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Daniel Bryan Discussion Thread V YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

288K views 3K replies 527 participants last post by  RoboCop 
#1 ·
NEW Thread for General Discussion on Daniel Bryan.




from me and THANOS. Enjoy guys :)



Daniel Bryan – Rise of New Breed of Megastar



In a world full of ‘larger than life’ performers and people that resemble superheroes more than average Joes, one ordinary furry little man has risen to become the most popular star in the wrestling business, and he did it without many of the conventional traits associated with wrestlers. 5’8 190lb Daniel Bryan has battled his entire career against laughter and doubts at his chosen career path of becoming a wrestler. But thanks to all those hurdles and obstacles cluttering his path to success, his journey to this point reads like the theme to the Rocky movie series with Bryan in place of Sly.



To truly capture how epic this moment is for Bryan and his fans, one needs to tell the tale of his humble beginnings. Here is a man that rose from a breed of wrestlers looked down upon by WWE management and made himself into wrestling's fastest rising star since John Cena and Steve Austin before him. Here's a story of hard work, fan connection and passion.

Passed up by his favorite wrestler Dean Malenko, Bryan Danielson set out to train at Shawn Michaels's wrestling school in San Antonio. WWE Legend William Regal quickly took a liking to Bryan very early on, and took him under his wing. Under Regal’s guidance, Bryan set out to craft his own style by applying wrestling techniques that combined teachings commonly associated with martial arts as well as meshing European and Japanese styles, all the way to perfecting a style that would later become his trademark, and a standard that would later become the way of a new generation of athletes. Regal did not stop there, he sent young Bryan out into the muddiest corners of England in front of the toughest crowds to test him in high pressure environments. It really helped Bryan gain confidence and feel comfortable in front of any crowd. It's during this time that Bryan adopted the American Dragon moniker to help promote his unique style, a moniker that has now become an endearment for long-time fans of his.


"If people don't believe in you and you don't believe in yourself , that's the end of it. Daniel Bryan has always had that presence about him, all of his amazing technical skills are just a bonus." - Regal on Bryan during an interview at the WWE performance Center.

Regal always believed in Bryan, and has always been proud of his accomplishments.

It's been a tough road for Bryan, having tryouts with the WWE in 2001 to serve as nothing more than an enhancement talent before getting the boot. That didn't stop Bryan from fighting. Determined to perfect his craft, he set out on a vigorous journey into the independent scene and Japan, wrestling hard in damp, dimly lit arenas with nothing but the hope of one day being respected as the best wrestler in the world. It drives you to fight harder than anyone when people in power look down at you because of your limitations, but Bryan kept on and patiently followed his dreams, and the improbability of his success fueled him to prove his doubters wrong. This would become a theme with Bryan’s journey.

Where Bryan made his biggest splash was in ROH.

Ring of Honor (ROH)



In fact, in ROH he was one of the original competitors that put the company on the map as a must-see promotion and alternative for fans that wanted an in-ring product they could be proud of. Bryan eventually became the focus of the promotion, working brilliantly as a face or heel and putting on stellar performances against big men like Takeshi Morishima, or fellow ROH Alumni like Nigel McGuiness. Bryan would always put on good matches worth seeing, and always displayed a ton of heart. One often mentioned instance of this, was when he tore his retina and kept working for another 20 minutes to finish the match as if nothing happened. Not only did Bryan have the guts to fight through injuries, but he brought to the table a rugged agressiveness full of rapid stomps and striking elbows to the head, a mean streak that made you believe that a guy his size could kick your butt.





It's with dazzling performances like these that Bryan Danielson became somewhat of a cult hero in the wrestling world and eventually got the attention of the WWE and TNA, who otherwise would've laughed at the idea of bringing him in.

Arriving in WWE and NXT



When Bryan Danielson arrived at the WWE, the road paved in front of him wasn't an easy one to overcome. They shortened his name to Daniel Bryan, put him on the unproven NXT show and presented him as someone with great athletic ability but no personality whatsoever. However, Bryan was kept in an interesting storyline with Michael Cole and The Miz which, if anything, helped him become a sentimental favorite to a portion of the crowd that didn't know what he was about. Cole would constantly undermine him on commentary, while The Miz would treat him like an embarrassment. Throughout all this mockery, Bryan kept moving forward, eventually catching the eye of the WWE audience by pushing Batista to his limit in a random match on RAW, and being involved in the NXT takeover segment where Bryan was fired over an "inappropriate gesture". In that segment, Bryan showed the fire of old, slapping Cena in the face and proclaiming that Cena was not better than him, immediately standing out from the pack as someone unique.
The video below illustrates that everything Bryan had went through to this point.



Bryan’s Return to WWE by Popular Demand

Bryan was gone, but not forgotten. The fans in the arena would occasionally chant his name in segments that had nothing to do with him, even going as far as chanting his name in the closing moments of 2010's Fatal Four Way PPV. This set the stage for his return at Summerslam where he would be a part of Cena's team against the Nexus in the main event. The crowd loved it, and it was a sign of faith that the WWE had not given up on this promising prospect.

Bryan did not waste any time on his return. He was immediately thrust into a feud with rival The Miz over the United States title. The nature of the feud was clear; it was the cocky, flamboyant and overconfident Superstar against the everyday man who happened to be a lethal submission machine. It worked out well in Bryan's favor because The Miz was on his way to the WWE championship and needed to drop his U.S. title. Bryan worked Miz to some of his best matches he had up to that point. The fan's hatred for Miz and support for Bryan made for a strong chemistry, and proved that Bryan could thrive with the right opponent. Bryan's U.S. title win was special, and he embraced his peculiarity by adopting Flight of the Valkyries as his brand new theme song. The night he debuted his theme, Edge was on commentary, both he and Cole laughed at Bryan's entrance making him out to be a parody of himself, but that's been Bryan's strength all along, taking the ridicule, embracing it and turning it into an advantage.

The Nerd Gimmick



Cole was never merciful of Bryan even as U.S. champion, refusing to give him any credit, and passing him off as a Vegan Loser that shouldn't be in the company. Meanwhile, Bryan's title run wasn't a focus of any show, but he put on a series of very good performances, the most noteworthy being against Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler. Bryan was put in storylines involving the Divas, and he mentored an NXT rookie, almost always the butt of comic relief. It endeared him even more to a portion of the fans, but it became clear that he was destined for much more than what the WWE saw in him.

After being relegated to the dark match of Wrestlemania 27, things couldn't look more down for Bryan. After being snubbed at Wrestlemania, things were not improving for Bryan. He was barely ever featured in any capacity, and used mostly as a body to help move Smackdown along to the main segments. Then something strange happened. CM Punk was on his way out, and the WWE were hosting a PPV in Punk's hometown. Seemingly determined to please the "internet crowd", they booked the show around Punk leaving as the hero, but that wasn't all. To the shock of many fans, Bryan walked out as the MITB winner that night, and for the first time in his WWE career, things were finally looking up for the struggling superstar.

MITB and World Championship Reign



Much like passed MITB winners, Bryan wasn't really booked strongly as the briefcase holder, quite the opposite. After declaring that he'd cash it in at Wrestlemania, he went on to lose a series of matches, and hardly factored into any of the main storylines. In the meantime, Mark Henry was being built as an unstoppable Monster that plowed through the roster. Now, what better way to end this story than by having Bryan as the guy to take down Goliath and have his shining moment as a fighting underdog champion? Well, apparently that stopped being in WWE's plans, if it ever was, and for whatever reason, they decided to give him a cheap cash in victory to solidify himself as a cowardly heel. It was a slow build to making him heel, as his ego would get the best of him, and his mistreatment of A.J. made him less than endearing to the WWE Universe. It was clear that while Bryan's progression as a heel was happening, the WWE had their eyes set on Sheamus as the top babyface. With Mark Henry injured, they needed a transitional champion, and my guess as to why they rushed Bryan's heel turn and give him just enough credibility to take the hit for Sheamus.

Something happened along the way; Bryan started becoming comfortable in his heel role, very comfortable. In fact, he adopted the YES chant at that time as an act of self-indulgence. Fans started to turn on him, but he kept enough of a quirky personality to make you love to hate him. His athleticism always spoke for itself, and now he was finally tapping into a persona that fans could get behind. A persona that would make him much more than just another vanilla midget that can wrestle.

Wrestlemania 28 and the Birth of the YES Movement



It was clear that Bryan vs Sheamus had potential to be the sleeper of Wrestlemania even with the weak build. But like the rest of Bryan's career, he drew you into his feud by simply embracing everything that the WWE threw at him. On Wrestlemania weekend, fans attended an ROH show in Miami, and there the YES chant was adopted by the crowd. This crowd knew what Bryan meant to the success of ROH, and they let it be known. This had a snowball effect as the chant spread throughout the entire weekend and culminated at Wrestlemania. Bryan met Sheamus in the opener to a sea of rabid YES chanters, fans were firmly behind Bryan... and then, Sheamus beat Bryan in 18 seconds. What was a booking decision to create a moment for Sheamus and a starting point to catapult his career, in turn because a moment that fueled the fan's rage that night. It took HHH vs Undertaker to finally get them to care and stop chanting Bryan's name throughout the night.

The next night on RAW, the same fans were in attendance, but this time, they voiced their displeasure throughout the whole night, and did so in a smaller, closed arena where the energy felt stronger. On a post-Wrestlemania 28 show that had so much going into it, Daniel Bryan was the most important part of the show, the one person that fans cared most about. Even after Lesnar debuted, fans still left the arena echoing YES and treating Bryan like a true Superstar in the making. The reaction that night was so strong that the WWE could not ignore it. They made Bryan some respectable merchandise, they put him in a WWE title feud with CM Punk where they put on amazing performances. Things could not look any better for Bryan, right? Wrong.



Bryan and CM Punk were never the main event that year, and their story was centered around making A.J Lee a star. Bryan was treated like a supporting character yet again in someone else's moment. They kept him in a solid spot on the card, how could they not? But he was being transitioned into more of a comedy role, the inevitable spot that doomed many other wrestlers before him.

Team Hell No



It didn't seem like the WWE were ready to give Bryan his just due, and they were cleverly trying to rub his popularity onto others while knocking him down a peg. So what did Bryan do? He embraced it; he took his storyline with Kane, and made it one of the most interesting segments to look forward to every week. Even the smart fans that looked down on goofy WWE segments ate this up because their favorite wrestler was thriving despite how he WWE chose to manipulate his career. Bryan never complained, helped build interest in the tag division, and provided us memorable moments, something that a Santino could only dream about on his run as a comedy gimmick. Team Hell No endeared fans to Bryan in a way that had yet to happen for him in the WWE. It displayed his comedic side and got the casual majority firmly on Bryan’s side whether it be because they loved to annoy him, or because they found him very funny.

Post Team Hell No, Summerslam 2013, and the Authority



It came to the point where Bryan had proven himself as a multi-faceted superstar, and he continued evolving and he kept stealing the show with wrestlers like the Shield, Ryback, Orton, and the Real Americans on a weekly basis. His fan support was still at an all-time high despite not being featured like a top guy, and this culminated in the WWE finally giving him a shot at the top by having him face Cena in a match that fans had never seen on a big stage. Bryan went in as the sentimental favorite; he beat an injured John Cena and stood on top of the world. Walt Disney couldn't have produced a better ending. To top it off, Orton and HHH turn heel, rob Bryan of his moment and signal that Bryan will have a chase storyline that would keep him in the spotlight. Everything was perfect, right? Wrong again.



The feud ended up being designed to draw heat on HHH and Orton, and move Daniel Bryan's overness onto other faces like the Big Show. Now it's unknown if the WWE had given up on Daniel Bryan, or that they panicked after seeing the initial PPV buyrate for Summerslam with him main eventing, but it was clear that they cut the legs from under him at a time when he should've stayed strong. If you look at his run in the summer, it was marred by screwy finishes, and him getting beat down every week. If done to any other superstar, it risked the chance of killing their connection to the fans because the fans would associate the poor angle with the performer. This did not happen; Bryan kept getting chants, and kept outperforming almost everyone on the roster on a weekly basis. All the while, Big Show was bombing as the top babyface, and the WWE couldn't find a way to make the Authority angle work.

Joining the Wyatt’s and Turning on Them in the Span of Two weeks



After Hell in a Cell, Bryan was left feuding with the Wyatts, and eventually joined them right as the road to Wrestlemania was beginning. Batista was coming in to suck the last ounce of momentum Bryan had. How could he not? He was a fan favorite for years and returned after 3 years of absence, there's no way that the fans would boo him right? Wrong.

The YES chants started crossing into the mainstream at the time, and it forced WWE to change their storyline plans in an attempt to save face. This resulted in Bryan getting the loudest babyface pop of his career, a pop he commanded like the greats before him, but done so spectacularly that, for one night, put him on the same level as a Steve Austin in his prime.



Even DDP chimed in with his thoughts on this moment and likened it to Steve Austin.



So the Royal Rumble happened. Once fans found out that Bryan wasn't getting his shot at the Rumble, they attacked the WWE the best way they could, they showed no care for anything but Bryan because they felt disrespected, they felt that Bryan was disrespected and they refused to accept what the WWE were feeding them. It came to the point where the WWE just could not ignore the fans any longer, especially this close to Wrestlemania.

Present Day and the Emergence of the Bryan’s popularity in Pop-Culture



So this brings us to where we are now. Cm Punk left, and it forced the WWE's hand. Daniel Bryan has been the emotional investment for months. Even when punk left, the fans were still invested heavily in Bryan. Cena is slowly falling out of his prime, and there's no real way for WWE to position themselves as a refreshing product with him on top going into the next couple of years unless they turn him heel and add a new dimension to his character. You can argue that Bryan isn't much younger, but he's a fresh face at the top, and the WWE can get enough mileage out of him while they keep grooming their younger stars. To many fans, Bryan is their last beacon of hope, and Bryan is their catalyst for change.



Bryan is finally getting promoted properly and getting a build that could pay off. Despite the odd booking, his catchphrase made waves in the mainstream, he's mentioned by outlets and stars that don't usually mention wrestling such as USA today, and, recently, Rolling Stone magazine. The ratings don't rise out of the blue. The ratings that fluctuate under Cena will always stay afloat in the 3-4 range, and that's the core audience. Bryan could break that because he represents change and has universal appeal, it's just a matter of WWE putting all their eggs in his basket, and tweaking their product to reflect the type of wrestler he represents. He doesn't have to ooze the Rock's charisma, Hogan’s presence, or Steve Austin’s bad ass aura, to be successful. Bryan can truly represent the Rocky Balboa of a product centered more around in-ring action and relatable characters, and build matches similar to how they build main event matches similar to how UFC does MMA fights. On paper this sounds slightly complicated, but as seen with the Brock backstage interviews the past two years, this can work. As long as it is done in a way to keep the theme of pro wrestling and the showmanship that makes this company so diverse. Austin didn't build his Empire in a day, but he got it built. Bryan could do the same, which is crazy to even contemplate with how different he is to any top guy before him, but one thing needs to be remembered. He got here without the full top guy backing showing that the fans really do have the power to make someone a big deal.

In closing, whether you are a fan of Bryan or not, hopefully this story can help you empathise with his journey and plight, and truly see that what makes him special cannot be found in a 8” x 10” photo. Maybe most of it has to do with sympathy, but sympathy on this scale means that enough people care to make him something special. So with this, Wrestlemania 30 coming to a close, and Daniel Bryan defying the odds by overcoming a very ‘Game’ Triple H, and fellow Evolution Megastars Randy Orton and Dave Batista, the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion should be celebrated, not for his traits, his wrestling ability, or even his popularity, but for what he represents. There is no dream too big for one to achieve.

 
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5 19
#610 · (Edited)
Oh, so you didn't listen? Alright then, let me make it real clear for you:

I want you to look to the left of my post here. See the green squares? You'll notice I have many of them. Do you know WHY I have them, energy? Because I, unlike you, actually look at the world with a positive manner and don't parade myself around as god's gift to knowledge on all things, as I have seen you do. I am happy to see wrestlers get pushed that by god DESERVE it, and I don't shit on the idea of a person making it based on how they look, sound, or act. I don't pretend wrestling has to be super serious all the time and that anything different from the norm has to be bad for this business. I am OPEN to things, and do you wanna know the truth, energy? 'Yer boy Chris was just as much of a ripoff of Dynamite kid as Bryan is of him, and Bret Hart was of his dad, and Ric Flair was of Buddy Rodgers and a little of Gorgeous George. He has busted his ass not just in ROH, but around the world. He has wrestled with a detached retina, he has been through real life hardship after real life hardship and what's more? He's remained humble and down to earth as FUCK through it all. Something Lesnar has never ever been in his entire fucking life and clearly neither have you. He has overcame everything put in front of him and STILL! *STILL* doesn't feel like he should gloat about anything. Say it's because of the yes chant all you like, but every time the man steps in that ring, he puts on MOTY candidates? Don't believe me? Go look in the Other Wrestling section and have a gander at the MOTY thread!

The fact is, Energy, there are two kinds of people in this world: People who build up others and are a positive force for the world, and those that tear down with hatred and evil in their hearts and minds. YOU sir, YOU are the latter because instead of being a positive force for anyone since you've been here, or trying to help others get along and see that even though we all have opinions, we are all the same--that we can all love each other, and get along here--All I've seen from you, sir, is "Woman are inferior" or "Bryan is a midget" or "You're not a REAL wrestling fan" I see no kindness in you, Energy. None! No human tolerance or humility for those different from you. I'd be more than happy to accept that you DON'T care for Bryan if you didn't come off as a smug, holier than thou, pompous windbag around others! But NO, you can't even carry yourself with the decency of being able to act civilized in your opinion.

Which, while I'm at it, brings me back to those squares. Do you know what those squares MEAN, Energy? It symbolizes respect and reputation here. This means that there are people who value what I write and what I say enough to give a damn and read it on a regular basis, and do you know why I post for them, Energy? Because wrestling NEEDS positive people right now, and when people read my posts, I like to think they finish up thinking, "Hey, here's a guy who isn't actually bitching, who cares about the business, who wants people to look at things and enjoy them!" I don't ASK for rep, like so many others do. I like to think I have EARNED it. I'm proud of my opinions on wrestling and I'm glad people agree! Do you know why that is?! BECAUSE *I*, *LOVE*, *THIS*, *BUSINESS*! I have posted on WWE, TNA, ROH, JAPAN, CHIKARA--EVERY major company or Indy you can think of, I know of at least a bit. I have DEDICATED myself to it since 2006--YEAH, ONLY 2006, AND I BET I KNOW MORE ABOUT WRESTLING HISTORY THAN YOU! Wrestling was there for me when I was contemplating suicide during the loss of someone I loved very much. It carried me through and by the grace of God, You know what? I dunno where YOUR wrestling badges of honor come from, but *I* am going to book one day! That's right: I'm going to write MORE of what YOU hate, and I'm going to succeed. You know why?! Because PAUL HEYMAN HIMSELF gave me that vote of confidence directly, as WELL as Gabe Sapolsky! So don't EVER tell me I'm not a real fan, you son of a bitch!

THAT is why I have the reputation I have, and why you haven't made a single friend here or on this forum. Sure, you claim to know this business, but you have NONE of the respect I have for it and you likely never will, so go on back to Sherdog and bitch about what MMA's Daniel Bryan, Jon Jones, is doing and shit on his success while he achieves, and leave the WRESTLING talk, to the WRESTLING fans. Maybe when you learn how to treat woman with respect you can get laid and see things in a more nice way. In the mean time, I'll probably be collecting more reputation off of setting you straight. So I suggest you look long and hard at yourself and change your attitude before others continue to do the same from your future posts.

Now get out of our thread!
 
#618 ·
Oh, so you didn't listen? Alright then, let me make it real clear for you:

I want you to look to the left of my post here. See the green squares? You'll notice I have many of them. Do you know WHY I have them, energy? Because I, unlike you, actually look at the world with a positive manner and don't parade myself around as god's gift to knowledge on all things, as I have seen you do. I am happy to see wrestlers get pushed that by god DESERVE it, and I don't shit on the idea of a person making it based on how they look, sound, or act. I don't pretend wrestling has to be super serious all the time and that anything different from the norm has to be bad for this business. I am OPEN to things, and do you wanna know the truth, energy? 'Yer boy Chris was just as much of a ripoff of Dynamite kid as Bryan is of him, and Bret Hart was of his dad, and Ric Flair was of Buddy Rodgers and a little of Gorgeous George. He has busted his ass not just in ROH, but around the world. He has wrestled with a detached retina, he has been through real life hardship after real life hardship and what's more? He;s remained humble and down to earth as FUCK through it all. Something Lesnar has never ever been in his entire fucking life and clearly neither have you. He has overcame everything put in front of him and STILL! *STILL* doesn't feel like he should gloat about anything. Say it's because of the yes chant all you like, but every time the man steps in that ring, he puts on MOTY candidates? Don't believe me? Go look in the Other Wrestling section and have a gander at the MOTY thread!

The fact is, Energy, there are two kinds of people in this world: People who build up others and are a positive force for the world, and those that tear down with hatred and evil in their hearts and minds. YOU sir, YOU are the latter because instead of being a positive force for anyone since you've been here, or trying to help others get along and see that even though we all have opinions, we are all the same--that we can all love each other, and get along here--All I've seen from you, sir, is "Woman are inferior" or "Bryan is a midget" or "You're not a REAL wrestling fan" I see no kindness in you, Energy. None! No human tolerance or humility for those different from you. I'd be more than happy to accept that you DON'T care for Bryan if you didn't come off as a smug, holier than thou, pompous windbag around others! But NO, you can't even carry yourself with the decency of being able to act civilized in your opinion.

Which, while I'm at it, brings me back to those squares. Do you know what those squares MEAN, Energy? It symbolizes respect and reputation here. This means that there are people who value what I write and what I say enough to give a damn and read it on a regular basis, and do you know why I post for them, Energy? Because wrestling NEEDS positive people right now, and when people read my posts, I like to think they finish up thinking, "Hey, here's a guy who isn't actually bitching, who cares about the business, who wants people to look at things and enjoy them!" I don't ASK for rep, like so many others do. I like to think I have EARNED it. I'm proud of my opinions on wrestling and I'm glad people agree! Do you know why that is?! BECAUASE *I*, *LOVE*, *THIS*, *BUSINESS*! I have posted on WWE, TNA, ROH, JAPAN, CHIKARA--EVERY major company or Indy you can think of, I know of at least a bit. I have DEDICATED myself to it since 2006--YEAH, ONLY 2006, AND I BET I KNOW MORE ABOUT WRESTLING HISTORY THAN YOU! Wrestling was there for me when I was contemplating suicide during the loss of someone I loved very much. It carried me through and by the grace of God. You know what, I dunno where YOUR wrestling badges of honor come from, but *I* am going to book one day! That's right: I'm going to write MORE of what YOU hate, and I'm going to succeed. You know why?! Because PAUL HEYMAN HIMSELF gave me that vote of confidence directly, as WELL as Gabe Sapolsky! So don't EVER tell me I'm not a real fan, you son of a bitch!

THAT is why I have the reputation I have, and why you haven't made a single friend here or on this forum. Sure, you claim to know this business, but you have NONE of the respect I have for it and you likely never will, so go on back to Sherdog and bitch about what MMA's Daniel Bryan, Jon Jones, is doing and shit on his success while he achieves, and leave the WRESTLING talk, to the WRESTLING fans. Maybe when you learn how to treat woman with respect you can get laid and see things in a more nice way. In the mean time, I'll probably be collecting more reputation off of setting you straight. So I suggest you look long and hard at yourself and change your attitude before others continue to do the same from your future posts.

Now get out of our thread!

 
#897 ·
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know, if I may steer this conversation to just these direct comparisons of Benoit and Bryan I see alot, I would like to point out the two are not that similar despite generational accolades.

Physically, yes Daniel and Chris both are by industry standards small guys in terms of measurables, but wheras Daniel Bryan looks like a guy who goes to the gym and has the beard going to help make more of a lovable "athletic but a working out version of one of us commonor" type package, which is backed by the symbolic feud Daniel just had with HHH. In contrast, I think that people forget how compact Benoit was. While the guy's measurables were small, the man was ripped with great forearms especially leading to a strong as hell grip and legitamately looked like he would kick your ass. I am sorry, but Daniel Bryan doesn't look like he would physically pose a threat to most the roster (yes I realize that a big part of his package is his "expert execution" of submission holds and such). Benoit was small in height and not a giant, but whle I wasn't a member of the IWC at the time, I don't think you would find too many people with qualms about Benoi as champp physically, especially with how he carried himself with the belt. Hate to say this being a Daniel Bryan fan, but I see him with both straps and he looks out of place physically in my eyes.

This physical difference leads to a key difference in the rin between the two that makes much of their respective characters. Benoit was one of the most intense in ring performers literally of all time, hence the rabid wolverine, while Daniel Bryan lacking this intensity in WWE is the capitalist on mistakes and relies on execution and especially timing. I would also like to point out a small difference relating to physiwque that due to Benoit's physical prowess in relation to his frame, he could on occassion play the power game especially vs Juniorweights outside of Liger and have that edge on certain opponents playing into a few of Benoit's ring stories. Daniel Bryan off the top of my head has never played the power game ever for reasons already mentioned.

Further analyzing thier in ring work, The foundation of Benoit's moveset for the majority of his career was suplexes/bomb variations particularly targeting the back mixing in submissions and vicious strikes. As he aged, Benoit did go to arm weardown holds to set up the crossface when in the land of giants Benoit's power advantage could be less played (and as the corssface got more over), yet still Benoit's foundation has usually been suplex variations withvarious endgame moves, most famously the crossface. Daniel Bryan has always had submissions as a foundation mixing in various suplexes and some high flying moves, but Bryan's endgame has constantly been get the tap and out wrestle my opponent. Also worth noting is that Benoit always threw great intensity into hand strikes while Bryan has had mma elements to his moveset and kicks, though that hasn't been showcased as much since being in the WWE main event scene, presumably to follow the "profit over product" model of avoiding injury. While Benoit can certainly and often did cut a good pace, I think a good, high energy pace to get the crowd in a frenzy is much more central to Bryan especially when considering how methodical Benoit could be.

While this isn't a Benoit/Bryan comparison thread so I won't elaborate, I will conceed the two are similar in their ring positives in that both are technical experts, endurance is a hallmark of both acclaimed man, both are clean in execution of their expansive movesets, both have awesome consistancy and both can churn out quality matches with most opponents (not to contradict myself earlier but Benoit in particular could have a good match with literally anyone). In short, both overcame size stereotype in WWE through superior ring work and a heralded reputation to build a foundation for their fanbase originally.
I will conceed too that the triple threat at mania 30 in structure and confetti does appear at times to be a homage to mania 20's main event down to the table elimination spot.
That leads into the ultimate comparison of their rises. Daniel Bryan has developed a good story to get behind, a lovable character, a relatable look, came in with a world class wrestler reputation augmented by the internet especially, demonstrates passion, is a tremendous worker usually and has a good work ethic. Benoit was recognized by fans over time for being an all time great in the ring (and on a short list in terms of performance), had tasted victory a little bit and came so close in that heralded classic vs Angle at the Rumble, showcased great intensity, carried himself like a champion. Benoit wasn't the lovable underdog Bryan was, but he worked his ass off with anyone which finally reflected to his thank you.

Furthermore, Benoit's rise I think was much more of a thank you and vindication to his all time working ability wheras Bryan's rise I personally believe is less of a vindication and more of a completion of a story in progress. Benoit's rise came slowly wheras in the big picture Bryan's came fairly quickly once gaining a little steam and arguable with EG the strongest crowd connection post Rock/Austin. I remind too that Bryan symbolizes the fans/is their chosen one due to relatability to his situation or hope in a sense, hence a win for Bryan is a win with the fans wheras Benoit purely wrestled and worked individually to the top. I remind all that Bryan's feud with HHH has been a symbolism of the power of the fans vs the control of the suits in the WWE product where Bryan's win proved that in a reaction based business, the fans do have ultimate say. To get to this point though, Bryan was screwed and repressed constantly to represent the corporate philsophies echoed by HHH Benoit had no such hurdles to climb, just pure out wrestling, and I can't stress how big of a difference this is.

Oh and one last thing, Bryan's crossface being from an Omaplata puts double pressure on the shoulder and from the crossface, the face. Benoit performed the crossface from an arm takeover or counter.
 
#3,056 ·
I have never understood Vince at times and it is emphasised via the whole Daniel Bryan saga

1. He craves main stream attention - daniel bryans YES! chant has done that with loads of the sports teams doing it - not even cena has garnered that much main stream attention and if he has it is because he is pushed to the moon and also the rock ripping him for being fruity pebbles assisted in that with the endorsment deal

2. He wants stars who arent off the rails and cause negative press- daniel bryan isnt like that

3. He wants capitvating performers - Daniel Bryan is imo the Best in the ring

4. Merchandise sellers - DB does that...and even with the crappy tees they gave him prior to the yes movement

5. TV/PPV draws - DB does that and he did it at WM30 where it was all centered aorund him

6. Pops and respect from the crowd - DB does that and in fact ive personally have never seen the fans rally behind and in essence crap on the shows like they did as they supported DB and felt he was getting treated poorly. (I missed the start of the attitude era so i cant compare to Austin times)

Im sure you guys can list more stuff... I just wanted to vent because it seems this B+ stuff is from vince which is a shame as he is the most over guy they have - they now have the injury excuse not to push him but then that didnt matter for austin, edge and cena but they will use that against DB.

Lastly I do like reigns but i feel until he doesnt improve his ring work and promos he is going to get crapped on like many other super pushed guys. in the long run i definatley feel he will be great but they want him to take 2nd top face after cena i think the fans wont buy it long term.
 
#376 ·
Daniel Bryan's win had me a complete mess. I was cheering loud, crying, and just soaked to the brim with euphoria. I've never had quite that sort of reaction out of ANYTHING that I've watched in my life and I'm 35 years old.

Daniel Bryan's potency and charisma in this industry is something that'll be talked about for years and years to come.

I just hope that they don't screw us fans over by giving him a short title reign.

Like Daniel Bryan said, we deserve it. We deserve to have him champion for a good while.
 
#1,063 ·
The Turn On Bryan Now That He Made It Thread

Anyone else sick of daniel bryan and Yes chants? honestly im sick of him and stupid Yes chant. its now becoming annoying. his character is worse than Cena and Sheamus. only good thing about him is his ring skills and still there are better superstar who are better in ring than him (cesaro, lesnar).

Hopefully he will drop the title at extreme rules against Brock Lesnar. Bryan is not main event material. he is just B+ player. he need to change is character and theme song.
 
#1,068 ·
re: The Turn On Bryan Now That He Made It Thread

only good thing about him is his ring skills and still there are better superstar who are better in ring than him (cesaro, lesnar).
:ti
 
#1,288 · (Edited)
Since Bryan has truly reached the top in WWE now, I thought it'd be fitting to post this, sorry for the formatting in advance, copying straight from the newsletter instantly fucks up the whole text so I did my best to keep it readable. This is the full piece Dave Meltzer wrote in August 2009 right after Daniel Bryan signed with WWE. It's amazing to see how far he's come:

Bryan Danielson has reached an agreement to join WWE. Danielson, 28, arguably the best technical wrestler in the world over the past several years, was the top star in ROH for much of the promotion’s seven-year history. When Danielson didn’t renew his contract several months back when they were trying to lock people up long-term after signing the HDNet deal, the WWE was always considered a possibility. Over the past week, WWE has gone after some ROH talent (because most were under contract, there were limited moves that could be made at one time) with the word being it was due to HDNet moving ROH television to Mondays, which WWE considered their night.

ROH reported that Danielson will work its September dates as scheduled with New York on 9/26 being his farewell show. With ROH having its financial issues and Pro Wrestling NOAH booking fewer foreigners, his prospects for next year as an independent wrestler were uncertain. He also had dates for Dragon Gate USA, where he was scheduled in the main event of the 9/6 show in Chicago against Naruki Doi. He was also scheduled to do an angle going forward that was significant to that promotion, that has to be changed or done by someone else.

Danielson was named the Observer’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the third straight year this past year, and had been voted Best Technical Wrestler for four straight years. He had consistently had probably more great matches of the past few years than anyone on the U.S. wrestling scene.
But at about 5-8 and 185 pounds, he’s small by WWE standards . With the exception of Rey Mysterio,
nobody in that size range has ever truly gotten to be a top star in the company.
The Danielson situation is unique. He had signed with WWE in 2000 coming out of the old Shawn Michaels wrestling school, where he, Brian Kendrick and Lance McNaught (Lance Cade) were the top graduates, although he picked things up the quickest. When Michaels attempted to run a local regional promotion out of San Antonio with television, it was clear that his top star and best wrestler from day one was the masked American Dragon. With the wrestling war hot and heavy and both WWE and WCW being aggressive at first signing any prospect, WWE put him under a developmental deal. After Michaels folded his promotion due to financial losses, Danielson was sent to a WWF developmental promotion in Memphis, where he became a protege of William Regal. When WWF pulled out of Memphis, he was among the list of those cut, which was a controversial decision at the time.

While he would have become one of the top stars of the underground independent scene no matter what,
his springboard to stardom in ROH was winning the King of Indies tournament in Vallejo, CA, in 2001. That show was responsible for the formation of ROH when Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky saw how much
great talent there was and felt they could create a niche promotion with it.
Danielson was the lone headliner with the company since its debut in 2002, being in the main event of the company’s first show and having a 15-month reign as champion from September 17, 2005, to December 23, 2006.
Because he didn’t sign a new contract, he was largely used to build the top guys, in particular champion Austin Aries and leading contender Tyler Black. When Danielson didn’t sign, it was because he wanted options open to take a sabbatical from the promotion and had talked about going to Thailand to train in Muay Thai, but it also gave him the option to go to either WWE or TNA if they showed interest.

ROH announced a “Final Countdown tour” with Danielson, which would be the TV tapings on 9/10 and
9/11 in Philadelphia, the 9/18 show in Dayton, 9/19 in Chicago, 9/25 in Boston (where he’ll face Davey Richards) and the final farewell on 9/26 at the Manhattan Center, which is expected to sell out.
The problem is that his style works best in long matches, and in WWE, unless you are a headliner, you don’t get long matches. His size and look will make it difficult to be a headliner in WWE. He easily could wind up as a prelim level wrestler similar to Jamie Noble, who has a more comedic personality but whose size has doomed him from really getting anywhere in WWE. Danielson’s style is based on incorporating both legitimate moves from MMA and melding several different styles of pro wrestling such as a touch of European and heavy Japanese oriented. It’s the perfect style for ROH fans but in many ways it’s the opposite of the WWE style, which is geared toward a more limited set of moves that are already over. ROH style is based on innovation and WWE style is based on familiarity with the audience.
Danielson would have been a better fit for TNA a few years back. For whatever reason, when TNA was
emphasizing the X Division, the people in charge saw Danielson as lacking charisma and never made an
all-out effort to get him. Today, since the X Division guys have largely been either on a treadmill going nowhere for years, or in many cases, are less over then they were years ago and it has not been emphasized, on the surface he’s not the type of wrestler they would push, just based on them never making a big play.

Losing Danielson hurts ROH in that its audience can no longer claim they have “the best wrestler in the world.” Ever since Samoa Joe was no longer allowed to appear with the group by TNA, Danielson has been the backbone of the company and its most valuable performer. The company had been careful not to build everything around him, which would have been an easy decision. There was a lot of talk since losing the title of giving him a second title run, because his first run was so outstanding and he was the best guy for the role of ROH world champion. But there were thoughts it would be a “rerun” and nothing new, and then of late, without being under contract, it was probably not seriously considered.
The loss is major to the promotion. But the success or failure of ROH is going to come down to whether or not they can make enough money to survive based on foreign television deals.

For Danielson, at this stage of the game because the style he’s expected to do on the indie scene is tough physically, it’s probably the best business move. He was able to make a living for years while being able to do the style of wrestling that he likes, but at his age, it does become the time when you have to think about being able to make a good living with your talent. But the jury is very much out on where his career goes from here. Plenty of great independent wrestlers don’t make it on the big stage, sometimes because the crowds don’t take to them and just as often, because they don’t fit management’s notion of marketable, which in WWE is often a very narrow vision. Just the fact he was this good for so long with neither major promotion beating down his door tells you that none of the major decision makers in the sport have been sold on him, even though he’s a superstar at the level he’s been working at for years.

From a WWE standpoint and the perfect example, Danielson is best reminiscent of the kid in one of the seasons of “Tough Enough” who was in the best condition at the tryouts but only made it as an alternate, and then won all the physical drills and picked up wrestling the quickest, and was still cut early because he wasn’t big and looked too much like a normal person. WWE is very much about taking people who they feel have a good look for television, like most avenues in Hollywood, and then teaching them to wrestle and act. The mentality is not about getting people over who are outstanding at performing in wrestling.

However, fans can dictate things to a degree. WWE did make people like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit into major stars, but all had the advantage of coming in with established names with a major national rival promotion. Without it, Mysterio would not have had a chance coming in cold. C.M. Punk largely made it on fan reaction, but comparisons with Danielson are unfair even though both started as independent stars and made names in ROH. Danielson is a far superior wrestler, but Punk has a unique look and more, Punk’s best trait is he has great confidence in himself and it carries over to his promos. It’s the same reason he gets so much heat in the locker room, because of the idea that, what has he proved to act so confident, but if he didn’t have that confidence, he’d have never made it in wrestling to begin with.

I’d be shocked if Danielson got any of that heat. He’s easy to get along with and his reputation is he’s fantastic to work with. But he will still have to overcome the idea that he works independent style, or appearing too confident based on what he’s done in wrestling, when in WWE, none of that matters and can even be held against you with the idea of forces wanting to prove you weren’t as good as your hype. Still, I’m confident he’ll survive that aspect, but whether he’ll be given the opportunities, the jury is out.

Even though fans picked Evan Bourne right away to be a star, from a booking standpoint, he’s not been pushed anywhere near the level of his crowd response, and he is more spectacular in ways a more casual audience would see due to his great flying moves.
Danielson’s best bet would be to put into a tag team where he would get regular television exposure, and then sneak over on talent, in some ways like Bret Hart did in another generation. It’s not a lock as that didn’t work for Paul London and Brian Kendrick, even though they had a run where they were a great tag team. My sense is he’ll be someone who takes time to click with the audience, and it is entirely possible he’ll never get the chance, and there’s always the risk of being remade with a career making or career breaking gimmick. But if he were to get the opening, he’s probably someone who, barring injury can have a long run and slowly his talent can rise him to a good level.
 
#1,518 ·
The following is an example of a great post that I thought might have been swallowed up by the merger. Seeing Meltzer's thoughts on Bryan as well as TNA's is interesting.

Since Bryan has truly reached the top in WWE now, I thought it'd be fitting to post this, sorry for the formatting in advance, copying straight from the newsletter instantly fucks up the whole text so I did my best to keep it readable. This is the full piece Dave Meltzer wrote in August 2009 right after Daniel Bryan signed with WWE. It's amazing to see how far he's come:



Quote:
Bryan Danielson has reached an agreement to join WWE. Danielson, 28, arguably the best technical wrestler in the world over the past several years, was the top star in ROH for much of the promotion’s seven-year history. When Danielson didn’t renew his contract several months back when they were trying to lock people up long-term after signing the HDNet deal, the WWE was always considered a possibility. Over the past week, WWE has gone after some ROH talent (because most were under contract, there were limited moves that could be made at one time) with the word being it was due to HDNet moving ROH television to Mondays, which WWE considered their night.

ROH reported that Danielson will work its September dates as scheduled with New York on 9/26 being his farewell show. With ROH having its financial issues and Pro Wrestling NOAH booking fewer foreigners, his prospects for next year as an independent wrestler were uncertain. He also had dates for Dragon Gate USA, where he was scheduled in the main event of the 9/6 show in Chicago against Naruki Doi. He was also scheduled to do an angle going forward that was significant to that promotion, that has to be changed or done by someone else.

Danielson was named the Observer’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the third straight year this past year, and had been voted Best Technical Wrestler for four straight years. He had consistently had probably more great matches of the past few years than anyone on the U.S. wrestling scene.
But at about 5-8 and 185 pounds, he’s small by WWE standards . With the exception of Rey Mysterio,
nobody in that size range has ever truly gotten to be a top star in the company.
The Danielson situation is unique. He had signed with WWE in 2000 coming out of the old Shawn Michaels wrestling school, where he, Brian Kendrick and Lance McNaught (Lance Cade) were the top graduates, although he picked things up the quickest. When Michaels attempted to run a local regional promotion out of San Antonio with television, it was clear that his top star and best wrestler from day one was the masked American Dragon. With the wrestling war hot and heavy and both WWE and WCW being aggressive at first signing any prospect, WWE put him under a developmental deal. After Michaels folded his promotion due to financial losses, Danielson was sent to a WWF developmental promotion in Memphis, where he became a protege of William Regal. When WWF pulled out of Memphis, he was among the list of those cut, which was a controversial decision at the time.

While he would have become one of the top stars of the underground independent scene no matter what,
his springboard to stardom in ROH was winning the King of Indies tournament in Vallejo, CA, in 2001. That show was responsible for the formation of ROH when Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky saw how much
great talent there was and felt they could create a niche promotion with it.
Danielson was the lone headliner with the company since its debut in 2002, being in the main event of the company’s first show and having a 15-month reign as champion from September 17, 2005, to December 23, 2006.
Because he didn’t sign a new contract, he was largely used to build the top guys, in particular champion Austin Aries and leading contender Tyler Black. When Danielson didn’t sign, it was because he wanted options open to take a sabbatical from the promotion and had talked about going to Thailand to train in Muay Thai, but it also gave him the option to go to either WWE or TNA if they showed interest.

ROH announced a “Final Countdown tour” with Danielson, which would be the TV tapings on 9/10 and
9/11 in Philadelphia, the 9/18 show in Dayton, 9/19 in Chicago, 9/25 in Boston (where he’ll face Davey Richards) and the final farewell on 9/26 at the Manhattan Center, which is expected to sell out.
The problem is that his style works best in long matches, and in WWE, unless you are a headliner, you don’t get long matches. His size and look will make it difficult to be a headliner in WWE. He easily could wind up as a prelim level wrestler similar to Jamie Noble, who has a more comedic personality but whose size has doomed him from really getting anywhere in WWE. Danielson’s style is based on incorporating both legitimate moves from MMA and melding several different styles of pro wrestling such as a touch of European and heavy Japanese oriented. It’s the perfect style for ROH fans but in many ways it’s the opposite of the WWE style, which is geared toward a more limited set of moves that are already over. ROH style is based on innovation and WWE style is based on familiarity with the audience.
Danielson would have been a better fit for TNA a few years back. For whatever reason, when TNA was
emphasizing the X Division, the people in charge saw Danielson as lacking charisma and never made an
all-out effort to get him. Today, since the X Division guys have largely been either on a treadmill going nowhere for years, or in many cases, are less over then they were years ago and it has not been emphasized, on the surface he’s not the type of wrestler they would push, just based on them never making a big play.

Losing Danielson hurts ROH in that its audience can no longer claim they have “the best wrestler in the world.” Ever since Samoa Joe was no longer allowed to appear with the group by TNA, Danielson has been the backbone of the company and its most valuable performer. The company had been careful not to build everything around him, which would have been an easy decision. There was a lot of talk since losing the title of giving him a second title run, because his first run was so outstanding and he was the best guy for the role of ROH world champion. But there were thoughts it would be a “rerun” and nothing new, and then of late, without being under contract, it was probably not seriously considered.
The loss is major to the promotion. But the success or failure of ROH is going to come down to whether or not they can make enough money to survive based on foreign television deals.

For Danielson, at this stage of the game because the style he’s expected to do on the indie scene is tough physically, it’s probably the best business move. He was able to make a living for years while being able to do the style of wrestling that he likes, but at his age, it does become the time when you have to think about being able to make a good living with your talent. But the jury is very much out on where his career goes from here. Plenty of great independent wrestlers don’t make it on the big stage, sometimes because the crowds don’t take to them and just as often, because they don’t fit management’s notion of marketable, which in WWE is often a very narrow vision. Just the fact he was this good for so long with neither major promotion beating down his door tells you that none of the major decision makers in the sport have been sold on him, even though he’s a superstar at the level he’s been working at for years.

From a WWE standpoint and the perfect example, Danielson is best reminiscent of the kid in one of the seasons of “Tough Enough” who was in the best condition at the tryouts but only made it as an alternate, and then won all the physical drills and picked up wrestling the quickest, and was still cut early because he wasn’t big and looked too much like a normal person. WWE is very much about taking people who they feel have a good look for television, like most avenues in Hollywood, and then teaching them to wrestle and act. The mentality is not about getting people over who are outstanding at performing in wrestling.

However, fans can dictate things to a degree. WWE did make people like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit into major stars, but all had the advantage of coming in with established names with a major national rival promotion. Without it, Mysterio would not have had a chance coming in cold. C.M. Punk largely made it on fan reaction, but comparisons with Danielson are unfair even though both started as independent stars and made names in ROH. Danielson is a far superior wrestler, but Punk has a unique look and more, Punk’s best trait is he has great confidence in himself and it carries over to his promos. It’s the same reason he gets so much heat in the locker room, because of the idea that, what has he proved to act so confident, but if he didn’t have that confidence, he’d have never made it in wrestling to begin with.

I’d be shocked if Danielson got any of that heat. He’s easy to get along with and his reputation is he’s fantastic to work with. But he will still have to overcome the idea that he works independent style, or appearing too confident based on what he’s done in wrestling, when in WWE, none of that matters and can even be held against you with the idea of forces wanting to prove you weren’t as good as your hype. Still, I’m confident he’ll survive that aspect, but whether he’ll be given the opportunities, the jury is out.

Even though fans picked Evan Bourne right away to be a star, from a booking standpoint, he’s not been pushed anywhere near the level of his crowd response, and he is more spectacular in ways a more casual audience would see due to his great flying moves.
Danielson’s best bet would be to put into a tag team where he would get regular television exposure, and then sneak over on talent, in some ways like Bret Hart did in another generation. It’s not a lock as that didn’t work for Paul London and Brian Kendrick, even though they had a run where they were a great tag team. My sense is he’ll be someone who takes time to click with the audience, and it is entirely possible he’ll never get the chance, and there’s always the risk of being remade with a career making or career breaking gimmick. But if he were to get the opening, he’s probably someone who, barring injury can have a long run and slowly his talent can rise him to a good level.
 
#128 ·
About the Benoit and Bryan comparison:

Character-wise no. Bryan had a much bigger impact in terms of relateability with the blue collar crowd. He had a bigger heel and a much bigger mountain to climb.

Personality-wise. No.

Life-choice-wise. No.

End of life. Most definitely No.

I know a lot of people love the idea of comparing Bryan to Benoit, but I personally find the comparisons disgusting and in poor taste.

For once you people who LOVE to glorify Benoit so much and make these comparisons with OTHER wrestlers stop to think about the two people he murdered. I understand you think it's "fair" to separate the "character" from the "person" ... but I'm sorry .. the Character and Wrestler part of Benoit's life WAS the CAUSE of what he became as a person.

This is the first and the last time I've commented on Benoit and it's because I'm disgusted with the comparison.
 
#720 · (Edited)
Let me try to bring a little light as to what I see in Daniel Bryan by explaining my Wrestling history: Mind you, that this is not a cronological description of WHEN things occured, I am merely stating, what I remember from the period.

1992: Got a VHS tape around Christmas of a dubbed Wrestlemania VIII. I loved watching the Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper match, I loved Savage vs. Flair and I loved Hogan vs. Justice - for Sid, not for Hogan.

1993: Danish television started showing wrestling from WWF - about a year later they switched to WCW, which I thought sucked at first, but then the nWo happened, and later Goldberg debuted in 1997, I was hooked.

2002: I started watching on a regular basis again, after Danish tv took wrestling off the air. By this time, I got really in to Batista, John Cena and I marked like crazy, when Goldberg debuted in WWE.

Since 2005, I have been reading dirt sheets and watching Raw, Smackdown and PPV's if reviews were good. They're not exactly easy to get a hold of in Denmark anyways.

I gravitated more and more towards the technical wrestlers. I have honestly never been a big fan of Y2J's in ring work, but that is a matter of personal taste.

That changed around 2010. I loved Batista's heel work back then, and I was sad to see him go, and I felt like WWE had some issues finding out what they wanted to be after that.

Back in December of 2012, I wrote this on a Danish forum (sorry if some of it is a little messed up language-wise, I translated it with google, as I didn't want to re-type it):

The only thing that a wrestling fan can be sure of is that most of the people who see it, complaining about the product.

For all the poor people who talk about HOW good wrestling was during "The Attitude Era " :

1 Kane was the father of a hand
2 Triple H raped a dead woman wearing a Kane mask
3 " I did it for the Rock "
4 Over Booked clusterfucks of title matches for the WWE title at 70% of all PPV 's
5 Spot Fests a la TLC matches ( which then has its moments , but mostly as a first time viewer )
6 Hardcore Logic ( Title Fights settled with a chair shot to the head , whereas HC battles, chair shots were legal , wrestlers could take 3-4 and still kicking out at 2 .. yes ... )
7 The Showster (Hey, let's take potentially the greatest threat that has ever been in the WWE and make him a joke)
8 Ministry of Darkness ( started awesome, but " Jumped the Shark " relatively quickly, since the logic disappeared )
9 Mark Henry sexy chocolate ... Child , Please!
10 DX v. 2.0
11 Backstage politics ( HBK did not like The Rock , so we never got a fight between the two, Undertaker did what he pleased , and preferably the opposite of what the Kliq like that happened. )
12 Booking logic ( it was rarely present.)
13 ... You get the picture .

I do not buy that product was better then. It was different and perhaps better suited to the viewers who today bitcher . I love CM Punk as WWE champ. He makes the title relevant and important .
The only thing I do not like his title reign is that 6-7 months ago , he was no-nonsense and was fucking care who you put in front of him , but today he had to cheat to win. If they at least had booked him so his argument for cheating was that he had nothing more to prove. He wanted respect , for he had beaten all the ones he had to beat, so it would make sense , but we're back to my point 12 on the list.

Daniel Bryan is the best thing on WWE television at the moment and his partnership with Kane is sweet . The clip from Slam , where he wrestler against Tyson Kidd and rolls up into a little ball , so he can not pinnes makes me howl with laughter every time.
I am not in any way mark for indywrestlere , but it is clear that WWE is entering a new era where PG is on the way out Attitude Era is not coming back , but as a writer of 411mania wrote , we are entering the Reality Era, where the product is more dogma -like and true character.
If you do not like the product WWE has , then you have the course the choices that you can turn it off and sit down at the computer and pull out the spring while looking at the Rock and Wrestling, Attitude Era or PG era , as that one's manboobs to laktere .

I is well entertained by the kind WWE using now. I'm not saying in any way that the product is perfect , because it never will be , but if we look at what we have been treated to during the past year and a half , so I do not think we can afford to complain :

1 CM Punk Vs . Cena party 1-9 or how much we're up to . GREAT chemistry !
2 CM Punk Vs . Daniel Bryan - especially their last great battle that was the birth of "No ! No! No!" and Goatface .
3 Brock Lesnar return - one of the most hardcore worked matches in WWE in the last 10 years. One reality touch to it which is rarely seen . The winner of the match is debatable, but I can understand WHY WWE chose Cena .
4 Rocks in ring return - we had the all hoped.
5 Daniel Bryan as MITB winner, subsequent champ !
6 Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan , Skip Sheffield ( Ryback ) , Dean Ambrose , Damien Sandow , Seth Rollins , Roman Reigns and Antonio Cesaro are some of the new names that are brought up to the main roster and which will help to create an exciting future for the WWE . (Do good to Barrett and Bryan are further back , but their real push is enough ahead of us )
7 Cena - superman has been packed away a little .
8 Tensai was NOT pushed .

Dolph Ziggler 9 on the way up.

It is certainly things that I would have had in my Thanksgiving speech, if it should be about wrestling .

Yes, the magic has disappeared a little , but it is of course also linked to the Internet to report on almost everything they do today, and therefore the surprises largely disappeared from Wrestling . And they come , they say smarks just that it was only to swerve us that they did as they did.

" WWE can not win - and we stopped trying . Now , we aim two once again change the face of Wrestling - and will succeed . " - Triple H.
This was kind of my "Coming out party" as a wrestling fan. I loved CM Punk's work back then, and had actually bashed him prior to this for not being believable as a main eventer. BOY WAS I WRONG!

Daniel Bryan is my favorite right now. I may have jumped on the Band Wagon, but I simply love his work in the ring, he's real! Both in and out of the ring. What you see is what you get, and I always love his segments.

If you don't like him, then I guess you are totally entitled to that, but if you can't see the magic in, what's going on with Bryan right now, then you need to open your eyes. He's not the new Hogan, He's not the new Stone Cold, he's not the new Cena...

BECAUSE HE'S NOT TRYING TO BE!

Nobody expected the Stone Cold 3:16 to take off like it did, and it's the same with "The Yes Movement". It happened organically, and that's what makes it great. If you can't see that Daniel Bryan can wrestle, then don't watch WWE. You will be disappointed every week for a very long time.
 
#752 · (Edited)
Let me try to bring a little light as to what I see in Daniel Bryan by explaining my Wrestling history: Mind you, that this is not a cronological description of WHEN things occured, I am merely stating, what I remember from the period.

1992: Got a VHS tape around Christmas of a dubbed Wrestlemania VIII. I loved watching the Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper match, I loved Savage vs. Flair and I loved Hogan vs. Justice - for Sid, not for Hogan.

1993: Danish television started showing wrestling from WWF - about a year later they switched to WCW, which I thought sucked at first, but then the nWo happened, and later Goldberg debuted in 1997, I was hooked.

2002: I started watching on a regular basis again, after Danish tv took wrestling off the air. By this time, I got really in to Batista, John Cena and I marked like crazy, when Goldberg debuted in WWE.

Since 2005, I have been reading dirt sheets and watching Raw, Smackdown and PPV's if reviews were good. They're not exactly easy to get a hold of in Denmark anyways.

I gravitated more and more towards the technical wrestlers. I have honestly never been a big fan of Y2J's in ring work, but that is a matter of personal taste.

That changed around 2010. I loved Batista's heel work back then, and I was sad to see him go, and I felt like WWE had some issues finding out what they wanted to be after that.

Back in December of 2012, I wrote this on a Danish forum (sorry if some of it is a little messed up language-wise, I translated it with google, as I didn't want to re-type it):



This was kind of my "Coming out party" as a wrestling fan. I loved CM Punk's work back then, and had actually bashed him prior to this for not being believable as a main eventer. BOY WAS I WRONG!

Daniel Bryan is my favorite right now. I may have jumped on the Band Wagon, but I simply love his work in the ring, he's real! Both in and out of the ring. What you see is what you get, and I always love his segments.

If you don't like him, then I guess you are totally entitled to that, but if you can't see the magic in, what's going on with Bryan right now, then you need to open your eyes. He's not the new Hogan, He's not the new Stone Cold, he's not the new Cena...

BECAUSE HE'S NOT TRYING TO BE!

Nobody expected the Stone Cold 3:16 to take off like it did, and it's the same with "The Yes Movement". It happened organically, and that's what makes it great. If you can't see that Daniel Bryan can wrestle, then don't watch WWE. You will be disappointed every week for a very long time.
Holy Shit, I thought i was the only Dane on here!

Edit:

I see DB holding the title no later than summerslam. I hope some of you don't expect him to go on a 434 day title run cause it's just not going to happen
We don't. Also, why are you still trying to troll us?

Oh, so you didn't listen? Alright then, let me make it real clear for you:

I want you to look to the left of my post here. See the green squares? You'll notice I have many of them. Do you know WHY I have them, energy? Because I, unlike you, actually look at the world with a positive manner and don't parade myself around as god's gift to knowledge on all things, as I have seen you do. I am happy to see wrestlers get pushed that by god DESERVE it, and I don't shit on the idea of a person making it based on how they look, sound, or act. I don't pretend wrestling has to be super serious all the time and that anything different from the norm has to be bad for this business. I am OPEN to things, and do you wanna know the truth, energy? 'Yer boy Chris was just as much of a ripoff of Dynamite kid as Bryan is of him, and Bret Hart was of his dad, and Ric Flair was of Buddy Rodgers and a little of Gorgeous George. He has busted his ass not just in ROH, but around the world. He has wrestled with a detached retina, he has been through real life hardship after real life hardship and what's more? He's remained humble and down to earth as FUCK through it all. Something Lesnar has never ever been in his entire fucking life and clearly neither have you. He has overcame everything put in front of him and STILL! *STILL* doesn't feel like he should gloat about anything. Say it's because of the yes chant all you like, but every time the man steps in that ring, he puts on MOTY candidates? Don't believe me? Go look in the Other Wrestling section and have a gander at the MOTY thread!

The fact is, Energy, there are two kinds of people in this world: People who build up others and are a positive force for the world, and those that tear down with hatred and evil in their hearts and minds. YOU sir, YOU are the latter because instead of being a positive force for anyone since you've been here, or trying to help others get along and see that even though we all have opinions, we are all the same--that we can all love each other, and get along here--All I've seen from you, sir, is "Woman are inferior" or "Bryan is a midget" or "You're not a REAL wrestling fan" I see no kindness in you, Energy. None! No human tolerance or humility for those different from you. I'd be more than happy to accept that you DON'T care for Bryan if you didn't come off as a smug, holier than thou, pompous windbag around others! But NO, you can't even carry yourself with the decency of being able to act civilized in your opinion.

Which, while I'm at it, brings me back to those squares. Do you know what those squares MEAN, Energy? It symbolizes respect and reputation here. This means that there are people who value what I write and what I say enough to give a damn and read it on a regular basis, and do you know why I post for them, Energy? Because wrestling NEEDS positive people right now, and when people read my posts, I like to think they finish up thinking, "Hey, here's a guy who isn't actually bitching, who cares about the business, who wants people to look at things and enjoy them!" I don't ASK for rep, like so many others do. I like to think I have EARNED it. I'm proud of my opinions on wrestling and I'm glad people agree! Do you know why that is?! BECAUSE *I*, *LOVE*, *THIS*, *BUSINESS*! I have posted on WWE, TNA, ROH, JAPAN, CHIKARA--EVERY major company or Indy you can think of, I know of at least a bit. I have DEDICATED myself to it since 2006--YEAH, ONLY 2006, AND I BET I KNOW MORE ABOUT WRESTLING HISTORY THAN YOU! Wrestling was there for me when I was contemplating suicide during the loss of someone I loved very much. It carried me through and by the grace of God, You know what? I dunno where YOUR wrestling badges of honor come from, but *I* am going to book one day! That's right: I'm going to write MORE of what YOU hate, and I'm going to succeed. You know why?! Because PAUL HEYMAN HIMSELF gave me that vote of confidence directly, as WELL as Gabe Sapolsky! So don't EVER tell me I'm not a real fan, you son of a bitch!

THAT is why I have the reputation I have, and why you haven't made a single friend here or on this forum. Sure, you claim to know this business, but you have NONE of the respect I have for it and you likely never will, so go on back to Sherdog and bitch about what MMA's Daniel Bryan, Jon Jones, is doing and shit on his success while he achieves, and leave the WRESTLING talk, to the WRESTLING fans. Maybe when you learn how to treat woman with respect you can get laid and see things in a more nice way. In the mean time, I'll probably be collecting more reputation off of setting you straight. So I suggest you look long and hard at yourself and change your attitude before others continue to do the same from your future posts.

Now get out of our thread!


Energy got straight ethered. Beatles all on of his shit like:

 
#1,052 ·
I just watched Bryan's two Mania matches plus his Raw opener. I compared the pop from when he beat HHH to the one where he won the title. The title winning pop was titanic. I think Taker losing may have actually aided it because people wanted a positive release after the streak ended. I heard a chant I missed before. Both times when Orton and Batista had those false finishes at the end where it appeared that Bryan had lost, there was a slight Thank You Jesus chant which cracked me up. I also think the post Mania Raw crowd has to jump to the top of the best reaction Bryan has received. Let's face it, all of his top crowd reactions are enormous, I just felt the Raw crowd had such a visceral outpouring of love for Bryan that it was simply amazing.
 
#1,102 ·
re: The Turn On Bryan Now That He Made It Thread

I will never get tired of watching the best professional wrestler on the planet.
he is just good in the ring , nothing more . He is not strong, he doesn't do crazy spots despite being a small guy and his matches are uninteresting. Maybe he was great in the indies, I don't know, but in the wwe he is just a "good" in ring performer . Seriously what makes him "the best" ? His submission moves that look like a joke ? His kicks ?
Anyway he is the new Sheamus/cena, the smiling , kiddie friendly babyface only smaller . His character was much better in the previous years whether he had anger management issues or he was the weak link .
 
#1,281 ·
Re: Anyone else sick of Daniel bryan?

When you start analyzing people's entrances to check for pops because you don't like the person, I think you have a problem.
Fair point.

Okay I just said he is a good wrestler but that is all he is and all I give credit to him for theres nothing appealing to me about him if i wanted to see a corny character who overcomes the odds every ppv I will just watch cenas matches
In 6 months if he keeps overcoming the odds every single time this might have some merit. But as of right now it seems kind of silly.

Summerslam: Did not overcome the odds and didn't leave with the title
Night of Champions: Walked out with the title but had it stripped the next night. Did not overcome the odds
Battleground: Screwed out of the title.
HIAC: Screwed out of the title.
Survivor Series: Was in a tag match with another former World Champion and beat 2 guys that were new to the roster
TLC: Lost to the Wyatts in a handicap match
Royal Rumble: Lost cleanly to Bray Wyatt
Elimination Champion: Screwed out of the title
Wrestlemania: Overcomes the odds after being screwed over for months


It seems like people that are saying that they are already sick of Bryan are "pre fed up" with him. As in you are just assuming what he is going to do for the next 6 months and you have decided that when that does happen you will be fed up with him.

The worst thing about him are his marks, who make the flair marks nothing when overrating their hero.

All of them say how he gets austin pops, and I checked raw after wm and he got an average pop but a great REACTION.

WHICH TELLS YOU HIS CHANT IS STILL MORE OVER THAN HIM.
So are you telling me that I in fact was at Raw after Mania and I chanted "Daniel Bryan" and "You Deserve It" at the top of my longs, not because I like Daniel Bryan but because I like his chant? Of all crowds you could make this argument about you are seriously saying that with the hardcore wrestling fans that traveled all over the world to see Mania and Raw that it's just the chant that is over? Maybe when they run a show in the middle of nowhere and the Yes chant is over huge that might have some truth to it but not in front of THAT crowd.
 
#1,434 ·
I don't get why Bossy gets a pass from people on here. His whole argument is based on his opinion that Daniel Bryan has marginal skills, which he presents as absolute fact. And most who quote him just roll with it and say "I respect you, you're a great poster." Doesn't make sense to me. He just expects people to see Daniel Bryan as mediocre, and if you don't see it, you're stupid and you have no dignity. OK then...

He used to say if Daniel Bryan would main event Wrestlemania, the WWE would tank fast or something like that. For the past 1.5 years, I'd make posts saying Daniel Bryan should main event WM (with Punk) and I'd get an immediate response about my stupidity. And I can dig out the quotes and posts if people challenge me. He's one of the biggest trolls on here, and just because he masks his troll hatred behind an argument, people just accept him as a good poster. In reality, 90% of the crap he posts makes no sense and he just tweaks his hatred behind different arguments. Since WM and WWE aren't tanking, he just says people accept mediocrity now. How in the world does that even make sense. And justifying his opinion on Daniel Bryan with Lil Wayne is not a valid reasoning. Using an analogy is never factual evidence.

Since the sky is mostly always blue, I think the Earth is mediocre. So Daniel Bryan is mediocre too.
 
#1,477 ·
Yeah, I won't even lie. Most of the Bryan related stuff that I say on here is done to piss off or annoy the people who think the Daniel Bryan character is just the greatest thing because their fandom often goes a bit too far. Though its like that with marks of any guy. People call me out for advocating puro and try to police the forum by saying "that's not WWE related, talk about it somewhere else!" That's fine, we all go too far. I just happen to see it with Bryan marks more often, but that's my perception.

The god's honest actual truth of it all can be found in my last post of this thread. I just find the whole Daniel Bryan character so blah and underwhelming. The chant seriously does irritate me. And it really does bother me that we could have gotten something legitimately good and instead got something that I, myself, am not into. I don't particularly like his image and it isn't something that would make me, as a fan, go out of my way to watch. In short, I just don't see what's so great about the guy beyond his wrestling, and even that part of him is becoming uninteresting to me because its so restricted. So when something I don't view as being that great is constantly talked about like it IS that great, and I hear other people glorifying it to kingdom come...yeah, it gets a rise out of me.

Considering what Danielson used to be, and what Daniel Bryan is now...I find it very disappointing and in reality somewhat insulting that on a national scale, we've been provided with what I view as a significant downgrade in character quality. Forget making him an ass kicking wrestling machine with an attitude. No, he needs a dumb chant, goofy beard, crazy hair and to be likened to a farm animal. THAT is the recipe for success. And it makes me ashamed that so many other people are eating it up and making it successful because it feels so incredibly lacking in effort and to me, sends a clear message to the WWE that they don't even have to try and the fans will be happy. I know that most people don't share my views, but look at it this way. The Fed purposely tried to sabotage Bryan a few times and gave him every anchor they could. Now he's on fire. I know that in his head, Vince is gonna view this as a success, despite how little they actually tried with Bryan. So what's to stop him from putting out more characters with virtually no thought put into them and cluttering up the product?

To sum it up, I do feel people overrate him sometimes, but people do that with everyone they like, so I can overlook it (most of the time). I don't personally see the appeal in the Daniel Bryan character, but that's me. But deep down, it bugs me that I'm being denied an interesting character (American Dragon) in favor of something that I view as vastly inferior. I feel cheated, and that, I believe, is probably a large part of what makes me really dislike the Bryan character. His existence robbed me of something I think is hands down superior. Some may think that's dumb, but that's what I think of Daniel Bryan and I don't want to support something that a) I don't like and that denies me of something infinitely preferable and b) I, as a fan, feel is so shallow that its actually insulting.

But that's me. No bullshit, no trolling, no rudeness, nothing. That's why I'm not a Bryan fan. I respect the fans getting behind him and initializing change, but I really just don't like him.
 
#1,616 ·
:bryan3 "Hmmmmm. I wonder how The Shield's doing? I hope they're doing alright. I've gotta thank them for helping me out last week. Let me see now..."

*picks up remote and turns on TV. Flips over to the USA Network*

:selfie
"This isn't looking good for the Shield, King!"
"Not at all! Evolution is really giving them a beating!
"That's what happens when you mess with the Authority, Myggle!"

:bryan3 "..........."

*picks up phone and calls Brie*

:bryan3 "Hello? Yeah, Brie? There's somewhere I need to be. Where? Oh, y'know. Meeting some new friends. How many? About 13,000 of them."

*back on RAW*

:selfie
"Pedigree to Roman Reigns!"
"He didn't learn that from daddy! Ole!"
"The Shield is done. It's over. They're completely helpless! There's no way that......wait a minute. Is that?"

*Camera cuts to Daniel Bryan jumping the barricade and rushing the ring.*

:selfie
"Flying knee to Batista! Where the hell did Daniel Bryan come from?!"
"They shouldn't allow farm animals in here!"
"Woah! Randy Orton tried to RKO him but Bryan puts him in the YES! Lock instead!"
"And Triple H is getting the hell out of there! He wants nothing to do with Daniel Bryan!"
"He just doesn't wanna catch his rabies! Goat! Troll! Flying goat troll!"

*RAW ends with Daniel Bryan leading the YES! chants as the show ends*

Until that day happens, some fans need to stop with this whole "Super Bryan" crap.
 
#27 · (Edited)
"Lesnar is now the true Goliath and Bryan the true David."

Copy and pasting that.

Anyways they built up that feud so beautifully. Bryan is now the people's champion, he went through months of screwjobs after screwjobs. Then at Wreatlemania 30 he goes on to beat Triple H, Orton and Batista. He made Batista tap and pinned Hunter.

Lesnar just beat the streak in what will be remembered as the most shocking moment in wrestling history. It's like Sammartino losing his 7 year reign in MSG, but far grander. Nothing comes close to that. People were just too shocked to boo Lesnar. Now there's going to be some real legit heat on him in Raw. He broke what was holy, something the fans cherished and wanted to continue.

Now Lesnar is the true heel he was meant to be, Bryan is the true face. They just go hand in hand.

I'm very excited to see what they do.
 
#266 ·
Not a Bryan fan (at all) but the booking was fine for a Triple Threat. After having beat Triple H, it was obvious Bryan was walking out the champ, that's why there were about 3'sh false finishes and lots of spots to make you think "No way can he win now.".

I'd much rather that than an underwhelming, predictable match.

Btw, I rewatched WM30 today and it helped me understand a lot, like the streak and whatnot which I was against but 'get it' now. Brilliant Wrestlemania as well, looking forward to Raw.
 
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