Why Daniel Bryan, Why Now?

[juggalotus]

I was thinking about this the other day. After his quick defeat at Wrestlemania, the crowd seems to be a lot more invested in Daniel Bryan than they were before. Some fans are even starting to boo Sheamus. Bryan's catchphrase is catching on and he's over with a lot of fans. However, Wrestlemania has had a trend with quick title matches over the past few years. Kane over Chavo, Rey over JBL, Sheamus over Bryan. In all three cases, a face went over a heel. Why is it this time that the crowd is reacting in a different way? Discuss?

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

Because of Wrestlemania 28. WWE has the smartest audience it's probably ever had. Fans know talent has had runs in promotions like ROH, so regardless of how WWE packages them, they know how good someone like Bryan is.

He's a world class athlete, and a top tier professional wrestler. I don't think fans are mad that Sheamus won the World Heavyweight Title...they are mad he won it in 18 seconds.

Regardless of being a heel, face, or anything in between, fans respect the talent in the ring more than anything, and Daniel Bryan has brought fans to the WWE with him that have watched him since his Indy beginnings.

It doesn't hurt that YES! is a great catchphrase as well. The real test will be to see, if WWE continues to push him as a heel, how long the fan support stays with him, the further removed from Wrestlemania 28 we get.

 

[MizMark11]

Well Chavo wasn't that...likable. He could go in the ring and he wasn't a bad talker, but he didn't have anything going for him that fans can get behind. Plus he was a jobber for how long and it was for the ECW title, not that prestigious. JBL was different. He was a completely different heel. He was actually a very good heel who was good at what he did. The match was in the middle of the show so it was more of a cool down, I guess.

But if you look at the Bryan loss, analyze it. It was the opening match and the fans were looking forward to it. They were the dark match last year and now they have one on the card. Sheamus can go in the ring, so can Bryan. They could have put on a very solid match. WWE invested 4 1/2 months into Bryan as champion. People loved to hate him and he got heat easily. Bryan's come a long way to get his first real Mania match and then what? He loses via one kick. The fans are disappointed because they want to see Bryan get an actual match and not just a reign that ends in a quick match. The fans respect Bryan and now they're showing WWE that Bryan deserved better by standing behind him and chanting his name/slogan. Whatever it is, it's working.

 

[Vincent Michaels]

When Kane beat Chavo, nobody really cared. Chavo was a decent heel about 8 months back when he was feuding with Mysterio, but as soon as it ended, so did his momentum. At this point, he only got heat from his association with Edge, Vickie, and La Familia. Kane was a monster people wanted to see win and dominate and Chavo was a squirmy champion people wanted to see lose, so Kane was given The ECW Title in 8 seconds and dominated for a few months to carry the brand a bit until The Draft.

When Rey beat JBL, he was nothing but a loudmouth. He underestimated Rey because of his size, and it cost him big time. Then JBL quit in the heat of moment, which was a perfect way for his character to cope with the embarrasment of losing in such a short time.

Bryan is still a fairly young guy that has a lot of backing from The IWC. And here he was walking in to his first Wrestlemania as The World Heavyweight Champion after being bumped off the card last year. Then he gets put on first, and loses in 18 seconds(Which I still think was ok. Afterall, it got Bryan some great reactions, more merchandise sales and hell, we're discussing it here). And when you figure in the fact that the crowd at Mania and Raw the next night were mostly smarks who had traveled from all over the world, as well as the fact that people don't like Sheamus because he's a face and is buddy-buddy with Triple H(which are both complete bullshit, by the way).

 

[c13vyper]

Personally, I think WM28 drew in alot of old school fans who were there to see the "last ride" of attitude era stars, think about it, Rock vs Cena, HHH vs Taker, Jericho vs "Watered down SCSA" CM Punk. It was billed as the Greatest wrestlemania.

Then you have the Royal Rumble winner and the World Heavyweight Champion, 2 of what were once the highest honors in WWE, get less on screen time than Deadliest Catch Promos, The Divas etc.

In 2002, Wrestlemania X8 - People saw Hogan vs Rock, then after that RR winner HHH vs Champion Chris Jericho.

In 2012 - we got 18 seconds.

I think the crowd chanting Daniel Bryan and YES YES YES for the next 4 matches at WM and all throughout RAW the next night was the audiences way of telling WWE were sick of all your BS. Trying to drown out the cheers and chants on the next Smackdown was just ******ed. And ppl let them know it when they were going to skip D Bryan and go with Sheamus vs Del Rio.

But the crowds have gone back to being dead and we get Generic tough guy #118 shoved down our throat and people with real talent and charisma get a push but the wrong way.

CM Punk should still be the Pipe Bomb dropping new age SOB & Daniel Bryan should still be pushed as an Anti Hero.

These days its getting harder and harder to stomach being a fan, With SD reduced to squash matches and random TAG TEAM MATCH PLAYAS. i feel sorry for this generation of wrestlers. Maybe if they draft CM Punk to Smackdown and have a summer long fued of Punk V Bryan like they did with Punk V Hardy it might be interesting again.

 

[ThinkinSmart]

It's because Bryan is a world renowned pro wrestler who a lot of people came to mania to see and he didn't even get to wrestle. People want to see Daniel Bryan wrestle, thats why hes in the WWE at all after them firing him so many times before. The WWE audience who is smart to the world of pro wrestling doesn't like when WWE underuses people who have real tallent for essentially no reason. No one wanted to see Ortan vs Kane, no one cared about Rhodes vs Big Show, every one was pissed off by the musical acts and Brodus Clay dancing with all those mommas, and yet all those acts got time on wrestlemania when Bryan, who many people paid to see(did you see all those yes signs?) got a 18 second match and didn't even do one move. That pisses people off, so instead of booing Bryan like they're supposed to they're not supporting him to let WWE know "this is a guy we wanna see, stop giving him the shaft!"

 

[Peoples_Champ]

David Shoemaker (aka The Masked Man) over at Grantland had a superb analysis of why DBD has gotten over.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...restling-taking-center-stage-monday-night-raw

Basically, he says there were many factors in play. First, DBD was always seen to be "too small" for WWE, but was always seen by the IWC to be the best wrestler in the world. So he's always had that underdog persona. When he went to CZW to ROH to finally WWE, he was always the underdog and that's why he was supported. In WWE, fans liked him, they knew to boo him, but deep down inside they were happy to see him get a chance (he contrasts this with Cena being booed unmercifully, IWC's way of showing WWE that he's had too many chances, or to change his character).

Fast forward to WM. The smarkiest of all smark gatherings. It's packed to the rafters with hardcore fans. Their hero, their underdog, the man they've supported for years has finally come to defend his title at WM. He's come back from a dark match a year earlier to being the opening match, to set the tone for what should be an awesome and historic evening. Even though he's the champion, he's the underdog again, Sheamus is expected to win the title by virtue of his push and Royal Rumble. So the smarky crowd adopts DBD as their own. And he loses, 18 seconds in. Shock sets in amongst the awestruck audience. They begin to boo the decision (not Sheamus, the smarks understand why he has the title) and the Yes! chant flourishes. People ignore the Orton / Kane match (a match they weren't really all that interested in anyways) to chant for DBD.

Fast forward to the next night at Raw. The same smarks are there from all over the world. The same ones that paid $X00 to watch WM in person, the same ones that paid $X0 to watch Raw in person, the same ones that paid for flights, accommodation, travel. The same ones that took time off work for fucking professional wrestling of all things. They were there and they wanted to make their voices heard. DBD was their hero and "Yes!" was their rally cry.

I didn't do it justice, but I tried to paraphrase a bit. Seriously though, read the article and rep me to let me know if you liked it. I think its an awesome analysis by Shoemaker, who is always on point.

 

[HBsam31]

I had actually thought about making a thread about the other side of this match. Meaning why did the fans turn on Sheamus so fast. I agree with a poster above that said Mania drew a lot of old school fans, and that was part of the reason. I also think the fans were mad that a talent of DB's caliber was wasted in an 18 second squash. YES! is also an awesome catch phrase, and I was wondering if it could replace What. I have a feeling that the chants are going to cool off fast though. I just don't think crowds are what they used to be. I really hope DB's steam keeps up though because I am enjoying the character a great deal.

 

[Clifford]

My main deal with the Sheamus DB match isn't the fact it was 18 seconds but the fact that the Royal Rumble winner is no longer the main event match of Wrestlemania the last one was WM 25. So why doesn't the royal rumble winner get the main event match anymore?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In a lot of ways, Daniel Bryan is sort of the "Anti-Superstar" when you think of the term as it applies to modern day wrestling. Bryan doesn't have a great look to him. He's not an "ugly" guy or anything. He's a nice looking, athletic guy and all but he doesn't come across with the movie star looks of a Dolph Ziggler or Randy Orton. He doesn't have the near superhero qualities of a John Cena. He's not an especially big guy or a physical powerhouse either.

Just going by outward impressions, Bryan doesn't seem like much. At the same time, however, that's part of his strength. Also, people have really seen what he's been capable of the past several months. Even your most casual of casual fan could see that Bryan had the ability inside the ring, he proved that on the first episode of NXT in which he wrestled a great match against Chris Jericho, but people were never sure about his ability to move up because of his rather bland personality. At the same time, however, Bryan continued to impress people with his wrestling ability and that did keep him somewhat relevant even after losing the United States Championship. Last summer, he comes out of nowhere to win the SD! MITB match in what was a great match at a white hot ppv in front of a white hot crowd.

During this time period, Bryan was heavily discussed and there was a mix of trepidation and causual optimism among a lot of fans. On one hand, people were thinking that Bryan was going to be the first MITB winner to really screw the pooch. You know, maybe lose after cashing in or WWE would run an angle in which he was challenged by someone and lost the case. At the same time, there was this little spark of hope that this was the start of something good for Bryan. Either way, people were talking about the guy.

The same sense of hope & trepidation was there after Bryan cashed in the MITB case and won the World Heavyweight Championship. During that time period, however, Bryan's slow heel turn was done perfectly and his feud with Big Show & Mark Henry not only produced surprisingly good matches in terms of action, but they also told great stories. Bryan was steadily becoming a guy that was not only good inside the ring, but now he was in a role in which he seemed very comfortable. His promos seemed to get better each week and by the time WM came around, Bryan had really cemented himself as an old school heel that people would pay money to see get beaten up. He wasn't trying to be the cool heel, he wasn't trying to come off as this heel that's kinda sorta likeable. He came off as really a sleazy douchebag and that's the kind of heel that we haven't seen nearly enough of in all of wrestling for a long while. Even if he gets a good amount of cheers going forward, he's still not trying to be the type of heel that it seems to be trendy to cheer for.

Bryan losing at WM in such a fashion did irk me, and still does in some ways. I wanted an actual match after all. At the same time, however, it seems to me that WWE had a good idea of what they were doing. In spite of some of the comments you might hear from some net fans, Vince does usually have good instincts as to how to manipulate an audience into getting them behind someone. Bryan has come out of WM a bigger star than before he went into it.

At the end of the day, Bryan is someone that's had the benefit of consistently good booking over the course of the past 4 months or so. His run with the WHC was memorable and resulted in memorable feuds & matches. He kept people interested in what he was doing as WHC and where his storyline was going. Keeping the fans interested & making them care, in my eyes, is the single most important job a main eventer has. If the fans don't give a shit, then it doesn't matter how good you might look or how well you can wrestle inside the ring. And once his title reign ended, he was a bigger star than before he was champ and his star power continues to grow.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Bryan losing at WM in such a fashion did irk me, and still does in some ways. I wanted an actual match after all. At the same time, however, it seems to me that WWE had a good idea of what they were doing. In spite of some of the comments you might hear from some net fans, Vince does usually have good instincts as to how to manipulate an audience into getting them behind someone. Bryan has come out of WM a bigger star than before he went into it.

That's one's question I want answered that hasn't been clearly answered yet - did Creative and VKM know he was going to get this crazy sympathy or did they fall ass-backwards into gold? From DBD's comments in his GQ interview, I get the feeling that Creative had a small idea that he wouldn't be buried, but even DBD said it was an absolute surprise. It could always be VKM's genius at work, something us mere mortals will never comprehend. That's a valid point and VKM has a long, long history of making tremendous business decisions.

But still, I'm not completely sold that this was planned to get DBD over insofar as it was planned to get Sheamus over. One thing is for sure, however, Bryan is a much bigger star coming out of WM than he was going in - perhaps the most over wrestler next to Lesnar.

 

[PowerHouse]

I honestly believe that people are reacting this way to Daniel Bryan because people want to see Daniel Bryan do what he does best and thats Wrestle!!!! He wasn't considered the Best In the World as some point because the guy can't work. Daniel Bryan is a tremendous worker great in the ring and I think people felt cheated that his match with Sheamus was only 18 seconds. Its not sheamus's fault but of course they are gonna boo him it was him who beat Daniel Bryan in record time. n

A lot of people out there watch ROH they know the history of these guys like Punk,Daniel Bryan and soon guys like Dean Ambrose,Seth Rollins these guys were some of the best Indy stars anywhere in the world. The fans know this and the WWE needs to realize the fans arent stupid and utilize these guys the right way.

 

[BigThunder]

Daniel's had the benefit of some superb storytelling. His slow heel turn during the Big Show was masterful, and his weaselly ways out of title losses were a textbook for cowardly heel champion. He was also allowed to maintain credibility by showcasing his skill against CM Punk in what were, for non-PPV, outstanding matches. And finally, the AJ/DB soap opera allowed a lot of personality to come out, and while he's not the best on the stick, DB's mic work sold a storyline that people became invested in.

I also think the storytelling in WWE has been pretty over the last year, and DB is a beneficiary of the fine work that WWE did with Mark Henry's title run and the Henry/Big Show feud.

And I don't think it's just the Internet wrestling community. Sure his primary appeal is to smarks, but mainstream wrestling fans like a good soap opera and they like chants, and they really haven't had many in the last decade. ("Boots to asses" is kinda lame. and was presented in a manipulative manner, whereas "Yes! Yes! Yes!" is something the *fans* latched onto -- it wasn't force fed to them by the E) DB is hitting some classic approaches to captivating fan interest while seemingly like a remarkably fresh face. And honestly -- he's the main reason I'm watching Smackdown at the moment. Kudos to him.

 

[jrichardson25]

He's a victim of two stupid things. A want for some bullshit quick title match and the need to cut a quality match short because some celebrity decided to be in the ring...

This in no way kills any momentum or anything DB has done in the past year. I take the guy seriously in the main event. He needs a couple good feuds to solidify himself.

A few people have made the comment: Daniel Bryan's two worst days in WWE have been the best thing to happen to him.

Why did they say that? We all know the answer... as far as his push currently he's doing just fine. I expect him to not have anymore issues short term.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

That's one's question I want answered that hasn't been clearly answered yet - did Creative and VKM know he was going to get this crazy sympathy or did they fall ass-backwards into gold? From DBD's comments in his GQ interview, I get the feeling that Creative had a small idea that he wouldn't be buried, but even DBD said it was an absolute surprise. It could always be VKM's genius at work, something us mere mortals will never comprehend. That's a valid point and VKM has a long, long history of making tremendous business decisions.

But still, I'm not completely sold that this was planned to get DBD over insofar as it was planned to get Sheamus over. One thing is for sure, however, Bryan is a much bigger star coming out of WM than he was going in - perhaps the most over wrestler next to Lesnar.

The more I think about it, the more I think that WWE booked the Mania match to elevate Bryan.

Lets face it, there was no way that Sheamus wasn't going to win. He's been booked like a monster both before and after the Rumble and it wouldn't have made any sense to kill his momentum. Bryan was being portrayed as the kind of heel that would FINALLY get his comeuppance for all his backhanded tactics to keep the belt.

So a quick win was a good way of achieving that. What's key is that Bryan wasn't even looking when he got the Brogue Kick! It was practically an unclean win. Bryan was able to play on the fact he wasn't ready, it was AJ's fault, that Sheamus had bagged a fluke win etc. He was given an out which made him look strong coming out of the match, and in his subsequent promos.

Bryan also gets more promo time coming out of the match. They further the storyline with AJ, develop his character and keep him in the spotlight. He even gets to cut a promo in the Pipers Pit with one of the best mic workers in the history of the business. If that's not faith, then I don't know what is.

I don't think Creative knew his popularity would rise quite so much after Mania, but what is clear is that the quick win for Sheamus was not going to damage Bryan as much as it appeared at the time. It's being very deliberate if you ask me, and if anyone's gonna suffer it going to be Sheamus.

Expect a good payoff in their match at Extreme Rules. Shame for all those people (including me) that hoped for this to happen at Mania - but sometimes it doesn't work out like that.