DISCUSSION - The WWE are booking Daniel Bryan perfectly (RR spoilers)
 

DISCUSSION - The WWE are booking Daniel Bryan perfectly (RR spoilers)

I'm going to go out on a limb and state that the WWE are booking Daniel Bryan almost perfectly right now and I'll tell you why:

IF the WWE had gone the "traditional" route and had Bryan win the Rumble.....to then be followed by a victory at Mania........it would be extremely predictable and formulaic.

What I believe the WWE will do, is have Daniel Bryan win his next few matches on RAW over Bray Wyatt, Sheamus, and perhaps another guy (Reigns?), which will earn him a title match against Orton at the February PPV. Bryan will either go over Orton at the Feb PPV or the next night on RAW, which will then set up a title match and eventual victory over Batista in the main-event.


Daniel Bryan marks need to relax in my opinion. The WWE aren't THAT stupid...........I think?

Wouldn't put it past them, but I'm still waiting to see where it goes.

I think the matches at Wrestlemania will be as follows:

-World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Dave Batista
-Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
-Triple H vs. CM Punk
-John Cena and Hulk Hogan vs. The Wyatt Family
-Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
-Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust
-Usos vs. New Age Outlaws

And then some other matches involving Orton, etc.,

Same here.

Perhaps I'm giving the WWE too much credit, but I highly doubt that they're THAT stupid.

My best guess is that they are simply trying to avoid being too predictable......and lets face it: Bryan winning the rumble last night would have been VERY predictable.

The WWE have both marks AND smarks pissed off and guessing right now. In a weird sort of way, this could be a good thing.

Controversy sells.

I'll be tuning in to RAW tonight for what I expect to be an extremely hostile crowd.

Nope. There was no reason or explanation as to why Bryan wasn't in the rumble. There was no explanation that Bryan was sacrifing his rumble spot to fight Wyatt. The WWE Championship doesn't exist in Bryan's mind right now, nor does the royal rumble. When does he suddenly remember?

Bryan did give an explanation on Twitter that "The Machine" prevented him from entering the rumble, and so I don't know if that answers that question.

Again - I just can't see the WWE being this stupid or naive. They just can't be.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and am assuming that they are simply trying to not be overly predictable.

The problem is, outside of a couple of tweets by Bryan himself, there was no focus put on why he was not going to be a part of the Rumble, let alone win it.

Does anyone think that Rock, Foley, Taker, HHH, Cena or Austin would have not been included in the Rumble during their respective main event runs or even ascents to main event status, without a reason or storyline behind it being the focus of their television time? Absolutely not.

If Bray vs Bryan was going to be on the card at RR and Bryan was not going to be a part of the Rumble, then they should have had a reason established for it, as opposed to Bryan randomly joining and then turning on the Wyatts on RAW.

Bray/the Wyatts could have cost Bryan a match that would have guaranteed him entry into the Rumble. He could have then chosen to join them or not leading to the match and a viable explanation as to why Bryan was not in the Rumble. This could have been a major focus of DB, the Authority and the Wyatts on RAW and Smackdown leading into the Rumble. Instead, he was just randomly thrown into a new feud with Bray Wyatt that also was just as quickly scheduled to end, and for no reason and no planning around it.

A year or two ago, I would've said there's no way Bryan deserves to win the Rumble and/or headline a WM for the World Title. I also said 5 months ago, after the Summerslam finish, nobody panic, let's see how this plays out, surely WWE will give Bryan his well deserved moment and title run in the long run. I figured worst case, he's SO over that he'd at least win the Rumble and go on to WM.

I'll tell you what, to all those fans saying this killed the company, check Tuesday when Raw's ratings come in. I'm betting on a 3.7 rating.

Let's say Bryan was in the Rumble and Batista still won? You don't have the reaction that Bryan not being in the Rumble did. I'll be watching Raw for sure and I hardly ever watch a full Raw anymore. Should be interesting to see where they go with this. I'm telling you if Bryan ends up in the title match at Wrestlemania, then the WWE is genius for doing what they did last night. They got everybody talking and even more behind one of their wrestlers. This is either going to go two ways: a disaster or one of the more brilliant moves in the history of the company.

Who's saying that this will or has killed the company?

I'm just saying that as a loyal fan for the last 20 some odd years, when someone is as over as DB is, it's kind of weird when they're not in the Rumble and outside of 2 tweets from DB himself, no reason or focus is really given as to why.

I agree. If they come up with a cool way to put Bryan in the main event, that makes sense and doesn't just discount the validity, history or importance of the Rumble match leading into the main event at WM, then yes, that would be genius. However, they could JUST as easily flounder this and make it a disaster. We shall see.

I just want to know how it's OK for El Torito to earn a spot in the illustrious Royal Rumble match, but not Daniel Bryan.

After the fact.

It's pretty easy not to be predictable.

Lol all the smarks on the internet claiming they are done watching. It's b.s. They'll tune in Monday and if this is played out correctly it's an ingenius move.

The "no reason or focus", makes people pissed, but they'll tune in to voice their opinion even more.. They've got something potentially huge on their hands. Like I said, I could be wrong and it's a disaster. Not really giving my opinion yet, gonna see how they handle this.

If Bryan eventually gets to where we believe he should be, I'm not sure it was worth sending all those PPV crowds home disappointed to get there. It's seriously dragging on.

There's long-term booking, and then there's just being silly.

It's like fooling a child into thinking he didn't get any Christmas presents, but not actually pulling out the sack and surprising him until June.

It's not ok, but if in the storyline Bryan ends up in the title match, they've created a fanbase who is foaming at the mouth over this "injustice" and behind a character like we haven't seen in years. HUGE potential with this.

That's the thing though:

Perhaps the WWE is simply trying to avoid being formulaic.

A large part of Daniel Bryan's appeal is that he's an underdog face that is being held down by "The Machine." Fans can relate to that and that is why they are extremely angry right now.

Guys like Austin, Cena, HHH, Taker, and The Rock are all 'alpha males.' Bryan is not.

The fact that Bryan was held back from competing in the rumble by "The Machine" fits into his character, gimmick, and how the WWE want to position him, perfectly.

But again though - time will tell.

If Daniel Bryan does not win the World title at Wrestlemania, I take back everything I said.

For now though, I am going to go out on a limb and assume that the WWE are showing tremendous creativity right now. Bryan entering and winning the rumble would have been too predictable.

Yes, but he was never advertised to be in it to begin with. Wrestlemania for ever has be THE event, so how huge would the lead up to this event if Bryan goes in and wins the belt. Huge, just massive.

Bad news Gertner nailed it too a fucking tee. :cool:

The true tragedy however, is that both of our hockey teams suck balls. :'(

Yeah, I'm not completely sour on it. I'm still watching. I've just never really been a Batista fan outside of his initial face turn and his Douchetista schtick before he left four years ago. He still has time to turn heel if they really want to do that, and he'd probably be decent in that role.

Batista is just a natural heel. He'd play well against Bryan.

If this somehow turns into heel Batista v. Bryan for the title at Mania, that would be kinda awesome, I feel.

The travesty missed was that I didn't get a goddamn motherfucking Chokeslam til late in the Rumble. Big Show could've supplied one but no, WWE doesn't listen to the fans!!!!!!wahhhhhhhh

It was a glorious choke slam, right through the table

We have to remember that this is wrestling and things can turn in a blink of an eye. I can't. Remember hearing anything like this. This is the point though. If they don't go through with this then it's a gigantic waste, because the Wrestlemania crowd will dump all over it. Rumble and Mania are huge "smark" crowds. They'll either make it one of the best in history or destroy it.

Completely agree.

Perhaps I'm giving the WWE too much benefit of the doubt, but I do think they'll 'strike' with Bryan at Wrestlemania.


Think about this: The WWE "busted a nut" and prematurely ejaculated with both Lesnar and Orton at Summerslam back in 2002 and 2004 respectively. A little while later however, both wrestlers lost their momentum to varying degrees.

Bryan chasing the belt has been a good thing for the WWE.

Bryan vs. The Authority, in a very indirect way, has been the subtle main storyline in the WWE and I think they have delivered big time. The fact that the WWE has both marks AND smarks so pissed off is a testament.

Again though - I take this ALL back if Bryan does not win the title at Mania.

If this doesn't happen, then I pretty much agree with your stance.

Remember when Cena won last year, and it was just like, 'oh whatever'?

At least there's a buzz right now.

Batista is a huge shit talker, so riling up the Bryan fans going into it would build this thing up. Batista isn't the greatest, but he plays a great heel character. A big loudmouth heel against a Bryan crowd who is behind him more than ever would be big.

Exactly, and when has there been a buzz like this that draws in the marks and smarks? Been quite a while. You could have a Hogan vs Rock type crowd reaction for this. Time will tell though.

I would've booked Ultimate Warrior clotheslining 3 ppl out and shaking the ropes catapulting himself onto Chris Benoit's casket busting it open and having Bryan put his remains in the Yes Lock.

Of course you'll watch tonight. :cool:

In a weird sort of way, I think the WWE delivered big time last night since the fans are so pissed off.........and it has everyone talking. Marks AND smarks.

We will very likely see some extremely hostile crowd reactions tonight.

I honestly a tournament being held to see who will be #1 contender for Orton's belt at the February PPV. Bryan will win said tournament, and will go against Orton.

My guess is that the WWE will throw yet another curve ball where Orton defeats Bryan with HHH's help......pissing off the fans even more.

The next night on RAW, someone like Vince or Shane 'flexes their corporate' muscle and gives Bryan another shot at Orton........a clean one on one.

HHH tries to interfere during the match, but CM Punk decks him. Bryan beats Orton cleanly and goes onto face Batista.


That is EXACTLY how I see things playing out.

Heyman, I hope you're right that the WWE isn't that stupid, and they indeed have an un-traditional plan to get Bryan into the main event. Was thinking about it myself after the show.

In the closing segment tonight, Orton and HHH have their typical promo. Out comes Batista, "I'm going to Mania, etc etc". Batista plays up the history he's had with both Triple H and Orton in the past. Batista challenges Orton to start Mania early. Orton and Triple H refuse and go backstage. Batista poses in the ring for a bit, then makes his way up the ramp and to the back to close the show.

Next week, as Orton, Batista, and Triple H are set to have another segment, Bryan interrupts on the ramp and says that he came across some really confusing footage last week. The titantron cuts to a "found footage camera" that contains a clip after Raw went off the air the week prior. It's a 30 second spot of Batista walking through the curtain, meeting Orton and Hunter with big smiles on their faces, handshakes, hugs, etc.

Everyone is now completely confused. Orton, Hunter, and Bats are looking at each other, not sure what to say next. Finally Hunter grabs the mic and snaps and admits his entire plan.

He admits that he purposely excluded Bryan from the Rumble, that he gave Batista a late entry to increase his Rumble chances, and that his entire plan has worked. Now the WrestleMania main event stays within the Authority's jurisdiction no matter who wins. It's been planned that regardless of which superstar wins at Mania, the other will respectfully grant a rematch at numerous pay-per-view events following WrestleMania. Batista and Orton have been his two hand-picked Champions for 10 years, and it's his dream to see them compete for the Championship at Mania, and he doesn't give a damn if the crowd wants Daniel Bryan. Triple H concludes his promo by firing Bryan for airing the footage, trying to sabotage his main event.

No Chance in Hell hits. Vinny Mac stands beside Bryan on the ramp. Vince cuts a promo saying how disappointed he was in Triple H for not giving the people what they want. Vince re-hires Bryan, and books a match for Chamber. Batista vs. Bryan, if Bryan wins, he's entered into the main event with Orton and Batista in a triple threat.

Bryan goes over Batista after dodging obstacles, and wins via roll-up.

The build going into the show can start as a 2-on-1 where Hunter's gameplan is, "I don't care who wins, just NOT Bryan." Bryan then starts to form rifts within the Authority, as he is starting chaos amongst Batista, Orton, and Triple H.

Then at Mania 30, Punk goes over Triple H and Bryan finally and decisively wins the WWE Championship, as Punk and Bryan finally "kill the machine" in one night.

Exactly.

You nailed it.

Which is why the WWE is actually being ingenius right now.

If Bryan had won at Summerslam (sans screwjob), there's a chance that he could have ended up like CM Punk from 2 years earlier where he would have peaked too early and lost momentum.

The WWE aren't stupid. They'll have Bryan win the title at Mania, but they'll be as unpredictable and creative as possible to keep the marks AND smarks guessing.

If Bryan doesn't win the title at Mania', I take back everything I said..........and will agree with Jabba's comments.

It will get bigger ratings because the Royal Rumble always drags people back.

The funny thing is, I always see in this forum "the wwe is too predictable" and various degrees of that opinion.. Now they shake it up a lil, and go against the grain, and they are all of a sudden " idiots". What also bothers me is that before sheamus got hurt, he was "boring" and "needed to do something else" and was "painful to watch" surprise return at the rumble and everyone complains about the wwe booking of the rumble shitting on his epic return. Can we get some decorum please? Lol

The only issue is, Lesnar is the #1 contender to face Orton at the Feb ppv. You could go Lesnar loses to Orton due to interference from Taker, Bryan gets inserted into the main event at Wrestlemani and it gets made a threeway, which also works big time. Batista vs Orton vs Bryan at Wrestlemania. The decks stacked against Bryan to win, but he pulls it off.

You nailed it.

p.s._________In regards to Sheamus, the guy is bland and will never draw. Period. You can wrap a turd in silk and velvet but at the end of the day, it's still turd. Sheamus and Alberto Del Rios are bland, and the fans don't care about them all that much.

I think it'll be bigger than the normal post Rumble rating.

Was Lesnar already announced as the guy that will face the champ at the Feb PPV?

Maybe what they can do, is have Taker challenge Lesnar BEFORE the Feb PPV (like tonight?) which prompts Heyman and Lesnar to go end the streak rather than win the title.

This then prompts HHH to create a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the Feb PPV.

Everyone knew cena was winning that rumble.. I was mad that I spent money on tix cuz halfway there it hit me, there is no logical other winner (unless a surprise entrant came in and went the distance, y2j=best surprise ever) with Bryan, I think they are taking it easy. I mean outside of smark crowds, not even more than a year ago he was getting little to no reactions. I think they don't wanna blow their wads like they did with Ryder.

It's hard to tell if they're trolling the fans. It'd be pretty awesome if they were... but they do so many things that suggest they don't have any idea what the hell they're doing so all you can really do is wait and see.

Love the buzz, yes. Thing is that we get all sorts of ideas of how the WWE can turn this into something great, only to have them leave everyone hanging with a crap payoff.

Right now I've got grand plans for the authority to line up with heel turn batista and basically pit the guys that are "the stereotype wressler" that they try to shove down the fans throats vs the IWC darlings culminating in a huge meta-match with a Bryan title win at Mania in front of a rabid, smarky crowd.

The way things have been going though, with what really comes off as rushed or lazy booking (unifying the title, Bryan join the Wyatts, the way Mania went last year) I have no faith that they will pull off anything great and will just stick to what's easy.

Hope for the best, expect the worst.

I agree to an extent.. Some people just shouldn't be faces (sheamus) but the rumble thread was full of excitement and cheer for sheamus' return, from the same people shitting all over him months ago. I actually like the guy.. I think he was a great heel.. Especially when he did the whole "I can kick anyone's ass" shtick when he debuted

If I recall when Vince screwed Bret, he thought he was going to be the good guy in the eyes of the crowd. Sometimes things just fall into place intentionally or not.

possibilities are worth talking about but you guys have all moved onto this Daniel bryan v batista scenario without a plausible way of getting the title off of Orton between now and then and shuffling him to the midcard.

For any scenario to work for a payoff Daniel Bray has to challenge for and Win the title at wrestlemania. Meaning sometime between now and then Batista will have to win the title off Orton. where?

Granted there's 69 days to figure it out but I don't see it. Mania plans are usually worked out prior to rumble and I don't see them straying because of one crowd in Pitt. Someone thinks Batista and Orton is the safe main event and he was brought in for a reason. hope i'm wrong

I pretty much agree with this.

I think they (WWE) are trolling the fans, but perhaps I am giving them too much credit.

I just can't fathom them being so f*** stupid.

Where??

Anytime. It's wrestling. If they want to they come up with an excuse.

I think all the "self-proclaimed #1 contender stuff" is gonna backfire on Heyman and Lesnar. Tonight they announce the participants for the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE title, and Lesnar isn't one of them.

Lesnar and Heyman are irate in the Authority's office. Lesnar is throwing furniture as Heyman is screaming Lesnar's accomplishments since returning two years ago (beating the longest reigning WWE Champion in the past 25 years, defeating Triple H on multiple occasions, destroying Big Show).

Steph said that the Authority was planning on giving Lesnar a title shot, but they cannot reward his behavior from the Rumble, as he unnecessarily hit the Big Show with a chair almost 40 times.

Heyman doesn't buy it, saying that Lesnar was never considered for a title shot because there is absolutely no respect for his client. Lesnar and Heyman storm out.

For the weeks leading into the Elimination Chamber, Lesnar and Heyman bully and destroy random talents, with Heyman saying "Does Brock Lesnar have respect yet?! Was that beatdown respectful enough?!" After maybe 2 weeks of doing this and still leading to not getting any respect, they come up with the ultimate plan for respect in their eyes.

Heyman explains that Brock Lesnar is jealous of not one man, except the Undertaker. Not for his ability, because Brock is superior, but because of the respect he commands within the entire WWE. Brock believes that if he dethrones the Undertaker, he will become the most respected entity in the WWE. An advertised part of the Elimination Chamber PPV becomes "Lesnar calls out the Undertaker," teasing Lesnar issuing the challenge for Mania.

At Chamber, Lesnar is in the ring with Heyman awaiting the Undertaker. As Taker is making his slow walk to the ring, Lesnar ambushes him, pulling his trench coat over Taker's head and nailing him with strikes, chair shots, etc. Taker is dismantled and completely destroyed and even embarrassed.

This gives Taker the motivation to return to Raw and make the match at Mania official as Lesnar tries to end his road to respect by ending the streak.

and storyline wise orton wouldn't use his rematch clause for mania? trying to shift the main event now from to the guy whos the challenger and a guy not in it, all while getting the guy with the title out of the picture is pretty fuckin ambitious for a company who doesn't think outside the box

I love how Gertner is so fucking smarmy about people being upset. And falls back to the "oh my assumptions could be amazing and they are going to make this out perfectly".

When has the WWE done something the "right way" and fooled fans in the last 10 years? Never. Why would you ever assume they would. What is more likely...

That this is all a huge long con by the WWE that will pay off like no angle in the history of the world

or

That they are once again playing against what the fans want or would be the most entertaining.

They arent trying to whip the fans into a frenzy, that is just happening due to their refusal to get behind the fans desire.

Im willing to bet every dime I have that Bryan ends up more like Zack Ryder than Chris Benoit when the curtain goes down at WM.

Seriously, Bryan won the title at Summerslam, and now at the Royal Rumble was booked in the opening match that he lost, and the guy who beat him was elevated to a program with Cena. His long term Wyatt feud was shit canned because a basketball team chants YES. He has no running story other than tagging with Cena against the Wyatts. He has been removed from the title picture.

There is no plan here for him. They will continue to roll him out to get pops but they have no plan to turn this into anything.

no plan?? he's going to wrestle sheamus at mania I mean come on, what better spot is there than holding dow the hillbilly jim 3rd match hole at mania against sheamus? lol

If they were trolling the fans, Bad News Barrett should've been number 30 last night.

This was not "shaking it up." Everybody predicted Batista to win and he won.

Unfortunately, you are correct in this regard.

However, I was talking more from the perspective of pushing your top guy in an entirely different way.

The WWE aren't stupid (KNOCK ON WOOD).

They know that Daniel Bryan is their #1 guy right now, and they know that Batista is an aging, past-his-prime, 44-45 year old.

However - how many times have we seen *insert number 1 babyface* win the Royal Rumble in dramatic fashion, and then go on to Wrestlemania to win the title?

Hogan, Austin, HBK, Batista, <S>Benoit</S>, Mysterio, etc., etc.

It just seems very formulaic does it not?

Daniel Bryan just might be a different beast altogether.

His whole appeal has been based on being an 'underdog overlooked' warrior that is being held down by the man. It's why he's so relatable. Everyone can relate to being "held down by the man."

In yester-year, we've seen top alpha-dogs such as Austin, The Rock, DX, and even John Cena get the better of Vince McMahon more times than not.

In this case however - we're seeing something different. Daniel Bryan is certainly NOT getting the better of "The Machine."


Long story short - lets see how this unfolds. I think the WWE will find a way to get the title on Daniel Bryan at this year's Mania'. I suspect that it has been their plan since last summer.

p.s._____________Jabba is right though. The WWE better not carry this out too much longer. If Bryan doesn't win the title at Mania, they will have missed the boat in my opinion.

Lol christ, I made fun of people jumping off a fucking cliff, and later said this could go two ways: a disaster or the biggest thing in over a decade. Tell me what's so ridiculous or hypocritical about what I said.

Easiest way to go about this: Lesnar faces Orton and loses due to Taker interference, brakes off into his feud. Bryan comes out during February demanding to be put in the main event. HHH stacks the deck saying "you have one shot, if you beat the Shield in a handicap match". Bryan goes over at the Feb ppv due to something like Reigns spearing Ambrose by accident. The Shield implodes and bam they have their match at Wrestlemania. Cena does his thing with Wyatt, HHH does his thing with Punk and your main event features two former associates of HHH being Batista and Orton in a triple threat with Bryan. The Authority has stacked the deck once again. Bryan wins at Wrestlemania.

So your card goes

Batista/Bryan/Orton for the WWE World Title
Taker Vs Lesnar
Cena vs Wyatt
Cody vs Goldust
HHH vs Punk
You could do Usos vs NAO
You have Sheamus back who always has good matches. Throw him against Ryback, former bully vs current bully
Ambrose vs Reigns vs Rollins for the U.S
Langston vs Henry for the IC
AJ vs Naomi

And you still have guys like Del Rio, Ziggler, Sandow to do something with.

I would pay for the PPV. Fresh matches, interesting storylines going in, some unpredictability.

Typical TrollPWW

"They just let their marquee event melt into a pile of slag, they totally know what they're doing, smarks"

You know, "the different beast" might be a great nickname for him. Because he really is. The man can't be buried. He's been put through things that would have destroyed the careers of many others, and he stole the show in a losing effort. I want to impress this: HE WAS THE STAR OF A ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH IN WHICH HE DID NOT EVEN APPEAR. That is absolute magic. People all over the world are emulating his simplistic catch phrase and motions. "YES YES YES" - the thing, by the way, that initially turned him heel - is currently the biggest wrestling tag line since "Austin 3:16." And he came from ROH for fuck's sake. A man, a chant, and a beard.

I think this is what he was implying...

Firing him.
Constant poor writing and booking, push/de-push.
Having him job to an uninteresting, non-entertaining, uncharismatic, pale, Irish guy, losing his World title on the "biggest" show of the year in an 18 second "match".

Now I haven't watched for pretty much all of Daniel Bryan's "rise", the last I saw of him properly was when he was teaming with Kane I think, but it seems that the majority of his "overness" stems from the WWE not using him, building up the fans frustrations. Basically the same as Ziggler and Ryder were for a while, although he's obviously more over than Ryder was.

So I'd say yes, if they eventually do give him that "big win" they've played a blinder in getting him to this level.

But what many of us are saying is that it absolutely was not intentional. We are in a circumstantial situation now where fans are chomping at the bit for Bryan to be in the main event but it was in no way some strategic ploy by the WWE to do so. They have gone out of their way to downplay his popularity and to get people to think what they want them to think and none of it worked. When people act like we are all idiots and Triple H is implementing some master plan, that just isn't true. Everything they did put together this situation where there could be major potential for a Bryan run, but it was an unintended byproduct of their complete and utter ineptitude regarding the fan's evaluation of talent. They can turn this around, but they will have to reevaluate their system for how they book their shows or this is a complete disaster. So far, they haven't shown they are able to do that.

So we're going with the ever popular "Let's just see where they go with this, guys" stance?

Last night was inexcusable. I think if you asked them whether they would've had Batista cheered or booed out of the building after his victory, they would've probably wanted a favorable reaction. The end of the rumble was absolutely ruined because of their ineptitude regarding Bryan. If I was anybody in the locker room, I would've been really angry at them for making such a horrible booking mistake. I mean, Rey and Batista were completely shit all over for something that wasn't even close to their fault, and it happened because of bad booking decisions. And clearly obvious bad booking decisions. Bryan has the potential to be uber over now if they run with it, but it came at the cost of ruining the Royal Rumble. And it isn't just the smarks that are unhappy, you can look at the poll they had on facebook.

Bryan didn't need to win the Rumble. But leaving him out and creating this shitstorm looks so awful on them right now. The guy they are pushing as their big babyface got booed out of the building. That is a problem.

Shouldn't he have had this promo last week?

And no. They do not get credit for writing 1/4 of an incredible story and then replacing the pages of the other 3/4 of the book with camel shit. That isn't how things work.

You don't get to see the Mona Lisa in different stages. You see the whole thing right away and judge it. People don't get to complain that the woman is fat or ugly as Da Vinci paints. You only see the complete painting and then judge that.

You have to wait for the complete piece in order to judge properly. You have to judge it weekly because of your podcast and that is a determent to your enjoyment.

You have no frame of mind that was ever going to "see how it goes" you've been hyper-critical of the story-line since SummerSlam. If you gave it an actual chance to see how it goes you could have a right to complain about it not going right. It was never going to go right in your frame of mind so shut the fuck up.

This isn't just about Bryan. They are seriously burying other people because of their horrible decisions. It isn't all that fair to guys like Bats/Rey when awful booking decisions like this are made and ruin their reactions as well.

The Mona Lisa wasn't advertised to be at the museum.

This I agree with. You're mostly in the right. It just blows my mind that they are so stupid, but it really shouldn't, since they consistently prove how stupid they are.

I'm kind of surprised that there are still people that think WWE is "booking Daniel Bryan perfectly." I bought into the wait and see thing after Summerslam, and even after Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell, but at this point it's just ridiculous.

WWE is trying to do what they always do: they're going with the main event they think they should go with (the big, marketable, "superstar look" guys in Orton and Batista). They're going with the chosen child (Orton) and the superstar from years ago who has a big movie coming out. And that's what they're going to do. There's nothing we can do to stop it. It's just like WrestleMania 25. Triple H versus Orton probably wasn't the best choice for their "25th anniversary" show. But it's what they went with. They haven't taken a "risk" with their WrestleMania main event since WrestleMania 20 when they let a guy who "shouldn't be in the main event of the biggest show of the year" win the thing.

Vince knows what he wants. He wants Batista verus Orton - the movie star versus the perfect embodiment of what a WWE superstar should wrestle and look like. And nothing is going to change that. He's far too stubborn to consider anything else. The WWE universe doesn't know what it wants. They want what he tells them to want. It's always been that way and it will always be that way.

They opened RAW tonight with Daniel Bryan because they had to - after all of the social media attention that Bryan's exclusion from the Rumble got, they had to bring it out and talk about it or risk it gaining even more momentum.

But look at what happened on RAW. That show was not about Daniel Bryan rising up. They are merely using his level of popularity to get other things over. Having Bryan stand up against the Authority gets the Authority more over as heels. Having him go up against the Shield gets Roman Reigns, another guy they want to push, more over as a superstar. Having him team with Sheamus and John Cena in the main event gets them more over as faces just by association and by teaming with him in their main event. But it's not about Bryan. They're using his fire to warm others. But he'll never be the main flame.

Just wait. Nothing will change. Orton will win the Rumble by the skin of his teeth, probably after Sheamus turns heel, joins the Authority and screws Bryan out of a victory, building up their eventual match at Mania.

And we will have Randy Orton versus Batista in the main event for the WWE World Heavyweight Title. And the match will be slow and plodding and un-fitting for the 30th WrestleMania, and Batista will win the thing, and fireworks will go off and confetti will rain from the rafters, and the next night on RAW they will be able to tout that Dave Batista, star of one of the next phase movies in the Avengers series, is their champion.

And Daniel Bryan will continue to put on the best matches on the card, regardless of his opponent, and the fans will continue to watch, and maybe in the summer they'll finally give him his push to the World Title, but it will be far too late.

WEEKTOWEEK BRO!

Gertner, I think you and me would be an amazing booking team. Throw in Jabba and ABT or a few of the other lads, with some actual former pro wrestlers to beat us up and show us the ropes, bet you we'd book some shit hot tv. :cool:

Oh God that would have been amazing.

"I've got some... BAD NEWS for you all. I'm NOT Daniel Bryan."

I'm a little disappointed that Gertner seems to have softened a bit on his stance that Bryan absolutely should not be main eventing for the world title.

Gertner. How is the podcast coming?

Computer is fried so I gotta buy a new laptop.

Would have kept me in the damn survivor pool

Gertner is correct. I'm not sure whether or not the WWE has planned this, but if they are reactive and manage to think on their feet, they have the potential to create an amazing storyline going forward from here. Bryan winning the WWE World Title at the Elimination Chamber and then defending it against Batista -- who is so confident he will squash the vanilla midget -- could be great.

I was thinking today that this could be a way to get Daniel Bryan vs. The Undertaker going. Bryan would be upset that he was not included, The Authority would talk about Bryan's "safety," which Bryan knows is bullshit, so he sets his sights on proving himself. What better way to prove himself to Triple H than by beating the man that Triple H lost to three times at WrestleMania, and a man that has gone 21-0 at WrestleMania?

But it's possible that this could just be a segue into Bryan managing to get himself into the title match at the last minute. The WWE has to know that the crowd is going to shit on Batista vs. Orton at Mania. They just have to know that.

Some things to keep in mind:

* Daniel Bryan lost to Bray Wyatt, which was weird. The WWE pulled the trigger on this because Bryan was so fucking over and they used it to kick off the show. Wyatt's goons were sent to the back which would have explained a way for Bryan to win the match (either by pinfall, submission or disqualification when they returned and attacked), but they chose to put Wyatt over. This means they value Bray's credibility, but it also seemed to make people think that the night was not over for Bryan. If Bryan had won and simply returned to the back, then it may have been more of a "final" story for him. Yet the WWE seemed to leave people hanging on purpose...

* The WWE didn't have Bryan in the Royal Rumble match. They gave Kevin Nash a spot. They gave El Torito a spot. They gave two guys who have made it clear they only want to be WWE Tag Team Champions in The Usos a shot. But they didn't put Daniel Bryan in there. They didn't want him in that Rumble. They didn't want him to lose that Royal Rumble.

There might be some truth to there being some method behind the madness right now. But you'd think that someone other than Rey Mysterio would have been #30 if that were the case. Bad News Barrett would have been perfect.

Narcissus,

I understand your skepticism of the WWE, but again...........think about 2002 and 2004 when the WWE "busted a nut" with both Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton respectively at Summerslam. Especially in the case of Orton, the guy lost a lot of steam a few months later after winning the title at Summerslam. CM Punk in 2011; same thing. Won the title from Cena at Summerslam, and then eventually lost a lot of steam as a face.

Daniel Bryan having a legit face run as champ after Summerslam would have been great, but imagine how much greater things would be if he won the title at Mania? (followed by a strong run).

Again - the fact that The Authority are completely burying Daniel Bryan on TV, is making the fans love Bryan even more.

However - this is ALL a moot point if the WWE does NOT deliver with a Daniel Bryan World Title victory at Mania.


Again - I know you're going to hate me saying this............but lets see where this goes.

For all we know, Batista will *not* be a face come Wrestlemania. Even if he's pushed as face and goes up against a fellow face in Daniel Bryan and gets booed out of the building.........that's not necessarily a bad thing. Proof? Look no further than the crowd reactions Cena gets.

And again - If Daniel Bryan had entered the rumble and had won the rumble, things would have been extremely formulaic. The fact that "The Machine" prevented Bryan from entering the rumble has made the fans love Bryan even more. Period.

What good would it have done if Bryan had entered the rumble and had been thrown out by Batista or Reigns?

If the WWE are trying to make their storylines as realistic as possible, then you can't just 'cave in' to whatever the fans want every single time.

Bryan needs to win the title at Wrestlemania, but why not keep both the marks and smarks (like you) guessing? In my opinion, this is EXACTLY what the WWE are doing, and kudos to them for doing that.

There is a reason why Bryan's popularity has continued to soar even after Summerslam. Think about that for a second.

Yeah him tweeting about it the way he did definitely shows they are at least reacting to it. Which is a very good sign. Part of the problem is they have no idea how to book a rebel like Bryan. The more they keep dumping on him, the more people sympathize. How are they gonna find the delicate balance of not completely burying him and robbing him of his moment and not completely turning him into a lamewad schill for the company. Bryan is company man, not because he bleeds WWE but because he is a staunch professional and does what he's told... there's certain things he won't be able to make up for just by being Daniel Bryan

What?

That's the thing though. Daniel Bryan, from what I understand, isn't an overt rebel though........atleast like someone like Austin or Degeneration X were.

The fact that Bryan continuously gets screwed over and takes it like a champ (without looking like a bitch) is what makes the fans sympathize with him and love him even more. It's a perfect blend of Bryan standing up for himself, but differentiating his character from a guy like Austin or DX.

Again - from a booker's standpoint, and WWE creative standpoint, the end goal is to not be predictable. The last thing you want for Bryan is to have him be an Austin clone by being a badass rebel. Bryan is his own unique personality, and I think the WWE are being extremely creative here. Bryan being a "bad-ass rebel" and winning the rumble would have extremely formulaic.

Have him win the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania. Period.

I don't like the idea of Taker vs. Bryan.

Taker's streak should never be ended, while Bryan should not be jobbing at Mania'.

Bryan NEEDS to be in the main-event of Wrestlemania fighting for the Championship. Period.

The only guy that should be fighting with Undertaker and Wrestlemania, is Brock Lesnar in my opinion.

why does he NEED to be though? if the purpose of the company is to create as many viable stars as they can maybe they are smart to see DB doesn't need the title to be viable?

Remember when they gave the big belt to little guys like benoit and mysterio and those in the know shit all over it? why do it again?

the course that should happen is DB would win the title after mania and then he's unfairly screwed out of it by the higher ups a few months later then spends the rest of 14 chasing it for the big payoff at the next rumble and mania 31. it's not time yet

not that orton batista is a good thing to me, or anything with cena for that matter, but just remember you and me don't pay for PPVs we don't buy t shirts and foam fingers.

Austin was a whole different beast, at a different time, in a different era. They KNEW how to do it, but that was when the wrestler's had more control, and the E wasn't the machine yet. I don't think under the current landscape, they have any idea of what to do with a rebel. Things change.

Randy Orton vs. Sting.

That is how I would handle things if I was in charge.

At the February PPV, Daniel Bryan wins. A week later, Triple H enables Orton to get his rematch against Bryan, one on one. Bryan wins cleanly.

The week after that, Orton complains about being screwed over and that the original "Legend Killer" deserves far more respect. He talks about how he has beaten numerous legends such as The Rock, Ric Flair, Foley, etc.

::::Cue Sting's music:::::

Badda Bing Badda Boom.

He-Man's updated Wrestlemania Card:

-Daniel Bryan vs. Batista
-Undertaker vs. Lesnar
-Sting vs. Randy Orton
-Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
-Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes
-Usos vs. New Age Outlaws
-Triple H vs. CM Punk
-John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
-AJ Lee vs. ????

-Some kind of battle Royale

His catchphrase was born after being scheduled to win King of the Ring. Isn't that proof that Austin was already getting a significant push with or without 3:16?

I don't know the behind-the-scenes history there, but if they were trying to bury him, they probably wouldn't have let him win King of the Ring.

Not that I think the WWE is trying to bury Daniel Bryan. If they really didn't like him and his boy scout behavior outside the ring, they could have fired him a long time ago during the NXT spitting incident.

[QUOTE=He-Man;4369432]Randy Orton vs. Sting.

That is how I would handle things if I was in charge.

yikes....

Sting? Is that a real possibility?

It would only be cool if it went unadvertised. Like have Randy Orton beat Ziggler for the #1 Contender spot, the lights go out, Sting comes down from the ceiling, nails him with the bat, splashes him in all four corners before hitting the reverse DDT and putting him in the scorpion deathlock until he passes out.

HHH was actually supposed to win the KOTF but was punished for the MSG incident. Stone Cold took his spot. Weird how things play out.

[QUOTE=NormanSmiley;4369478]I don't think it's too bad. Certainly not a match made in heaven, but it does allow.....

1) The WWE to push Orton away from the main-event while keeping Orton involved in a high profile marquee match-up.

2) Gives Sting a worthy opponent for his WWE


The WWE are shitting themselves if they think that Batista vs. Orton will captivate fan interest.

Orton vs Bryan has been done before......WWE should go with Bryan/Batista.

That is why I suggest that Orton goes up against Sting.

Orton going up against main-event plumbers such as Sheamus, Big Show, Del-Rios, etc., won't hold any interest with the fans. Guys like Ziggler, Miz, etc., are on not on Orton's level.

Hence - my choice of Orton vs. Sting.

According to recent reports on news sites, it is.

batista v. Daniel bryan has been done before