In replying to a post at www.wrestlingforum.com, I came to an interesting realisation. The evidence base for pushing Daniel Bryan to the main event is overwhelming. To quote from my reply: "Seemingly, the 2nd most over guy in the company. One of the best wrestlers on the roster. One of the most charismatic guys on the roster. Works well with any other worker. Has made Kane look like a million dollars. Has been comedic gold - which is a huge achievement, considering that most WWE comedy falls flat. Has remained consistently over for more than a year now."
So... what is WWE waiting for?
Daniel Bryan's new found aggression could be WWE's way of getting fans to take him more seriously. It is also predicting a heel turn.
However, my preferred version of Daniel Bryan as a heel is the character he played whilst ROH Champion - the best wrestler in the world, methodical and submission based, who could tie you up in knots and make you tap, whilst being very smug about it - getting under the fans' skin. He pulled that off with great success - a heel character that is very different to his current more energetic and comedic role in WWE.
I have watched this several times since it aired on Raw. An incredible promo, a true credit to the WWE production team. Also, a testament to the talent of the Wyatt Family. This appears to be something a little more mature than what we are accustomed to in the PG era. I can't wait.
WWE Payback is the next PPV from Chicago. As of Monday night, Chris Jericho vs CM Punk has been announced for the show, with Paul Heyman accepting on behalf of his client. CM Punk wrestling on this show is a good thing. It will please the Chicago crowd, and the match has the potential to be the best of the night. However, I would argue it is too much too soon. For Punk's return to feel special, you don't want him wrestling too soon. Although, I have a feeling that WWE has something else in mind. A viable option for WWE would be for Punk to refuse to wrestle, given that he never personally accepted the match. Heyman would then have Curtis Axel take Punk's spot and gain a victory over Chris Jericho. WWE seems high on Axel. In a two week span, he has faced HHH and John Cena. He even beat Cena! If WWE does follow this path, then it sets up a potential Punk / Axel feud for SummerSlam. One small problem... WWE have promoted Jericho vs Punk - fans will buy the PPV expecting to see this. The Chicago crowd will also not be happy if Punk does not wrestle, given the fact he has been advertised in advance. WWE need to be careful here. There are other ways to promote a Punk / Heyman feud. Then again... I could be wrong. Perhaps Punk will appear and wrestle as advertised. Either way, WWE Creative need to be cautious. I still feel a promo by Punk is the best way forward - as explained in my previous article.
So the WWE Payback PPV is scheduled for 16th June 2013. It is being held in Chicago. No doubt, the crowd will be loud. No doubt the crowd will be a 'wrestling' crowd. As interesting as the post-Wrestlemania crowd? Probably not. But certainly, they will make themselves heard. So what do you do with CM Punk? Punk is currently on a leave of absence - seemingly relaxing, recovering from burnout and healing his knees after that horrific bump onto the announcer's table at Wrestlemania. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? Will his return mean anything if he returns in time for June? In my opinion, the answer is no. Punk needs to be away at least till SummerSlam if his return is to mean anything significant. The problem is: a) WWE needs to fill tv time, and Punk has been consistently one of the most entertaining personalities to grace WWE tv in the last 2 years. b) It is Chicago. The crowd will want Punk to be there. If he is not there, they will react accordingly. My suggestion? Have Punk show up at the PPV unadvertised - not to wrestle, but to cut a promo. He could go into detail about why he walked away post-Mania. He could cut an emotional promo, reminiscing over the good and bad times in the last year. He could thank Paul Heyman, and then leave again. Give him 10 minutes to pour out the emotion, and you have something meaningful to build on when he does return full-time. What does this accomplish? a) He appears once on PPV and disappears again - so his extended leave of absence is still intact. Punk doesn't return to tv - this is a one-off appearance. b) It gives fans the impression that PPVs are worth buying - since anything can happen.
All in all, I see this as the best compromise as far as keeping Punk off WWE tv and giving the Chicago fans what they want. Otherwise, it is easy to see CM Punk chants starting up throughout the night in June. Best to give those fans what they want.
Daniel Bryan's recent aggressive actions on Smackdown appears to be WWE Creative's way of saying: Creative team staff:
"We are turning you heel soon. You will feud with Kane. You will still exist in mid-card hell despite being the second most over guy in the company. Vince just doesn't see anything in you. Yes I know the crowd still reacts to you - over a year after you came up with the Yes catchphrase. That is impressive. However, Vince didn't invent the catchphrase. You did. That was a big mistake. Anyway, after feuding with Kane, Vince will push you again since the Internet fans will be up in arms if we don't. But do not worry - he will try and kill your heat by making you lose in less than 60 seconds again at WrestleMania."
Daniel Bryan:
"Ok, I have no problems with that. I will do what I am told. However, you do realise that I could draw money for you by feuding with the likes of Randy Orton, John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho. I think the fans react positively to me as a face or heel."
Creative team staff: "I know, but Vince does not understand you. You are small with no muscles. And you have a goat face." Daniel Bryan: "Yes, but that is the gimmick you gave me!"
Creative team staff:
"Yes... well... Vince does enjoy some comedy."
Daniel Bryan:
"Look... I think it is important that the WWE offers something for everyone. There is still a market out there for good quality wrestling. There are fans out there who will buy into the product if you let me wrestle." Creative team staff:
"Oh no - you are not allowed to say that w word. You are an entertainer. NOT a wrestler. How many times have we been through this?"
Daniel Bryan:
"I am MMA trained - there is a potential crossover audience there who will invest in our product."
Creative team staff:
"Oh... MMA and UFC - it is not competition for us. Vince said so..."
Daniel Bryan:
"I have some ideas of how you could book me... I have mapped them out. Could you at least show them to Vince?"
Creative team staff:
"Ummm well that is not a good idea. The last Head of Creative only lasted 6 weeks. Vince is in a bad mood - and he has already decided what to do with you for the next year. You see, we at WWE pride ourselves on long term planning. We know how to book money making feuds."
So, there are rumours over who CM Punk will feud with when he returns to the WWE. Brock Lesnar's name has come up as a logical choice. After all, Lesnar and Punk are both connected through Paul Heyman. It is interesting to note that neither Punk or Lesnar have appeared on-screen together. You would think that WWE would have seen Dollar signs in promoting such a pairing. Remember the 'two man power trip' from 2001? Steve Austin and HHH were built up as an unstoppable pairing, taking over and ruling the WWE. They were unseated by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, through a classic tag match on WWE Raw, which saw Jericho and Benoit win the tag titles. So why have Punk and Lesnar not been seen together? Did WWE want to keep them apart with the intention of having them feud later? Were they kept apart because both wrestlers had such different characters and philosophies? Lesnar, the part-time main-event fighter going after the big dollar fights. CM Punk, striving day in and day out to be the best in the industry. Punk was on every show, celebrating his lengthy title reign. Lesnar appeared sporadically, feuding with John Cena and then HHH. Lesnar's appearances were designed to shock and awe - drawing the biggest box office dollars. If WWE decides to pit Punk against Lesnar, I am happy with that. However, as always, it is the process that matters the most. Am I confident in WWE's ability to book this feud successfully? No. What would I want to see? Firstly, this feud should not be rushed. In an era where the immediate concern is how to fill three hours of WWE Raw programming on Monday nights, I am sure WWE will rush this feud through. In my ideal world, we go through the following stages: 1) Punk returns - confidence returned. Attacks a popular WWE face - e.g. HHH. He realigns himself with Paul Heyman. 2) We build up to SummerSlam with Punk and Lesnar as a team. They are billed as unstoppable. In the main-event, they destroy HHH and another face - e.g. John Cena. HHH's concussion story can play a part in the outcome. 3) We lead to Survivor Series - team HHH vs team Heyman. Punk plays a part in accidentally costing his team the match. Heyman and Punk start to have issues - yet still stay together. However, the tension is evident. 4) Come the Royal Rumble, Lesnar wins the world title from Cena (presuming he has not lost it to Ryback). Punk wins the Rumble. 5) The next night on Raw, Heyman turns on Punk - believing Lesnar to be his one true meal ticket. Lesnar attacks Punk. 6) We build to Mania - with an incredible series of microphone showdowns between Punk and Heyman. 7) At Mania, Punk beats Lesnar and wins the title in the main-event. The above is unlikely to happen for two reasons: a) WWE will likely hotshot this feud and make it happen instantly to fill immediate storyline needs presented by the damning three hour Raw schedule. b) WWE would not be able to afford to have Lesnar appear so many time in a one year span to build this feud for Wrestlemania. His contract has limited dates after all. Regardless, there is one thing I hope for here. WWE can't afford to turn Lesnar face. He does his best work as a heel. But then again... so does CM Punk... So perhaps, Punk vs Lesnar is not ideal after-all.
One of the most inspirational videos I have had the pleasure of watching. The journey of Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) early in his WWE career. It ends by going full circle and celebrating his independent career.
From the dizzying heights of headlining Ring of Honor as the
Swiss banker Claudio Castagnoli, to the drudgery that is WWE mid-card. Poor
Antonio Cesaro. It is hard to see where it all went so wrong. Cesaro is one of
the most gifted wrestlers I have ever had the privilege of watching. His move
set in the ring is phenomenal. His strength is uncanny. Watching his workout
regime is inspiring:
After purchasing DVDs from Ring of Honor, and watching
Cesaro's matches, I was hooked. Much like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose
and Seth Rollins, Cesaro's performances on the independent scene made a
believer out of me. He showed a natural talent in the ring. A natural charisma
too. Some call it the 'X factor' or the 'It factor'. The same 'factor' that was
noticeable with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk.
So, how could the WWE take such a talented performer, and
waste him away? They have something rare in Cesaro. A man that can wrestle and
entertain at the same time. His verbal skills are good - not great. That is
enough. His ring work does the talking. He does not need to be Steve Austin or
The Rock on the microphone.
Interestingly, Steve Austin's recent endorsement of Cesaro should
be an eye-opener for WWE Creative. Austin endorsed Cesaro's talent. Austin also
derided his poor gimmick. The failure with Cesaro's character is more of a reflection of the failures of WWE Creative. If you can't book for someone as
talented as Cesaro, then you certainly can't book for anyone else. He started
out as a rugby player - not the easiest gimmick to pull off. He made it work
though. The passion and determination was there.
Then came the US title reign. So far so good. Several months
as champion. Then it all fell apart. He starts yodelling. He then loses the
title with no build up to Kofi Kingston. As much as I appreciate Kingston's
talent, a loss with no build-up was foolish. Incredibly foolish. It exposed two
things. Firstly, WWE's neglect of Kingston and Cesaro as characters. Secondly,
it exposed WWE's unwillingness to take the US Title seriously. Cesaro had held
the title since last August. His loss should have meant something. Anything.
It was rumoured that after a rematch with Kingston, with
Cesaro carrying the match, WWE Creative took notice. Cesaro beat Zach Ryder in two minutes and cut
a promo, putting the WWE roster on notice. Fans rejoiced. He faced Randy Orton
in a nineteen minute match. He lost, but still had a fantastic outing. Fans
rejoiced.
Oh wait. Here we go again. Cesaro loses in two minutes
to Orton on WWE Raw. Rumours surface that Vince McMahon finds Cesaro boring.
So his push is derailed. Wonderful. Your roster is depleted. Top stars are
injured. You take a bright prospect such as Cesaro and can't see his value. In
much the same way you did not see the initial value in CM Punk or Steve Austin.
Look at what happened with both of those wrestlers. Give them the right gimmick
and story, and they excel to superstardom.
That to me is evidence of one thing. Vince McMahon needs to look to
the past. If he had noted Punk's ability in ROH and Austin's charisma from ECW/WCW,
he would have known what amazing talent he had to work with. It is worrying
that Vince does not seem to pay attention to these past performances. Evidence
of this? Watch CM Punk's WWE DVD documentary. Vince gave Punk a challenge - a
challenge of playing a heel. He did not think Punk could do it. It was
patronising. If Vince had done his homework, he would have known that in 2005,
through the 'Summer of Punk', Punk played one of the most hated heels on the
independent scene, using a WWE contract as a way to rile up Ring of Honor fans.
His 'snake' promo is infamous.
So WWE Creative has Cesaro on the roster and appears
clueless as to how to best utilise him. So what is the solution to this
problem? The solution is Paul Heyman. Put Cesaro with Heyman. Let Heyman talk
for Cesaro - similar to what Ric Flair did for Batista in 2003 (before
Evolution was formed). Let Cesaro be a machine in the ring. Let Heyman do the
rest. What will this lead to? The potential for a Cesaro, Punk and Lesnar
coalition. That would be something which would rock the foundations of the WWE.
Paul Heyman was rumoured to have proposed such a coalition last year. CM Punk
was wearing a Cesaro t-shirt during Wrestlemania weekend.
Vince, please make it happen. lf not for my entertainment,
then do it for the future of your company.
