Wolfe or Daniel or Tarnished Images?

[FitFinlay4Life]

Arguably the Independant scenes two biggest stars - Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness signed with WWe and TNA late last year. They have had two very different entries to the respective companies but two things in common. 1) Name changes - Nigel McGuinness to Desmond Wolfe and Bryan Danielson to Daniel Bryan. 2) Their use/misuse in WWe and TNA has been widely discussed in the wrestling press and on fan forums.

So have your speak, whose doing better in your opinion and feel free to use whatever criteria as long as you share it on - this is a discussion strand after all There is a third option... if you feel both are tarnishing their legacy you can vote for a return to the independant scene (pretending this is a perfect world and they could make comfortable livings by doing so), but once again - quantify your vote.

 

[The Doctor]

If you ask me, the answer is Daniel Bryan. He's been doing very well for himself, getting national exposure in the biggest wrestling company in the world. On top of that he has been involved in some of the hottest and most talked about storylines in the wrestling world: The feud with Michael Cole and the nXTWo.

Contrast Desmond Wolfe...who is in a company slowly becoming nothing more than a joke, who loses a lot, and just had his girl raped by a top babyface. He may get a lighter schedule, but he also gets less exposure, less money, and ridiculous booking.

Neither should go back to the indys however. Every independent wrestler should have the goal to be a part of the two biggest wrestling companies in the world. They're getting more exposure and money than they would in the indys, and it's not like either of them are being totally buried and turned into The Giant Chicken or Chilly McFreeze. They're basically acting like themselves, but on a much larger stage.

 

[The Scarred One]

This debate reminds me a lot of five years ago, when CM Punk and Samoa Joe signed with WWE and TNA respectively. Back then, those two were the hottest indy wrestlers have yet to have sign with a major company.

A lot of people talked about how Punk was going to be misused in WWE. They either said he wouldn't have lasted long because of his image or he would never get past the mid-card level. Now look at him, he's one of the more popular superstars and already a four-time World Champion in the WWE. Ever since he turned heel and started the Straight Edge Society, everything Punk does is pretty much gold.

Joe was different because people talked about how the Samoan Submission Machine was going to take TNA by storm and become the top guy within a year's time. Fast forward, much of Joe's success was mostly in the X-Division/mid-card scene, feuding with guys like AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. But how many world championships has he held since debuting? One. Just one TNA World Championship reign. Now whether this is due to the creative/booking minds or Joe himself, who knows? But it would seem if you have a cash cow like Joe, you'd milk it with both hands.

Like the guy above me said, the Bryan/Cole feud is one of the best storylines WWE has produced in years. He started off rough when he debuted as part of NXT, but he's come a long way since then. Not only can he wrestle, but he can also talk. He may not have an over-the-top personality like the Miz does, but he does have a natural charisma that can take him far. From starting out as a joke to being one of the most talked about superstars in the WWE within four months, that's an accomplishment.

With Wolfe, he came in TNA strong by feuding with Kurt Angle, one of TNA's top dogs. It seemed like the future was bright for Wolfe and that it was a blessing that him signing with the WWE fell through. But ever since Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came in and promised to turn things around, Wolfe has been a casualty, losing to Rob Van Dam and getting involved in a feud with that Hogan-wannabe Abyss. With TNA's future not looking bright, it may appear that maybe Wolfe should've tried to work things out with WWE.

 

[Adam08]

I am going with Bryan here if Desmond was being used the same way he was the first 3 months with the company. I might of said Desmond but it just seem like his tna career has went a little down hill after Hogan came to the company. Bryan on the under hand is being used really well and being used in hot storylines with cole and Miz. He also becamea top face on Nxt before he turned heel with the roster and was facing some top talent and taking them to there limit like Batista. That has to count for somthing.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I would rather have them back in the Indies...but recently I have seen something else in Bryan, i know he will get into the main event scene, even before Miz, he's a natural technician...

As for Wolfe, if he doesn't beat RVD for the title soon, i'm going to give up on TNA, they are wasting him! and for what Abyssamania!!

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm actually going to go against the grain here and say that Desmond Wolfe/Nigel McGuinness is actually in the best position between the two. While Danielson made an impact with his kayfabe-breaking promo against the WWE and his mini-feud with Cole, Wolfe stepped up with Kurt Angle in back-to-back matches that opened the entire TNA audience to his skill so much so to the point he flooded the initial votes – much to the dismay of Hogan, I'd imagine – for the TNA Top-10 Contenders system and won by a landslide.

While what Wolfe is doing right now with this whole Chelsea/Abyss/Rape angle is certainly nothing to write home about, I do think the fact he's been aligned with Flair, coupled with his very young age and the willingness of guys like Flair and Angle to put him over, it's only a short time before he's carrying serious gold for TNA.

Danielson, IMO, will be waiting quite a while before he reaches that plateau, despite the fact he'll wrestle in front of more people than Wolfe on any given night.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I'm going with Desmond. Yes, his push has been incredibly sporadic, but the fact is that even with stars like Kurt, AJ, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Joe & Anderson he is still arguably the most 'over' superstar in TNA. Daniel on the other hand is getting a good push currently but, with the possible exception of getting involved in Wade Barrett's prize, he is highly unlikely to be promoted in a title match for a while. Given his fan support and the top 10 poll (even more astounding, considering he is still meant to be a fully fledged heel), Wolfe has a strong chance of becoming World champ.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Bryan Danielson is clearly in the better spot at this point. In all honesty, Danielson was over with WWE audiences his first night on NXT when he faced Chris Jericho. Even though Danielson was built as an underdog on NXT, he still had the support of fans and a feud with The Miz was and is something that's going to go down. Danielson's promo on NXT several weeks ago, his feud with Michael Cole and his part in the destruction of the WWE ringside area have really put him over the top. Since the beginning of the 1st season of NXT, Danielson has been the singularly most discussed part of the NXT roster. The WWE is aware of what they've got in Bryan Danielson and I expect him to have a bright future in the WWE. The fact that the WWE has been taking time and building him up slowly only makes it so much the better for me.

Desmond Wolfe is a great talent, I don't think that can really be seriously debated. He's got the skills in the ring and on the mic. However, he has been used for absolute shit since Hulk Hogan arrived in TNA. Prior to Hogan's arrival, Wolfe was wrestling 20 minute clinics with Kurt Angle and looked to be on the fast track to the main event scene in TNA. Hulk Hogan arrives, however, and that all comes to a screeching halt. His television is dramatically reduced compared to what it was before Hogan and, when he has been used on television, he's mostly been placed in crappy angles and shitty matches. How many times have we been forced to endure watching him with Abyss and always wind up being Abyss' bitch? Their first match ended with Wolfe jobbing out in 90 seconds, whereas he'd been wrestling clinics against Angle only a few months prior.

Over the course of the past 4 months or so, Bryan Danielson has become one of the most talked about wrestlers on the WWE roster. Most of the talking done about Desmond Wolfe these days are about how piss poorly TNA has been using him for the past 5 months.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Daniel Bryan is doing fine. He cut some passionate promos and was involved in the most entertaining segments of NXT. He came in strong against then-WHC Chris Jericho and before that he won a dark match against Chavo Guerrero which was not only impressive, but crowd-pleasing. He was also able to defeat the Miz in their first and only match. Only time will tell where he'll end up, but I know he'll have a lot to offer. If his three major segments are so memorable that they require multiple viewings, then I wonder how it'll be when he captures his first Championship in the WWE.

Desmond Wolfe isn't doing so fine on the other hand. For a guy that's gone toe-to-toe with Daniel Bryan in ROH, he is being booked as enhancement talent. I personally don't understand how a guy of his calibre who looked strong against Kurt Angle (even defeating him a few times) can't even last more than a few minutes or seconds against guys that he should have no trouble defeating. Even his title match against RVD was squash-central in terms of length. Unless TNA gets their act together and fully utilizes Desmond Wolfe as the man they describe as this great technician, it's becoming harder to believe that he is. They need him in a match against Samoa Joe where it lasts more than 10 minutes and Wolfe coming out on top.