Why Isn't WWE Capitalizing on Daniel Bryan?
 

Bryan's run as World Heavyweight Champion may not have set the world on fire, but there's no questioning that Bryan's "Yes!"/finger pointing gimmick got over HUGE.

Things like Daniels' gimmick and the interaction with the fans is something that the WWE has been sorely lacking for a long time. He got jobbed out at WrestleMania and he hasn't really been featured on WWE TV much since WrestleMania. Now there are rumors coming in saying that the WWE brass want the "Yes" thing to die down.

Why aren't they capitalizing on this? I think they need to put Bryan right back into the World Title picture against Sheamus, have him on every RAW and every Smackdown, and keep building him up. Bryan has the makings of a mega star right now, and I feel like WWE is just letting the greatness of his gimmick slip through the cracks.

They released a shirt that is already on back order there's capitalizing for you

They've released a shirt yes, but they should be using him as the focus of Smackdown!

It's only over with the smarks..... little kiddies don;t give two shits about him unless he's face.... simple as that......

They probably made like 100 because they figured they wouldn't sell.

Obviously exaggerating but they probably did make a very small amount.

I dunno man. Maybe they're working on a slow build. If they push him too quickly people will complain that he's being shoved down our throats. If they don't push him immediately people say they're wasting his potential.

I remember when Punk came back after MITB everyone was like "Fuck why are they bringing him back already? Let it simmer a little bit and let the fans grow hungry for it!"

I also remember people clamoring for Ryder to get his push, then when he did people were like "Why are they rushing this? Don't put him on tv all the time."


So to answer your question, I don't know.

This is tyical WWE writing. Theyve constantly "missed the biat" on guys wo could have been made bigger by capitalizing on th organic rise in frowd response only to be ket in the same role and have their popularity die down. Same thing happened with both Matt Hardy and Christian. Ill never understand why they pull the rug from under guys who finally found a connection with the crowd. Makes no sense. Nonetheless, if shirts keep selling, and crowd support via signs and chants keep coming, hopefully creative sees the kind of opportunity thats present and takes advantage before the steam dies down

YES

Why isn't WWE capitalising on Bryan?

"Cos it's not part of the plan"

Yes is the new What. I'm still waiting for him to tell the ref he's got til 5....I don't know if that's happened in WWE.

I think Punk ripped him off again with that one.

Who needs Daniel Bryan when we have Brodus Clay, Mason Ryan, Ryback, Lord Tansai and Brock Lesnar! :foc:

Whoops, dunno why I mentioned Mason Ryan. Guess seeing him on Raw made me think he was 'back' again or something.

RYBACK is awesome tho, im sooooooooooo excited for him

There's nothing to capitalize on. It's just a bunch of smarks clinging on to something stupid. It'll die down fast.

Yeah. The whole "YES" thing might spread to non-smarks a bit because they were like "Ha ha, that sounds like fun", but will die down quick when they realize they are chanting for Daniel Bryan.

15 posts before you posted Gertner. You're slipping.

lol I only post here at work and I'm on afternoons

I was thinking this exact thing when I read through. Thank you for clarifying Gertner. A Daniel Bryan thread wouldn't be the same without you.

Matt Hardy will not die.........well besides of a drug overdose and driving drunk

I think Jeff gets the OD, Matt more than likely dies by DUI on an ATV driving back home from the gas station with some PBR.

What is it with wrestlers from North Carolina having messed up lives?

i found the "yes!" junk mildly irritating and i'm fine with killing it.

Gertner had a word with Vince.

They've done stuff like this a lot in the past especially when the wrestler is getting popular without the benefit of the writers or original intention of the WWE. Usually by the time the WWE realizes this, too much time has passed or that golden window of opportunity is gone for the wrestler.

RVD is one I can think of where he was cheered a lot during the Invasion storyline even though he was on the bad side. WWE didn't bother to give him a mega push until years later although RVD ended up being stupid and wasted that opportunity in favor of weed.

Ryder is a recent example and it took the WWE months to figure out people really wanted to see him on tv and in a feud against Ziggler for the US title.

I don't agree with the sentiment that only marks like Daniel Bryan's "Yes!" It's been heard in the crowd during every show since WrestleMania, and a few before it as well. It's just one of those stupid things that fans catch on to.

Honestly, I think that making the t-shirt already was a bad idea. They should have let it build and evolve on its own before releasing a shirt sometime down the line.

Daniel Bryan's "Yes!"/"World Heavyweight Champion!" schtick was something special, and there's no real explanation except that the schtick plus Daniel Bryan's selling of the schtick plus him actually winning matches led to greatness. It's the type of thing that when even a casual fan sees him doing it they're going to smile and want to know what the hell is up with this guy. That is GOOD for the WWE.

The problem is that WWE never knows what to do when a good thing falls in their lap. Vince Russo was good about that when he was in the WWF - when a superstar "found" something, he knew how to capitalize on it and get it over even bigger. Ever since he left, they just seem to fuck up every good thing that comes their way.

"Psycho Kane" who came to the ring all strapped in like a mad man - that should have stuck. RVD's overness in 2001/2002 should have led to a World Title run. Christian was a man on fire before he left for TNA, but he just kept getting jobbed out to Cena. Heel "Legend Killer" Randy Orton was incredible and he was massively over - so they turned him full fledged pussy-ass face. Some could argue that The Brian Kendrick should've been given a bigger push (others will argue that TBK shouldn't have smoked so much weed). Cena was massively over with both male and female fans with his thuggish rapper gimmick - they took away everything that got him over in the beginning. And then of course there's CM Punk, who probably should've stayed away from the WWE for a little while longer after MITB, and probably should've stayed a heel after MITB, too.

Fucking rant. I really shouldn't be complaining since WWE is the most watchable it's been in a long, long time. Guys like Punk, Bryan, Jericho and Orton are running the place, Lesnar is back. WWE is in a good place, but I still see them losing momentum with guys like Daniel Bryan by not giving them a decent segment on RAW. What if they just had Stone Cold skip a RAW or two when he was just catching fire?

Because Vince McMahon actually hates money. It's a deep, dark secret of his -- but it's why he's done stuff like the the XFL, WWE Films and is going to do the WWE Network. If Daniel Bryan wasn't over, he'd have a much better chance of being pushed. True story.

If Daniel Bryan had Ryback's body but Daniel Bryan's wrestling skills, he would be WWE champ

Step 1. Sign Brian Danielson/Daniel Bryan

Step 2.

Step 3. Profit.


I'd say they are doing well

Step 1. Sign Brian Danielson/Daniel Bryan

Step 2. YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

Step 3. Profit.

I think i no why the WWE is'nt using daniel brian proply. I think they think he is like Benoit and they wnat to make sure he doesnt kill his family first. So thats why?

I disagree...WWE trust Bryan imo.

i think they dont trust him yet cuz he done broke up with AJ and that is just DUM cuz she is like a 10 or a 8. Not an 9 tho.

A meeting of the minds right there

Gertner is actually in third place for trolliness in here. Bizarre.

Christ at that recent exchange. Honestly though, most of us are jumping the gun a bit here. Yes, it would have been cool to see creative jump on the "YES" bandwagon, but after only one week it is far too early to do so. 2 out of 3 falls sounds like it could be good, and its fairly apparent they have something planned for Daniel Bryan.

Im retracting my earlier statement and going to be in wait and see mode.

They'll show you...you'll see!

the fuck are you talking about?

He IS still in the title picture, and in a 2/3 falls match at the PPV.

He has a new shirt.

He was on Piper's Pit.

It's only been 2 fucking weeks. Calm the fuck down.

This. From here DB is going to sink or swim. The best guys in the company are able to persevere through not being massively pushed, such as CM Punk He got jobbed to everybody and their mother, and look how far he has come. He found a way. And really, if Daniel Bryan ends up like a Dolph Ziggler type, who the company relies on to perform in big situations when asked even if not hugely pushed, it'll mean he's in the game and not floundering the same as a Paul London or Carlito and Primo. Unlike the guys who seem to lose their passion, Bryan seems to posess a winning attitude... so in short, YES!

That's not the point though. I'm not saying that DB won't persevere through not being massively pushed and survive - I know he will because he's that good. The point is that WWE has an opportunity here, just like they've had SO MANY opportunities in the past to create new MAJOR stars.

Guys like Rock, Austin, Triple H, Undertaker, and Kurt Angle were simply elevated when the time was right. They were "given the ball" and pushed to the top and made into superstars. They were put into a place that they would never leave. They brought a "main event match" feel to every match they had because they were "made" by the WWE - they were given the attention and time that they needed to become megastars. And those are the guys who took the ball and ran with it. It wasn't a single match or a single moment - it was consistency. Numerous moments, numerous big matches. That's how you "make" a WWE superstar.

But, WWE doesn't "make" guys anymore. The last guys they made were Batista, Cena and Edge. And now all of their made guys are gone or leaving and WWE is looking at a roster with only one or two stars. If Lesnar and Rock weren't back and involved in the WWE, how shit would RAW and SD look right about now? And WWE knows this better than anyone - they fully recognize that they have a skinny roster and that all the big names are going out to pasture. But they don't seem to know how to fix it.

Those Attitude Era guys you mentioned sustained oooularity over a very steady rise. Daniel Bryan got a great reaction from a smark crowd, and while he did have some supoort this week, it was nowhere near as prominent.

The Extreme Rules match will be very telling. Though he will likely lose, Bryan could very well come out looking like champ if hes booked to take Sheamus to the limit.

WWE is back into their monster hoss phase with Lesnar, Tensai, Ryback and Brodus.

DB doesnt exactly fit the hoss mold, hence, he had his run and now its time to go with what Vince loves, and he loves himself some big men.

Its also why Dolph's not being pushed either.

Easy counterpoint to this statement is Daniel Bryan is not any of those 5 guys.


This is sports entertainment, not wrestling. Daniel Bryan may be the best wrestler on the roster, but he is nowhere even close to those names in every other department. And those areas count more than wrestling ability to the majority of WWE's fans.

So it would be foolish of WWE to use a rushed mega push on this guy. The slow build is the way to go.

It's been like a week.

And he isn't already champion again. :nono: #Buried #DroppingTheBall

Nah, you were funnier, CSL.

The WWE is trying to do that with Sheamus. It's why they had him win the Royal Rumble and beat Bryan in seconds. They thought it would get him mega-over. The tragedy is that it didn't and it shows that the WWE doesn't really understand its audience any more. I wouldn't trust them to "make" a star, as you said. It'll be telling to see what the WWE does at Extreme Rules. As I've said elsewhere, I can totally see Sheamus squashing Bryan two straight falls, with the WWE too proud to give the fans a proper match between the two and essentially "admit they were wrong."

The answer to your question "Why isn't the WWE capitalizing on Daniel Bryan?" is: They don't know how.

Can we all just agree to wait and see how the payoff on this Aj angle goes as well as how Bryan is booked before, during and after Extreme Rules? Still far, far too early to say they missed the boat.

He should be booked on the Opening Match on NXT. That's about it. He's terrible and an insult to the sport.

I very rarely copy and paste (although it may seem like it to my fat critics), but I can't be fucked rephrasing what I said in the Extreme Rules thread:

I'm really curious to see how Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan turns out. The reason being that the WWE has to suspect that the crowd in attendance is going to be super-smarky. Three things are certain for the PPV:

1. CM Punk will have the fans in a frenzy for anything he does.

2. They will be rabid for Brock Lesnar and wanting to see him kill John Cena.

3. They will be all over Sheamus and chanting "YES!" a lot.

I can understand that they didn't expect Mania to go the way it did, since they are in total hype machine and may not have expected Smarkamania to be runnin' wild; but they should be prepared for Sheamus to get the living shit heckled out of him while Bryan is worshipped as a hero, despite every damn dastardly thing the WWE has done to make him seem like the worst guy on the planet. In my opinion, this would probably be the best way to go about booking the World Heavyweight Title match at Extreme Rules, to make everyone look good and making as many people happy as possible:

* Sheamus wins the first fall after he powers up Bryan -- who has him in a LeBell Lock -- into a Finlay-style Celtic Cross (which I think he used on Bryan at Elimination Chamber). Sheamus will be booed, but he looks as good as gold by drawing first blood and proving that he's the "rightful" champion, if you will.

* The crowd will then be rabid to see Bryan fight back and win the second fall, which he does, probably with a roll-up to stay in touch with his technically heel persona, and because I can't see the WWE having Sheamus tap-out.

* The third fall goes back and forth, with neither man going down easy. The end sees Sheamus catch Bryan coming off the top rope with a Brogue Kick (which is how I believe Sheamus won the US Title, too -- but I may be wrong). Sheamus wins the third fall and retains the World Heavyweight Title. He celebrates for a bit (probably to boos -- or at least a mixed reaction), before he heads to the back. Bryan is left in the ring, however, and he gets the "guy who put on amazing performance is left in the ring as he comes to getting lots of cheers" moment. Bryan loses the match, but finds himself standing in the ring as the Chicago crowd chants "YES! YES! YES!" and "Thank you, Bryan!"

From there, the WWE can move onto its regularly scheduled program and have Sheamus defend the World Heavyweight Title against Alberto Del Rio, while Bryan is sort of reborn as a babyface character -- looking to prove that he does belong at the top. Hell, since they seem to do it every two years, as I've suggested before, bring back the King of the Ring and have Bryan meet Chris Jericho in the finals at Over the Limit, where Bryan wins and his victory speech consists simply of "YES! YES! YES!" It at least gives Bryan a journey as a character over the next few months.

Have faith IWC. None of us thought DB would end up in WWE. When he did arrive in WWE, none of us thought a year later he would have a big belt.

WWE is known for stuffing out acclaimed wrestlers that come from outside of their own product or mold. Yet ever since DB has been with the company there has been an exciting moment around DB.

Name change, check.
Nexus choke out, check.
Firing/suspension, check.
'Getting snuffed out under the dress shoes of Vince McMahon', check.
Busting out and winning a low level belt, check.
Concerns about development of his personality and character, check.
DB holding a big belt for 5 months (if not more), check.
Wrestle Mania catastrophe catapults him into higher stardom, check.

Please do not forget that his recent belt run is one of the longest for the World Heavyweight Championship, surpassed by Jericho and few others if any. This might even hold true for the WWE Championship but I do not know.

So please understand that at this moment it does appear that WWE and DB know that they are doing and are doing it well. WWE has taken care of DB and brought him this far. He has learned the company's style and is continually improving all aspects of his performance. It is an exciting time. The controversy over this may indicate the level of success they are having with him.

I like to think of him and his career as being similar to the moment in Shawn Michaels career when he was with Sherry.

There still are concerns about his personality and character. He couldn't get over so they had to have him be a mean to a hott chick

I am loving you more and more, Gert, but that's just not true. Bryan was getting heat from the moment he went chicken-shit against Big Show without actually turning. He actually started being mean to a hot chick before he even did a full turn. His "I'm a fighting champion" shtick while he was weaselling out of everything was getting some great heat. That's why they let him take the title as far as he did.

Great post, actually.

There were like 9 longer WHC title reigns. None were Jericho though.

And Punk's current WWE Title reign started before Bryan's did.

How many men have taken the World or WWE Championship into their first WrestleMania?

I don't know. It's an odd stat. Should I look it up?

I think Flair did

Someone told me DB has the 12th longest WHC run.

Hogan, although he had held it for a while

:) at the two jr. members conversation

I think you might be right with Flair, actually. Hogan did, but that was heading into the very first Mania. Daniel Bryan is in some pretty elite company there.

Here's how I would book the 2012 King of the Ring tournament I suggested, for anyone that cares:

First Round:

* Dolph Ziggler beats Kofi Kingston cleanly with the Zig Zag.

* Daniel Bryan defeats Jack Swagger when he counters a Swagger Ankle Lock into his own version of the Ankle Lock (perhaps with his own touch), forcing Swagger to tap-out to his own move.

* Chris Jericho defeats Zack Ryder with the Walls of Jericho in a match that is booked to be quite competitive and make Ryder look like a fighter but give Jericho a strong victory.

* Tyson Kidd defeats Michael McGillicutty with some sweet submission hold and gets to move into the semi-finals of the tournament, which would be pretty amazing for the guy.

* It is announced that the semi-finals and finals will both be held at the Over the Limit PPV.

Semi-Finals:

* Daniel Bryan defeats Dolph Ziggler in the opening match of the Over the Limit PPV. They put on a show hopefully as great as their US Title/IC Title series, and Vickie Guerrero ends up getting up on the apron, but AJ proves herself to DB by pulling Vickie off and knocking her down at ringside, or something. Ziggler tries to O'Connor roll Bryan using the tights, but Bryan rolls back and grabs Ziggler's tights for the "fire with fire" ending. It's in line with Bryan's sneakily persona and it makes Ziggler look quite strong even in losing.

* Daniel Bryan is attacked backstage by Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger, who are obviously upset that they were both beaten by Bryan. They beat the snot out of him, and the commentators question what sort of shape Bryan will be in for his match against the winner of the Jericho vs. Kidd match.

* Chris Jericho defeats Tyson Kidd with the Walls of Jericho in what could be a pretty great wrestling match. Jericho gets another victory to keep looking like a threat and head into the finals against Bryan. Kidd would look like a million bucks by just hanging in there with Jericho.

Finals:

* Daniel Bryan is hurt from his match with Ziggler and subsequent beat-down from Ziggler & Swagger, but keeps hanging in their against Jericho, who gets quite frustrated that Bryan won't quit. The finish sees Bryan catch Jericho in a LeBell Lock out of nowhere, and Jericho fight the move for a little bit, but Bryan always managing to roll Jericho back into the middle of the ring. Jericho taps and Bryan wins the 2012 King of the Ring!

Yeah but with the two titles now, each of them meaning far less than they did then and the fact that the world title earned him the position of curtain jerker and a loss in an 18 second long match, I wouldn't put too much stock into it.

It's just a little trivia fact.

YES!
 

YES!.. YES!.. YES!..

Apparently WWE officials are not a fan of the chant.
Thoughts?

What?

Gertner is losing the biggest troll title?

http://www.realclearsports.com/blogn...body-panic.gif

Daniel Bryan is probably my favorite act going in WWE right now. I don't give a fuck about what anybody thinks. I'm just enjoying the ride.

Yeah, they hate it so much that they let him rename his finishing move after it.

He's either getting shoved down our throats or he's in the doghouse. He did not however outpop DX.

this is so true

There we go.

Regardless of what the crowd says, Vince is only going to do what he wants to do.
His logic is that the WWE is his creation, and therefore everything within it must be a product of his mind and must transpire according to his plan.

He's just a stubborn bastard like that.

Honestly, I'd rather WWE didn't support DB too much. When they put the rocket boosters on someone, they overdo the character and it has a negative effect because the guy just doesn't have enough control over his persona, and then what made him work in the first place goes to shit. I'd rather he kept finding ways to get over regardless of wins and losses, and then if they put the rocket boosters on him, he'll be so developed that he'll be able to adapt to being "WWE"ized.

This is what happened to Punk, he got over on his own and even with all the attempts of WWE to horribly fuck it up (such as rushing him back after MITB, and jobbing him to HHH and just taking the edge off of his character) he's remained over because he has developed himself so much, that he maintains a connection with the audience and they can see through the bullshit WWE world and realize he's a special talent. This is how DB is going to do it. WWE is incapable of capitalizing on red hot opportunities anymore just because they're out of touch. That is no more evident than putting the poor 3 stooges on RAW. What makes them think anyone wants to see that? They have their comfort zone and don't care to venture outside of it. Just the way it is. It's what happens when there's no more competition.

I completely agree with you, Dale. Back in the Monday Night Wars, there was a proper alternative for viewers and performers to retreat to, so each of the companies had to capitalise on what was hot, who was hot, and how to make money out of that. If there were a WCW right next to the WWE, you better believe that "Daniel Bryan" chants would result in a Daniel Bryan push. But without the competition, the WWE's finger isn't on the hot-button any more, and things fall to the wayside.

this guy i know told me that Daniel Bryan is going to win the Title back at X-treme rules and will hold the belt thru summerslam where he is going to lose it to Brock Lesner in 18 seconds and then Sheamus and Brock will fued over who had the best 18 seconds match win. cant wait

WWE hates making money didn't you know that? Or perhaps it's the "yes" that's over and not Daniel Bryan........

It's the yes.

I think that Daniel Bryan is over like a champ cuz the word yes has been around for a while like before Daniel Bryan was became a veegan even. No whata I mean?

I would be shocked if Daniel Bryan doesn't win the World Heavyweight title at Extreme Rules in villainous fashion.

He is gonna win the belt cuz he is gonna cheat to win like Eddie use ta

sheeet bro

When I went to a Smackdown house show last week, I was soley the only person shouting "Yes!" probably because there were mainly little kids all around me and my gf, all kitted out in their Cena gear thinking he would be there. "Daniel Sucks" they were shouting, one of them was even saying "Let's go Shameless!". Which I responded with "Shameless Sucks!" #Heel

I don't see Daniel Bryan winning back the World Heavyweight Title at Extreme Rules. His character will get more fleshed out and possibly end up turning face in the near future.

They should totally get the rights to use "Final Countdown", and dub in "YES!" on beat.