Rumor Mill

I guess this is a wrestling blog now...

Big news about CM Punk this morning. Before I get too far, I want to do an awful job of crediting sources. I follow Matt Fowler and David Shoemaker on Twitter, so whatever wrestling rumors or backstage news I read comes from one of those two. There are occasional retweets from Cageside Seats or just friends who caught wind of something before I did, but I'll still go back to one of those two for confirmation. That said, whatever information I present here... I read or heard from one of the sources above.

This morning was one of those times. I saw a tweet from someone talking about CM Punk, so I tracked down Fowler's site to see what was up. Here's what I've been able to gather:

The rumor coming out of Monday was that RAW had been rewritten at the last minute. While it might be normal for minor changes to get written in throughout the day, apparently this was going into the final couple of hours before air and there was still a lot undecided. That is unusual. Rumor being this was because of the fan reaction at the Rumble, which was supposedly unexpected. CM Punk was said to have been written off the show to sell his encounter with Kane at the Rumble.

Then new rumor came out saying that CM Punk actually walked off of RAW and told Vince he was going home. Which is why he wasn't on the show. It has since been speculated the rewrites were done because of this, and not because of the reactions to the Rumble. CM Punk was reportedly removed from all upcoming WWE events. Latest "confirmed" rumor being that he has quit the company. I even saw a tweet that said WWE had unfollowed Punk on Twitter. And it doesn't get more official than that...

So it looks like CM Punk is gone. Questions of course arise about whether this is a work or real. And because a couple people did ask, and I've got shit to do at work right now... here's my (not quite) unsolicited opinion based on what I know.

First and foremost, it's not a big deal. The WWE product will roll on without CM Punk. And don't get me wrong, I love CM Punk. He's a fantastic wrestler. He's great on the mic. He does the little things, the small gestures and facial expressions, that a lot of other wrestlers don't seem to think about. Punk is a total package dude. I've been a big fan of his since he debuted in that shell of a show called ECW. He's my favorite wrestler on the current roster, well, I guess he WAS. Without contest. If you asked me to pick a dude right now, he's the dude I'd pick. But he hasn't been relevant since he lost the title to The Rock. He's done nothing of significance. No doubt part of the reason he quit, I'm sure. But the product will not suffer with him gone. In fact, nothing noticeable will even change.

Now it's possible this is a work. Punk did something similar a few years ago when his contract was  up (his contract would have been up in July of this year). Back when he dropped that pipe bomb and beat Cena for the title on the night his contract expired. He took a short break, showed up at a comic convention to taunt Triple H, and came back to huge applause. It was a big deal. It was a cool angle. It worked.

So maybe they're going for a second time. But if the WWE is doing this again, the week after the Royal Rumble... ugh. If the WWE's new thing is just pissing the fans off, then... man, I can't back that. That's just bullshit.

Let me sidetrack and talk about the Rumble for a minute. First of all, that was a solid PPV. The Bray Wyatt/Daniel Bryan match was outstanding. Little slow at first, but really took off.  The Lesnar/Show match was... meh. Who cares? It was what it was. I didn't give a shit about the angle, so no matter how the match turned out, I didn't care. It was fine. And the Orton/Cena match was, considering the participants, quite good. I feel like it followed a similar pacing to the opening match, but otherwise, it turned out well. Could have been much worse. Hell, those two have done much worse. So of the three matches on the card, all three delivered.

Then there's the Rumble. Which was entertaining. It's entertaining every year. It can't NOT be entertaining. But boy did the fans shit on it.

The live crowd there wanted nothing to do with an Orton/Cena match, and had no problem vocalizing that. It's been the new thing to do now. And I'm fine with it. It's fun. It gets a point across. The fans want a change. The fans want to see something different. Orton and Cena facing off for the title is not different. Batista getting a title shot and the chance to headline Wrestlemania is not different. It's the same thing we've seen for a decade or more. Even Rey Mysterio took a big brunt of that. Dude got booed out of the building just for not being Daniel Bryan. I'm not even a big Rey fan, and I felt bad for him. He didn't deserve that. Since he's entered the WWE, he's slowly adopted more and more of that WWE 5 Moves of Doom style and lost all the things that made me love him back in ECW/WCW. Which, whatever. He's getting older. His legs are shot. He can't do that stuff anymore. I get that. I'm not blasting him. But he's another dude we've seen time and time again for the past decade. And he came out, dashing all hopes of Bryan being in the Rumble. And the crowd devoured him for it.

It's unfortunate that WWE sacrificed Rey like that. They had to have seen that coming. Now, in their defense, I can understand not putting Bryan in the Rumble. Because leaving him out is leaving him out. Putting him in and having him lose? There's no real excuse for that. If he was in the match, with his popularity, he would have had to have won. There's no way around that. Him not winning would have been so much worse. And, sure, I bet they could have found something to do storyline wise to get him eliminated, but this was easier. I cautiously support their decision, assuming that they have a better plan for him going into Wrestlemania. If they don't... well, fuck, but I'm hoping they do.

But the exclusion of Bryan from the Rumble, whether it was originally intended to be or not, came off as a slight to the fans. The people wanted to see him. They didn't get to see him. They were pissed. Now, again, I'll back the WWE on their call, but the crowd response is what it is. So then we get Triple H coming out Monday night and mocking it. Mocking us. So whether it was intentional or not, it's being played like it is now. And... I'm not a fan of it. I hate this idea that WWE is taking jabs at the fans to get a response. Because I believe there's a fine but important difference between... Urk. Words.

OK. So on the one hand, we have traditional wrestling. Two men come out and fight for whatever reason. I have an emotional investment in this. I like one of these men as a performer or character. Or perhaps I just relate to the particular circumstances of this angle. It's not that different from watching a movie. There's an antagonist and a protagonist. I pick a side, depending on who I like or agree with, and I want to see that side beat the other side. I watch because I want that person to get their revenge. I want to see that person come out victorious and right the wrongs. And even in the case, in wrestling, where a heel comes out and calls the crowd stupid or inbred or whatnot, it's part of the show. It's just for heat. You know that. I know that. It doesn't feel personal. The heel might be looking at me at this moment, but his real feud is with the other dude. The fight is with the other man in the ring. That's where all the focus is. That's what it's about.

On the other hand, we have this new thing. Daniel Bryan is excluded from the Royal Rumble, despite the fans cheering for him almost literally the whole night. We, as fans, are deprived of a thing we wanted and expected to see. The WWE, for whatever reason, intentionally denied us. Which I'm fine with. Up to that point. Then Triple H comes out and mocks us. He is, in essence, taking responsibility for the slight. Which means that this is a feud between us and Triple H now. He's the one who took something I thought I deserved. It's now become personal, because the action has been done to me.  In this case, in this new thing that's happening, I'm now part of the storyline. I'm the one who's been wronged. I'm the one who's been slighted. In the traditional sense, I would be the one out for revenge. I would be the one fighting to right the wrong. But I'm not a wrestler. I'm a fan. I have no recourse for righting anything. I'm not an actual participant. I can't fight Triple H. I can't get back at Triple H.

And right on the heels of that, we have this CM Punk thing. Which, if it is a work, is just a modified version of what happened at the Rumble. The WWE has found something that I like, something that I give them money to see, and taken it away. If this is all fake, and it's all leading up to Punk coming back bigger and better and getting a huge reaction and taking the fight to the man, then... ugh. It's still the WWE just fucking with me. On purpose. The WWE is just being a douche because they can and I can't conceivably do anything about it. Hell, even if I did quit watching wrestling, it's not like a billion other people would. So it doesn't matter. The WWE is picking a fight with me and I don't even have the means to fight back, let alone win. That is essentially the definition of a victim. The WWE is bullying me, and I am the victim.

That shit is beyond fucking irritating. It is above and beyond my biggest issue with the WWE and the way it has represented certain things lately. And if this CM Punk thing is all just another purple nurple on the sad road of WWE bullying me and stuffing me in lockers where I can't see Daniel Bryan, just because it's bigger and richer than me and it can, I'm gonna be pissed.

Now, let's assume this isn't a work, that it's not part of some grand angle for a "surprise" CM Punk return. In that case... he has a valid point.

From what I've read, Punk hasn't been too pleased with things since he lost the title. He made some comments last week in Portland, I think, about how he sort of just goes out, does what he's told, and then gets the hell out. And alluded that he wasn't a fan of the current product. Essentially, he doesn't like his job right now. I can relate to that. I bet you can, too.

It's not a secret that he was upset with The Rock coming in the past couple Wrestlemanias and stealing a spot that should have gone to someone else. There's a lot of rumor that Punk has an ego. That he thinks he should be headlining Wrestlemania instead of Batista or that The Rock took his spot, specifically. Perhaps.

The principle of that argument is universal, though. CM Punk works his ass off all year long. He's been open on Twitter about how he hates the grueling WWE schedule. But he's out there doing it. Every. Damn. Day. And then Batista rolls in, not having been in a wrestling ring for four years, and gets a guaranteed main event at Wrestlemania.

On that same card, it's practically guaranteed The Undertaker will be back for his annual appearance. There are strong rumors that Hogan has signed a deal to do... something. Not wrestle. But he'll be involved in an angle of some sort. And whatever he's involved in is going to be a big deal. And his involvement is going to overshadow the actual angle, whatever that ends up being. There was supposed to be a Punk/HHH match on that card as well. Triple H, who isn't a regular wrestler, but does come out for two or three matches a year. Not to mention Brock Lesnar, who is essentially part-time, but will most likely have a match at Mania (rumor right now being against Undertaker).

So that's Batista and probably Undertaker for sure, with Triple H and Brock Lesnar more or less a lock, to have matches at Wrestlemania. That's four spots on the card that could have gone  to someone busting their ass on the full-time roster. And if the Hogan rumor comes true, that's a match that will be overshadowed by his participation, lessening the spotlight on another two (at least) full-time wrestlers.

That's a serious problem. Wrestlemania is THE show. That's the big event. That's the one wrestlers aspire to. The whole point of going out and doing four shows a week (or whatever the WWE schedule is), of traveling all over the world, of all the promotional ads and interviews and appearances, of being a cog in the whole WWE machine, is to get a spot on Wrestlemania. Ideally, to make the main event. But even to just get a match on the card...

And there's four fewer spots now, reserved for dudes that didn't earn it.

Before the arguments roll in about how those dudes paid their dues and busted their ass and earned their spots on the card a long time ago... you're absolutely right. Triple H and Undertaker and Brock Lesnar and Batista and Hulk Hogan and if they get Sting or Jake the Snake or whoever else, all worked just as hard as the full-time roster does right now. Every one of those men paid his dues and worked that grueling schedule, busting his ass every single night of the week to become a top performer, to earn a spot on Wrestlemania.

And every single one of them got a spot on Wrestlemania. Multiple times. In main events. When those dudes were full-time, when they put in the work, they were rewarded. Now we have a new crop of stars that are busting their asses and paying dues and putting in the work... and their spots on Wrestlemania are being stolen by men who long ago had the chance to shine, and did so.

If this is what CM Punk was mad about, then I agree with him. 100%.

As a fan, I don't care that Batista won the Rumble. I don't care that Batista's going to the main event of Wrestlemania. I don't want to see that, but it's one match on the card. And there will be other things on the card I do want to see. Even some of those old timers' matches, perhaps. So as a dude on a couch, whatever.

But as an average person, as someone who goes to a job and works hard (well, not now, but I used to before I got jaded), as someone who has seen undeserving people advanced time and again over people who have toiled and busted their asses... Fuck Batista. Fuck WWE.

If I was Punk, I wouldn't want to work there either. And I don't blame him for leaving. It's bullshit.

It was thought that Punk was building up to a match with Triple H at Wrestlemania. The fighting with Kane, the New Age Outlaws turning on him, all of it leading up to an eventual confrontation with Hunter himself. Which I'm sure grated on Punk, once again getting put in a match with someone who didn't work and earn a spot on the card. But whatever. It seemed like a good angle and it gets Punk on the card, right?

Sure. Other rumors, which contribute to me being less upset about the outcome of the Rumble, were that The Undertaker wanted to face Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania (which would have been amazing). More recent rumors put Bryan up against Sheamus.

But today, now, and there was certainly a bit of set-up on Monday, it looks like Bryan will be taking Punk's spot against Triple H.

Um... what?

Look, I get that the match makes sense. It's even a better fit than Punk.

BUT

If that wasn't the plan before, and it is the plan now, then that just proves the exact (supposed) mentality Punk (supposedly) has issue with.

Triple H isn't a full-time wrestler. There's no reason for us to expect him to be on the Wrestlemania card. He doesn't wrestle. I don't think there is a big portion of the WWE audience that even wants to see him wrestle on the card. Would I mind if he did? Eh. No. Do I want to see it? Eh. No. Would I rather see someone else? Yes. Absolutely.

So if the original plan was for Triple H to face CM Punk, and CM Punk is now gone... why not just scrap the match and not have Hunter on the card at all? Isn't that the easiest thing to do? One man leaves, his match is removed from the card, and everything else can go on according to plan.

Changing the plan is just like knocking over dominos. I agree, it makes more sense for Bryan to face Triple H. The story is there, so there's no work involved setting it up. Fine. That part's easy. But now Sheamus (going with the last rumor I read) doesn't have a match on the card. And Sheamus is kind of a big deal, so he'll need a kind of big deal opponent. Which probably means they have to steal someone (Lesnar, Show, Del Rio) from a different planned match. Which leaves someone else without an opponent. And on and on until we hit someone like Ziggler or Kofi. Someone the WWE doesn't care about investing in. And then that dude is off the card.

All so Triple H can have yet another high profile match at Wrestlemania.

Yep. That's exactly the kind of boss I'd want to work for.

Fuck. I don't think I could walk out of that place fast enough.

Godspeed, Punk.

 

Bitch Tweets

I've noticed of late that I've been doing a lot of bitching on Twitter. That's probably been my MO from the beginning, but I thought at a time I had some balance. Lately it's just me talking about things I don't like. Enough that I've taken notice. And I'm a bit afraid I'm beginning to give off the wrong impression. So I figured I'd take to this space that I have and never use to expound upon some things in more than 140 characters.

First, I'd like to state what I think is obvious but might not be from an outside perspective: I bitch about things because I love them and want them to be the best. A large percentage of the things I tweet about RAW, or perhaps wrestling in general, tend to be either smart ass comments or outright bitching about whatever I just saw. And that might give off an impression that I hate wrestling.

I don't. I love wrestling. I spent three hours tweeting about a show because I love watching it. If I didn't, if I disliked it as much as the tweets might suggest, then I'd just turn it off. I'm not going to torture myself. That's dumb.

I wouldn't bitch if I didn't care.

The same goes for comic books or movies or video games or whatever else it is I'm on about. I want things to be the best, because I love them and want them to succeed. Or perhaps I want them to live up to my expectations, which I then assume will make them succeed because I'm self-centered and obviously I know best. Whatever. For the most part, if I'm on about something, it's because I wanted it to be better so I'd be proud to share it with other people. I want the things I love to become things other people love, and for that to happen, those things have to be amazing.

There are rare occasions where I'll bitch about Breaking Bad because someone(s) said it was amazing and it turns out it's not. Like, at all. In fact, I think it's kinda bad, for the most part. But that's rare. More often than not it's just because something I like isn't as likeable as I want it to be. (Or in the case of Nolan's Batman movies, a little of both of these things).

Which brings us to Daniel Bryan. A few weeks ago, (I could look it up but laziness dictates I will not), Bryan joined the Wyatt Family. Bray Wyatt had been hounding him for a good month or more to join. Harassing him. Beating him down. The Wyatts were trying to break Bryan and force him to join their weird little cult thing. He resisted. He fought back. The people loved it. The people love Daniel Bryan. Then, at the end of RAW that few weeks ago, Bryan finally cracked. The Wyatts beat him into submission. And he gave an almost convincing speech about how he knew the people calling the shots would never give him one. How they wanted to hold him down. How he had no chance, so he might as well join the Wyatts and let them guide him to greatness. And Daniel Bryan walked out of RAW, head hung low, follower of Bray Wyatt.

From a storytelling perspective, it bugged me a little. The hero gave up. And there was no true lead up. Daniel Bryan was resolutely against the Wyatts for weeks. He stood defiant against the odds every time they came at him. He said no and he meant no. There was no indication that he would change his mind. No indication that he was about to crack. Even just an hour before that, he was game to take on the whole damn clan. And when the match started, he fired with everything he had to take these monsters down. Yes, he failed. But this wasn't the first time he failed. And he had to have known going in there was a good chance of that. It was never about winning. It was about standing up and taking the fight to them. His turn was sudden and out of nowhere. It didn't make sense for him to give up then, in that moment. It was a total 180. It felt cheap. It felt like a twist for the sake of doing a twist, and not because it was the natural progression of that story.

So I jumped on Twitter to complain about how stupid it was for him to join. As much as I want to, I can't help but let the internet smark in me start pointing fingers and shouting "Look, HHH does hate him!" It felt like a punishment to have the most popular star in the WWE shunted off into a group where he would become another mindless drone.

But here's what really bothered me about it. I felt responsible. RAW was in Seattle a while back and, I'll be honest, that was one of the coolest experiences of my life. The crowd was hot, as Seattle crowds are known to be loud, but that end segment we fucking rocked it. The last segment had about half the roster and a couple of Hall of Famers (whoever was there that night and once held a world title) all standing in the ring. We're talking legit starts. CM Punk. John Cena. Triple H. Shawn Michaels. Bret Hart. And all the crowd cared about was Daniel Bryan. We chanted. Loud. Loud enough to give Triple H pause, which after watching this man speak for twenty years, I can promise is a rare thing. It's almost unheard of to get him to stop talking completely. But we were so loud we shut him up. We shut down Triple H's big speech. Shawn Michaels tried to calm us down. And Shawn Michaels almost always knows how to control a crowd. We didn't even stutter. Mark Henry tried to shut us up by giving us what we wanted, but that just made us chant louder. Half the dudes in the ring couldn't stop themselves from laughing at how insane the moment was. Daniel Bryan certainly couldn't. And Triple H, whether acting or not, definitely looks pissed that it was happening. Here, check it out. It's fucking awesome.

As a wrestling fan, I know how rare it is for this sort of thing to happen. For a crowd to bring the show to a dead stop. For something that big to be happening in the ring, with that much major talent, and for it to get derailed. I don't know if that's ever happened before. Just watching it from home would have been amazing. You know that's one of those moments. That's one of those rare and beautiful things that can happen in wrestling. That unpredictable moment that makes us remember why we're wrestling fans. And I was there. I was part of that. It's an unbelievable thing as a lifelong fan to have been in the crowd for that. To know that I was there when this thing happened. I still smile when I watch that clip. Though, granted, it's been like a month since then, so not like it was forever ago...

Anyway, Daniel Bryan joins the Wyatts. And as I stated above, I have to assume at that point that he's going to get subjugated to the role of mindless killbot. He does what Bray wants. And that feels like a punishment. Not just for him, but for me. It felt like the WWE was punishing me, or us, for what happened in Seattle. For what happened in a lot of arenas over the past year. The WWE knew we loved Daniel Bryan, so it took Daniel Bryan away.

That's the part of it that made me mad. I couldn't help but feel like the WWE was punishing both of us. Bryan getting swept into a stupid gimmick because we, the fans, had chanted for him when we weren't supposed to. And one could argue we were never supposed to. Not like we have been. He gets thrown into a pointless, mindless gimmick when he's the hottest he's ever been, the hottest anyone had been in the WWE for quite a while, and we get our favorite star neutered. Not even taken off air. But gutted. Reduced to a husk of what he was. So we had to sit there and watch the zombie this man we loved had become.

And that's fucked up. That's a fucked up thing for the WWE to do. So at first, I was upset about it. It seemed dumb and pointless and too personal. It felt like an attack. There was a small part of me that even wanted to give up on wrestling.

But whatever. I bitched about it on Twitter. A few people replied and raised some good points. There was some potential to it. So I reluctantly tucked my apprehension away and resolved to just watch and see what happened. To see where this would go.

And then last night happened. And it went nowhere.

Now before I go on another bitch rant, I want to point out that what happened last night was executed with perfection. Bray Wyatt wanted to punish Bryan for screwing up their match. He almost did. And then Bryan fought back a little. Not a lot. But just enough to get out of it. To give Bray pause. To give the crowd hope. And the crowd immediately jumped on it. And credit to both of these dudes for playing the moment at the perfect pace. A lot of things in wrestling, things like this, can happen too fast or too slow. Someone wants to rush to the finish, or wants to relish too much in the lead-up. But this was perfect. This worked. Bryan spent just enough time simmering to get the crowd really worked up. Let them simmer, too, for a minute. And then he exploded. And they exploded. And Bryan kicked the shit out of Bray Wyatt. Which is awesome. It's what we all wanted. And with the cage, Harper and Rowan can't get in. They tried. And failed. Daniel Bryan kicked some ass and came back as Daniel Bryan.

It was a great singular moment that the two men (four if we count Harper and Rowan, which... meh) performed to perfection. It worked. It was what the crowd wanted. Ultimately, it was what I wanted. All should be well.

And yet I bitch.

Because, again, from a storytelling perspective this makes no sense. It's another complete 180 with no true lead-in. Yes, Bray Wyatt was going to punish Bryan in the physical sort of beat the shit out of a dude kind of way. Yes, it could be argued that Bryan's not going to stand for that, and in that regard his turn is logical. Perhaps. But Bryan got a beating the first night he joined, and still walked out with the Wyatts. He knew what he was getting into. Perhaps he was just fed up with that kind of treatment. Again, sure, but...

Ugh. It's been two weeks since he joined. This was his second RAW as a member of the Wyatt Family. SECOND. Counting Smackdowns, Daniel Bryan has appeared (or could have, at least, I haven't been watching Smackdown) on TV as a Wyatt for a total of four times. FOUR. That's nothing. Granted, two weeks could be enough time to get to know some people. Get to know the group and decide if it's what he wanted. If he spent every day, which I assume he did, with them, that could be enough time. But we didn't see all those days. We don't see what the Wyatts do when they're out in their swamp cabin doing swamp cult things. We just see what's on TV.

And what I saw on TV was Daniel Bryan turning into a bumbling idiot. I should acknowledge that there were moments where it looked like Bryan might not be 100% in with the Wyatts. But that's to be expected. These men were his enemies just two weeks ago. These men kidnapped him. Tried to severely injure him. If I'm willing to believe they broke him, or willing to believe his reason or joining in the first place, I still believe that it's going to take some time to adjust. And those small moments of Bryan not immediately following Bray's orders or pausing for a second before walking with the group, felt like that. Adjustment. That seems, to me, like the natural response of a perhaps reluctant man accepting his new role. It didn't scream rebellion. It just made sense for the roles, both previous and current, these men found themselves in.

Outside of that, there were the matches. Where, for the most part, Bryan seemed to be in with the Wyatts. Even aside from those brief seconds of hesitation outside the ring, he seemed on board. Committed to making it work. In the ring, he was sound. Until the end of a match, when something dumb happened. Like it did last night. Just a few weeks ago, Daniel Bryan was a flawless and unstoppable wrestling machine. He's a master tactician. He KNOWS that ring. He's a former tag team champion. And Team Hell No (still hate that name) held the titles for a looooong time. So he knows a little something about tag team wrestling. But when he gets in the ring with the Wyatts, he becomes a bumbling fool and loses the match for them in some clumsy, dipshit way.

And I know the argument. That was his plan all along. He meant to do that. Possible. But it never looked like that. It never looked like he was doing it on purpose. It looked like he screwed up. Like he bumbled and bounced and fell on things he wasn't supposed to because he's an idiot. Again, it could be argued he was just a good actor and didn't want to get caught. Well, OK. But it's still bullshit. Because it makes the whole thing less believable. It's still just a swerve for the sake of doing a swerve. I had no reason to believe, before last night, that Daniel Bryan was screwing up on purpose. There was never an indication of that from what I saw (again noting I missed the two Smackdowns). So to go back and say that was the case the whole time, if that is something they decide to say or an argument you want to make, is cheap. Because it was never set up. It's a convenient excuse for something no one thought enough in advance to do proper.

And that's the thing about last night. Like I said, the crowd ate it up. So it worked for what it was. But two weeks! That's no time. That's not enough time, from a TV perspective, to show me that Bryan did or did not like being with the Wyatts. I thought he was still acclimating. It's not enough time to build any amount of proper suspense.

Imagine how much better this could have been had it played out in the long term. Daniel Bryan slowly becomes one of the Wyatts. He stops pausing. Stops resisting. Embraces the darkness and just goes full-fledged swamp psycho. Even helps the Wyatts win the tag titles or something. Wins a singles title and gives it to Bray, or cheats to help Bray when one. Whatever. Draw this out for 4-6 months. Maybe longer. Make sure the crowd has given up on Daniel Bryan coming back to them any time soon. And then, when they've accepted he's a Wyatt for good, you show the cracks. The Wyatts do something truly nefarious that gives Bryan pause. Or maybe someone just talks to him. Hell, time it with the debut or finale of Total Divas and just have Brie be all "I love you and now you're crazy. Come back to me." Something to give him a small push. Then take a couple of weeks to show him starting to come to his senses. Go back to the pauses. The brief hesitations. Give the fans some hope again. Get them chanting again. And after a few weeks of that, have him turn. You can do the exact same thing that happened last night, but do it six months from now and the payoff is that much bigger.

Doing it now, gains nothing. We hadn't even stopped cheering for him yet. Now, due credit, those cheers last night were much louder. It was a big moment. But it could have been bigger. Imagine how much more satisfying that is if we'd lost Daniel Bryan and then got him back, rather than just having him be weird for two weeks and then come to his senses. Sometimes people get in weird moods. You roll with it. And then you go out for drinks when they feel better. You know, like any other Saturday. But if it's a friend you haven't seen in a year? If this is a reunion? You go out and FUCKING PARTY. You celebrate that shit. You spend as much time with them as you can. It's a big event.

This could have been a big event.

Even pushing it out to the Rumble, to when there was something legitimate in the balance, would have been better. The payoff would at least make sense, then.

What was gained from turning last night? Nothing was on the line. The match wasn't for the tag titles. It wasn't even for contendership, as far as I know. Daniel Bryan didn't cost the Wyatts anything significant. It could be argued that he cost them him, since they wanted him, but again... it's been two weeks. That's not enough time for them to adjust to having him as a member. To get used to it. They certainly hadn't got to a point where they relied on him or he was integral. The whole point of all this tagging up was to get there. To get him into the fold. But it hadn't happened yet. So no huge loss for them. Now the Wyatts just go back to what they were doing before Bryan joined, which was beating the shit out of Daniel Bryan with 3-to-1 odds. The Wyatts have gained nothing, but they also haven't lost anything, either.

And the same goes for Bryan. He did get a measure of revenge against Bray Wyatt. But if his actions cost the Wyatts nothing, then what did he truly gain? If the ultimate goal was to hurt the Wyatts, then he's failed in the long term. Sure, last night he got in a few good kicks, but so what? It's wrestling. Bray's been kicked before. He'll be kicked again. Maybe their pride or ego is busted a little... but it's only been two weeks. That's not a long term investment, so the emotional impact is minimal. And Bryan didn't get anything significant out of it. He doesn't have a title shot or a contendership to show for it. He didn't put any of the Wyatts on the shelf or bring down their cult. He's right back in the position he was two weeks ago before the gauntlet match. Nothing has really changed for him, either.

Now there is the position that can be taken that Daniel Bryan was undercover the whole time and this was his plan all along. I hope not, because it was a dumb fucking plan then. You don't go undercover to catch the small time crooks. And last night's win was small time. You go undercover to get the big boss. To bring the organization down from the inside. And if Bryan was aware of his actions the whole time, and wanted to get his revenge on the Wyatts by infiltrating them... why not go all the way? Why not go for the big boss? Get Bray Wyatt when he's most vulnerable. When it'll cost him the most. When you can bring the whole organization down around him. If the plan was just to turn on them two weeks later, that's a dumb plan. And if there was never a plan at all, then last night was just poor timing.

Basically we're back to square one. We're no better than we were two weeks ago. We're a little worse for having wasted our time. If nothing changed for either the Wyatts or Bryan, then what was the point of all this? There isn't one. It's just been a waste of time and speculation. And that's what bothers me. It's just shitty storytelling. Or, more accurately, a lack of storytelling as nothing significant has happened at all.

I didn't like this angle to begin with. But I was willing to let the WWE convince me they knew what they were doing. That they had the right of it. I was willing to go along for the ride, even though I hate roller coasters. I was going to do this because we're friends. So I waited in line. I waited for this ride, and I sorta saw something cool over someone's shoulder. But then the ride was closed. Now I have to find something else to do.