Thread: Cynics VS. Skeptics VS. Optimists: The Bet
View Single Post
Old 04-24-2018, 09:58 PM   #68
Mr. Nerfect
 
Posts: 61,634
Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)Mr. Nerfect makes a lot of good posts (200,000+)
I loved Bryan's chase. Moments like the one with Bray Wyatt in the cage were truly great things. I remember being skeptical before that, but I can't pinpoint my wrestling cynicism. I generally say it was the 2015 Royal Rumble, but I haven't been happy with the general product for a much longer time than that.

WrestleMania XXX was a great PPV, but what bothers me about it, retrospectively, is how little any of it meant just a year later. The main event was Brock vs. Roman (vs. Rollins) after The Shield had disbanded after their amazing run over those 18 months or so. Cesaro had that great visual and moment in the Battle Royal, but a year later he was nowhere to be found. Daniel Bryan was in the opening match while Triple H wrestled a legend.

There was a period of time where I thought that the WWE had done something inadvertently brilliant when they had Sheamus beat him in 28 seconds or whatever it was. Screwing the fans out of the chance to see Bryan perform galvanized people and encouraged them to cheer for him. If I remember correctly, the post-WrestleMania 28 crowd was the first "WrestleMania crowd." The way they chanted for Daniel Bryan throughout the show and then heading into Raw. That was the moment it all really started. I always asked myself "Would Bryan have gotten to be as popular as he is without being fucked over like that?", and was kind of uncomfortable with the probable truth that the answer was "No." Bad booking was the new good booking for the existing audience.

But the crows are coming home to roost for them. Everyone wants to be that WrestleMania crowd, even if they don't have a clue why they are responding to things the way they are. They throw a charismatic guy like Jeff Hardy out there and the fans chant "Brother Nero." They try to push a guy like Roman Reigns; the crowd rejects it. They try to de-emphasize a guy like Roman Reigns; the crowd rejects it. The ironic wrestling fan is their own creation. The "hijacking" of their product has become encouraged and is now viewed as a "tradition."

As time has passed, I've changed my answer to that question I used to ask myself, and I realize that what would become marketed as "The YES! Movement" was actually not a healthy thing for wrestling. The rise of Daniel Bryan may not have happened the exact same way without that WrestleMania moment, but it's had detrimental effects right up until this day. We now have Daniel Bryan back and it doesn't feel the same, when a genuine desire to see him succeed was what started this in the first place. It's a monster and it's out of their control.

My answer is now: No. The WWE should not have screwed the fans out of the Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania 28.
Mr. Nerfect is offline   Reply With Quote