WWE taking advantage of Danielson's fame for NXT?

[King Blitzkonic]

Let's be honest: the ring name "Daniel Bryan" is way too similar to be pure coincidence. NXT is supposed to be a way to intro the hot prospects and give them a rub from established stars. Now then: Mr. Danielson doesn't need an introduction to a majority of wrestling fans and he sure as hell doesn't need a rub from the Miz (though he's improved drastically over the past year or two).

Question: Is Danielson just a ratings booster? Or perhaps teaming him with the Miz will help improve Mizzy boy even more?

Side note: Methinks that Regal would have made a better mentor for Danielson given that their wrestling styles are similar (and that Regal's far better on the mic!)

 

[Scotty]

They would be stupid to not take advantage of his internet fame. Vince knows that if they acknowledge that he is an Indy God, then his loyal group of fans will follow suit right along to WWE with him. Daniel Bryan is highly regarded for being what many call "The Best Wrestler In The World", and that means his fan base will be foaming at the mouth to buy any merchandise that the WWE pumps out with his name on it. Also, when house shows come around, I'm sure that Daniel Bryan will put his fair share of butts in the seats.

 

[johnbragg]

Mr. Danielson doesn't need an introduction to a majority of wrestling fans

Don't be especially sure of that. There are a lot of wrestling fans who at best know him as a name from internet reports. And there are a lot of wrestling fans who don't follow ROH at all. When you step up to WWE, even a Colt Cabana can get Scotty Goldman'd.

I don't think they're using Danielson to bait the smarks, at least not consciously. I think that, based on what I saw tonight, they see him as most ready to make an impact on one of the main shows. So they set him up with a feud with Miz to establish himself as a character while establishing him as a wrestler with his matches.

 

[December2Dismember]

Danielson's fame is the reason he headlined the first episode...make no doubt about it. I agree that his name is way to close to Bryan Danielson for them to not be considering that this guy has some serious pull with the smarks.

Teaming him up with the Miz is sure to get them both over as respective face/heels...I love it, can't wait till NXT Tuesday HAHAHAHA

But to answer: BOTH, pull in the smarks and get over Miz

 

[qfe]

Danielson's fame is the reason he headlined the first episode...make no doubt about it. I agree that his name is way to close to Bryan Danielson for them to not be considering that this guy has some serious pull with the smarks.

Teaming him up with the Miz is sure to get them both over as respective face/heels...I love it, can't wait till NXT Tuesday HAHAHAHA

But to answer: BOTH, pull in the smarks and get over Miz

Yeah. I really couldn't agree more.

His fame will be way more than enough to just fill a few seats in the house, as well as draw in viewers.

Putting him on the headline for the first episode was an absolute no brainer for WWE. Easy business decision.Plus, anyone who knows wrestling outside of the WWE, knows Bryan Danielson, and would tune in for the show just for the Jericho-Bryan match.

Plus, teaming him with The Miz is an absolute genius decision. It makes for a good write-up, plus, entertainment value is rather high with such a new aspect in the business.

Overall, yes, they are taking advantage of Danielson's fame to boost NXT, and yes, they're using him to boost The Miz. Just good business decisions all around.

 

[HotBox]

Like what's been before me, WWE isn't ******ed, and neither is the "WWE Universe", WWE knew right from the start that people knew Daniel Bryan, and that Daniel Bryan has the most Pull when it comes to fan favorite, so why not make him the "Star" of WWE NXT.

Now you get to not only Push Daniel Bryan but also The Miz that will eventually probably turn into a damn good feud between the two and get them both over as Face and Heel respectively.

All in All, WWE made a great move by using Daniel Bryan's success as Bryan Danielson in the Independent Circuit and it will ultimately work in both his and The Miz's favor.

 

[GenMe]

Ofcourse that WWE is taking advantage of Bryan's Internet fame, They knew that by adding Daniel Bryan in the NXT show more of the indie fans will watch it, And they will get new WWE fans.

IMO they put The Miz as his Mentor, So the Miz could get more momentum, And so the Miz could get more hated on, By the Miz beating Daniel Bryan up they both get some good momentum. The Miz gets more hated on, And Daniels gets more Love by the fans, And also the fans will tune in next week to see if Daniels gets back at them miz for what he did this week.

 

[klunderbunker]

Um, duh?

Why else would you sign the king of the indies and the most popular internet wrestler in the world? When Hogan signed with TNA they didn't put him in a mask and name him Terry Spud did they? Danielson has a lot going for him already so why in the world wouldn't you capitalize on that? It's basic smart business.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Um, duh?

Why else would you sign the king of the indies and the most popular internet wrestler in the world? When Hogan signed with TNA they didn't put him in a mask and name him Terry Spud did they? Danielson has a lot going for him already so why in the world wouldn't you capitalize on that? It's basic smart business.

This. There is a reason he is wearing his same ring gear, and has basically the same name. This man is know worldwide and his debut was one of the most anticipated of all-time, as I mentioned in a thread I started in the Independents section. Even though this is an interesting concept, it still needed some kind of star power to get viewers, and Danielson is just that.

 

[RVDgurl]

Of course they're taking advantage of Danielson's experience. They have made it a point to hammer home that he has been the king of the indies and has wrestled all around the world for the past 10 years. He credibility has been boosted by the unbelievable amount of attention he's gotten over the internet and by word of mouth the past few years. And why not? I think it's smart business.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

You guys are fuckin dreaming

Doesn't need to be introduced to the majority of wrestling fans? A fucking ratings booster?

Is this some kind of joke? A piss take thread? You really don't actually like Daniel do you?

Um, fuck no. About 10% of the crowd, if that, knew who the fuck he was, and gave any sort of reaction until the Miz came out and they started to cut promos on one another. It was no different than any other debuting star that they give a rub to. Not one bit different. The reason they keep citing him being king of the indies is to get the character over, its no different than mention Barrow being a bare knuckles fighter from England, or Otunga being from Hollywood.

Man. Bryan Daniel shows up on the scene, and let the delusional posts begin.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Now then: Mr. Danielson doesn't need an introduction to a majority of wrestling fans and he sure as hell doesn't need a rub from the Miz (though he's improved drastically over the past year or two).

I don't buy that for a second. The majority of pro wrestling fans have had no clue as to who Bryan Danielson is. All I knew of Danielson prior to NXT was just what the IWC had said about him and the IWC doesn't always know what it's talking about. I was impressed by what I saw, but a big reason why Danielson has become so well received in the wake of the first episode of NXT is due in large part to the Miz and Chris Jericho. It's not the only reason of course, but Danielson would just be "one of the boys" right now without NXT. The Miz might not be as good of an in-ring wrestler as Danielson, but the Miz does have charisma and he's great on the mic. The Miz is an annoying heel that is already establishing a high profile feud with Danielson. Just having Danielson go out there Tuesday and primarily interact with and wrestle against the NXT Rookies wouldn't have gotten Danielson over a tenth as much as he did.

Question: Is Danielson just a ratings booster? Or perhaps teaming him with the Miz will help improve Mizzy boy even more?

As I said earlier, the vast majority of pro wrestling fans didn't know who Danielson is. Quite a few still don't I'd say. I think he'll be a big star in the WWE, hopefully he becomes a big star, but he's not right now. And how exactly does the Miz need improvement? He generates great heat, he's carrying three championship belts, he's obviously shown WWE Management that he's a valuable asset and can get people talking or he wouldn't be a WWE Pro on NXT. The Miz gets over with the crowd, that's always more important than just about anything else in pro wrestling. As far as in-ring ability goes, it's all but moot if the fans don't give a crap about you.

Side note: Methinks that Regal would have made a better mentor for Danielson given that their wrestling styles are similar (and that Regal's far better on the mic!)

The WWE is using the fact that Danielson is an internet darling and is acclaimed by many of the IWC as one of, if not the best, in-ring performer in pro wrestling today. Pairing him with the Miz, someone that's only been wrestling a fraction as long as Danielson and isn't as good in the ring, has automatically created a great conflict for NXT. The first episode had Danielson as the show's centerpiece and having him take shit and pay his dues to a wrestler that isn't as good in the ring as he is makes for a great storyline and compelling television. I like William Regal, I always have. He's a veteran and he's earned a lot of respect. But he simply wouldn't have generated the kind of response with Danielson that the Miz has. The Miz is a young, cocky star in the WWE that's accomplished a lot, can generate great heat and is among the best young heels in wrestling today.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

I had been following Danielson and recently gave him a "Mike Tenay" lookover. Now I'll admit that Jericho was responsible for a majority of Bryan's rub to WWE "loyalists" (my defining of 'em are the ones that watch only WWE and don't bother with the rest) and that Miz helped out a lot. After reading Jericho's comments that Barrett and Bryan were the two with the brightest futures in his opinion, I'd almost expect Jericho to do an almost tweener-like thing and take a physical shot at the Miz for attacking Bryan.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see a Jericho-Miz feud had Edge not been ready to come back seeing as Jericho dropped Edge for Show and then Show pretty much dropped Jericho cold for Miz. Considering how hot Miz is momentum-wise, this would put Jericho as quasi-face.

But I digress. Bryan fans are going to want to tune in to NXT now to see him get revenge on the Miz, and the loyalists will want to tune in now that they see his true potential (after all, how many people would get a shot at Jericho right off the back? Sounds like Jericho showing up straight after the Rock in '99 aye?)

 

[King Blitzkonic]

i cant wait for vince to bury him. because vince will do it. the guy aint good enough for the wwe. simple the quicker the little fan boys relise that the better.

You're one of those WWE loyalists that I was just talking about aren't you? Listen up Mr. Ignorance: You're right, Vince will probably bury Bryan just as he buried Evan Bourne (aka Matt Sydal) and Scotty Goldman (aka Colt Cabana) and what he's doing to stars that VINCE HIMSELF did not create. But to say that Danielson isn't good enough for the WWE is like saying that Hornswoggle should be the undisputed champion of the entire WWE: It's childish, it's ignorant, and it's a statement that even the maker has to know is a complete farce. You might as well say that CM Punk has no place being in WWE because he and Danielson are cut from very similar cloths as far as pre-WWE wrestling experiences.

My take: Danielson is TOO GOOD for the WWE, especially seeing as anyone who can actually wrestle gets crapped on in favor of people that have their head far up Vince's asshole (or HHH's or HBK's or even Taker's). When I look at Danielson, I'm reminded of a very young Bob Backlund, right down to the simple ring attire, boyish looks, and technical abilities. Of course you may not remember Backlund from his prime since you're probably too young to remember anything before Super Cena.

 

[johnbragg]

It's a huge exaggeration to say or think that Danielson is well known enough to be a ratings boost.

However, that doesn't mean that WWE isn't using Danielson and his internet cred to build the NXT brand.

This is something that TNA never gets. In this decade, marketing is mostly social and word-of-mouth. Paid advertising is horribly inefficient. Marketing today is about getting people like you and me to tell other people that we like something and that they should check it out.

Think about it--when was the last time you tried to get a buddy to watch wrestling? Did it go well?

But we've all been pre-sold on Bryan Danielson, we've all read that he's awesome. There aren't enough smarks to create a ratings boost. But there are enough smarks to create positive buzz and interest in the product. In Week One, NXT did that with Danielson.

Week Two could always flush it down the toilet, but there you are.