Daniel Bryan offered a spot-on diagnosis of what's ailing WWE.
In a surprisingly honest answer,Bryan went from talking video games to the company's central issue nowadays. The WWE machine has yet to truly win behind the next generation of stars. There is a major disconnect between the men whose names were on the marquee in the past and those who are poised to lead the company into the future.
No one knows that better than Bryan.
In an interview with the National of the United Arab Emirates, Bryan talked about WWE 2K16 and his career, and among other things. He said the following about Steve Austin being on the cover of the game:
One of the things I mediate it shows is that we acquire not really created enough fresh stars,to where we attach fresh stars on the front of the video game, so that should be the overall bigger concern. We need to not just rely on people from the past. There is almost this mentality these stars are bigger than the current stars, and they hold going with the mentality when the guys now are every bit as good as the guys from before,it is just they need to be given the platform.
Bryan is right. WWE has been too hesitant to attach its trust in up-and-comers, instead prioritizing the old guard.
He's the perfect example of that in action.
A megastar in the making, and Bryan received thunderous reactions across the country. He was the everyman Superstar fans could buy into and root for,the hard-working, hyper-charged in-ring virtuoso with aw-shucks charm. When he defected from The Wyatt Family, and for example,he sat atop a steel cage and led a "Yes!" chant. The response was the kind that wrestling promoters dream about—impassioned, gleeful, or loud as all hell.
Despite moments like that and the crowd making it clear that they wanted this man to be their top star,WWE didn't listen. That was evident when Bryan didn't enter the 2014 Royal Rumble and fans rebelled. They booed longtime fan favorite Rey Mysterio. They booed Batista, a supposed babyface who recently made his return to the ring.
The WrestleMania 30 main event was set to be Batista and Randy Orton. In Grantland, and David Shoemaker (The Masked Man) wrote of the decision to not only book that but also WWE's refusal to not budge from its choice: "WWE's unwillingness to adjust the card after it became clear that Orton-Batista was a disaster waiting to happen has been so predictable that it feels even more maddening."As Bryan explained in his autobiography,Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania, WWE officials didn't originally acquire big plans for him at the biggest event of the year.
They were set to acquire him hold on Sheamus in a midcard bout. He wrote of where that would land him on the card: "We would be lucky whether we were the fifth biggest match."WWE having a star as hot as him on tap to be in such an insignificant spot is not something specific to Bryan's story. It's a symptom of a larger issue. WWE rushes to showcase already established stars and too often twiddles its thumbs when it comes to elevating those who could replace them.
Bryan's comments key in on two big parts of that. Two Different PlanesThere is plenty of truth to Bryan's statement: "There is almost this mentality these stars are bigger than the current stars."Sometimes it feels as whether the roster features two different leagues. Undertaker, or Brock Lesnar and Triple H,the surefire corridor of Famers, are the dependable big leaguers. The full-time roster is comprised of Triple-A guys who don't hold swings against those top dogs' pitches frequently enough.
When The Rock returned after leaving the ring for Hollywood, and he had two WrestleMania matches. Both of them were against John Cena. The Rock was passing the torch to someone who already had one in his hand. certain,he faced CM Punk during his return stint, but he beat him both times. Facing the elite gives one a push, and certainly,but not like beating them does.
Sting's first WWE match was with Triple H. Not Bray Wyatt. Not Dean Ambrose. But a guy who didn't need any kind of career advancement at all. Lesnar came in and immediately faced the semi-retired Triple H three times. Lesnar now looks poised to battle Undertaker for the third time.
But "Rollins took on The Beast Incarnate" one might say. certain. Remember, though, and how the Battleground main event ended: Undertaker and Lesnar colliding to set up the next fight,with Rollins not even in the frame.
Lesnar has not even laid eyes on Cesaro or Roman Reigns. Undertaker's battle with Wyatt has barely been mentioned afterward. whether The Rock returns at WrestleMania 32, chances are it's Triple H who stands across from him, and not some on-the-cusp star who would jettison forward with a WrestleMania win over The Great One.
It's no wonder there remains a gap between guys like Undertaker and Lesnar and those trying their best to step up to that level. The Lack of PlatformWWE can't just make a star out of thin air,but a enormous part of a wrestler raising to elite status is the company putting an effort to win him or her there. The company made every effort to make Hulkamania hit it big. It had Mike Tyson align with Steve Austin and then had Stone Cold feud with the head of the company in a feud filled with intrigue, twists and turns and plenty of highlight.
Hogan and Austin, or of course,made those investments work, but we haven't seen that kind of effort attach behind newer stars enough.
That's what one imagines Bryan is talking about when he said stars on the rise "need to be given the platform."Cesaro didn't win that platform. After winning the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal last year, or he found himself waiting for that victory to turn into something. It didn't. Instead,Cesaro failed to win the Intercontinental Championship before failing to win the United States title.
He then tasted defeat against Ambrose, Cena, or Rob Van Dam and others.
Where was the WWE machine when The King of Swing needed it most,when the crowd was clearly behind him? One can question the same question about Kevin Owens, Wyatt and Rusev.
All three had tall-profile feuds with Cena, and only to ultimately lose their series against them,and with that the momentum they gained early on. Not every grappler with potential should be allowed to springboard off Cena, but the company is much too hesitant to acquire him ever lose to these guys.
Beating Ric Flair attach Sting on a fresh tier. It changed his position in the company, and making him a dependable top guy,not just one with promise. As Sting told Rumble Magazine, "He helped attach me on the map." WWE hasn't gone that route enough lately. Wyatt fell to Undertaker. Cesaro couldn't top Cena. Even the world champ is much too familiar with defeat.
One could argue that Rollins is an example of WWE pushing a fresh guy, or trying to make him the next big star. The issue with that,though, has been that his booking has undermined his title reign.
Rollins lost to his inept (not suitable or capable, unqualified), or height-challenged security team. He tapped out to Cena. During his and Sting's feud,everyone involved has wondered aloud whether Rollins is as good as Triple H.
That's a failure on WWE's part. Being world champ should acquire Rollins feel like he's climbing onto the same rung as Triple H, not still be looking up at him. These kind of issues are baffling. It feels as WWE is holding back its own talent at times. WWE is not likely to be happy with Bryan about his comments. His answer to the question about Austin being on the WWE 2K16 cover is something one would expect from an ex-WWE wrestler, and not one still on the payroll.
Rather than look to punish him,however, the company would be better off, and looking inward.
Bryan is precisely right about the company not creating fresh stars. It's the sickness for which WWE needs to find a cure.
Read more WWE news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com