he's achieved what he has is because of the IWC and fan support. He made a great Indie wrestler but I think that's where he needs to be. How many peoples push or win has been ruined because it wasn't Bryan who won? Like Reigns. He's suffered 2 major injuries that's put him on the shelf including being stripped of the title and now dragging the IC title down with him. There's not been any mention of stripping his IC title in fairness has there?? Has WWE even mentioned the belt?

I know nobody is gonna like this post because of Bryan's IWC fan base, but where is Bryan headed? More importantly where is the IC title headed? There's a lot on the roster that could carry it..like my guy Nevelle..

Thoughts? Or am I the bad guy?

If he's healthy, he's as good as it gets. He's so over with the fans that anything he does turns to gold. Right now, he may be injured and has the IC title, but that doesn't mean he couldn't rehab or rest up and be a factor toward Summerslam. There's nothing wrong with working him limited dates while he rests and heals up.

The IC title's fine, too. Him having it raises credibility and the only fault that needs to be pointed out is the WWE not saying much about Bryan on TV. He needs to be mentioned at every opportunity. It's not surprising the WWE has an 'out of sight, out of mind' approach to things, though.

But there's no need to worry at the moment. If it comes out that Bryan can no longer work a full schedule or his injury's much more severe, then we can talk about the status of his belt and his career.

 

[MartialHorror]

I actually think what ignited the 2014 Rumble Backlash wasn't Bryan not entering the Rumble or even batista winning, but Bryan losing to Bray earlier that night. I think that proved in the fans minds that Bryan would always be talent enhancement for the WWE. Remember, Batista did get cheers at first.

The 2015 Rumble just sucked and it was strange because it seemed like WWE was going out of their way to piss off fans. Bryan being eliminated early was probably for the best, but then guys like Ziggler and Mizdow were eliminated almost immediately. Ambrose, Ryback and Wyatt were taken out without fanfare and the final Rusev/Reigns confrontation blew. It's almost as if WWE wanted to put heat on Reigns. The 2014 Rumble was actually pretty good up until it became apparent that Batista would win.

But unfortunately, I'm now beginning to see why WWE is so hesitant to do anything with Bryan. He is injury prone. I don't see him having another reign as of now.

 

[HatchetMan84]

Everything i am reading so far seems to suggest that there is a good chance Bryan's in-ring career as an active wrestler is over barring some sort of miracle surgery. There is talk internally at WWE of perhaps using Bryan in some kind of non-wrestling capacity while they wait to see what happens with his health.

Lots of comparisons have been made to Shawn Michaels' initial 1998 injury and the waiting period that the WWF went through with his commissioner roles, etc.. while they sorted out just how bad his back was....

 

[d_henderson1810]

I partly blame Daniel Bryan himself for getting injured again, or more specifically, his beliefs.

I saw an episode of "Total Divas", set soon after MITB. In the ep, Bryan has just been told by the doctor that he needs a second surgery on his arm. He has lunch with Brie and Brie's mother (aka his mother-in-law). He told them that he is going to refuse to do a second surgery, and let his shoulder heal "naturally". His mother-in-law pointed out that Steve Jobs didn't believe in surgery either, and look how that went.

Apparently, Bryan is into all this "natural medicine" BS, rather than medical treatment. This makes me wonder if his foolish belief in this hocus-pocus, and his refusal to have surgery, has done long-term damage that a second surgery would have fixed.

 

[d_henderson1810]

So basically you are saying that Bryan needs to be back on the indies because his popularity has limited other wrestlers? Yeah, that makes sense. WWE should send one of their most over superstars back to the indie circuit because he's "too popular".

Daniel Bryan has worked his ass off for years to earn the opportunities he finally received in WWE, it wasn't just handed to him as a "company favourite" like Roman Reigns, The Rock or Randy Orton. It's like you are saying it's a bad thing that the fan support helped WWE to make the decision to push Bryan to the top- do you really think any superstar would have been successful with the fans being uninterested in them and not caring about them?

However, I think they need to take the Intercontinental Title off him, especially if there's no timeline for his return. I know that's something they don't want to do, but it's important for Bryan's future health that he gts this problem prperly sorted and if that means ending his career as a wrestler, then that's something he'll have to accept.

I'm pretty sure WWE would want to keep such a popular guy around the company in some capacityif he did have to call it a day, especially as his wife is still with WWE. Bryan would make a great trainer in NXT, but he'd be very useful in an on-screen role too. He's too popular for WWE to just forget about if he needed to retire.

See, you contradict yourself.

You say that Cena, Orton and Reigns had their opportunity handed to them, like they have done nothing to deserve it. As if only Bryan "earned" a push.

Yet you also said that no-one has got on top unless the fans got behind them.

So, then, where does this place Cena, Orton and Reigns. Either they did get on top without the fans' support, or they "earned" their spot by having enough fans care about them. Which is it?

But then, DB fans are used to being contradictory and hypocritical.