In the WWE, not everybody makes it to the point where they can call themselves a “Legend”. Whether they never got their big push, they were prone to injury or they just weren’t good enough, thousands of young men and women never make it big in the company. But whenever somebody does find themselves on the verge of immortality, there is usually always one moment in their career that solidifies them as a Legend.
Hogan had slamming Andre at WrestleMania III. Austin had becoming King of the Ring and coining the term ‘Austin 3:16’ in 1996. When CM Punk goes into the Hall of Fame, the moment that makes him a Legend will have been his worked shoot from Las Vegas in 2011.
This week on Monday Night Raw, we may have laid witness to yet another one of these star-creating moments. In case you missed it, Daniel Bryan turned on Bray Wyatt and attacked him inside a Steel Cage, following it up by leading every single person in the building to chant “Yes! Yes! Yes!” in the most unforgettable segment on Raw in recent years.
Don’t get me wrong, Daniel Bryan has clearly been the most over guy on the WWE roster over the last half-year, and the “Yes!” chants go all the way back to WrestleMania 28. But never before have we seen them to the level of this week’s Raw. It’s very difficult to pin-point a single person not raising their arms for the chants in the audience. And the sound that the crowd made was unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve heard a crowd reaction like that in a very long time.
I know that the moment was great the way it was, but personally, I think they would have benefitted more from having Daniel Bryan turn on Wyatt at a later date, preferably at the Royal Rumble. If the build-up of just two weeks with the Wyatt Family was huge, imagine how the crowd would’ve reacted on a bigger stage.
I suppose it’s a bit like CM Punk’s return a week after winning the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank in 2011, and supposedly leaving the company for good. The story would have been so much better had Punk waited a couple of months to return, but the WWE needed him for the SummerSlam main event, so they brought him back early. It’s anyone’s guess as to how much better the reaction would have been (not to say that it wasn’t great enough) if Punk had been given a few months off after his fantastic performances over the course of July 2011.
Similarly to that, if they had let the story brew for a while with Daniel Bryan as a member of the Wyatt Family, perhaps showing a sense of hesitation to all of the villainous acts he was being encouraged to perform, maybe the results would have been even bigger when he finally snapped.
Something I’d suggested on Facebook a couple of weeks ago was that Bryan, Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and CM Punk could be the final five participants in the Royal Rumble Match next Sunday. Punk could eliminate Harper and Rowan only to be thrown over the top rope himself by Bray Wyatt. Then as Bryan slowly steps over the top rope onto the apron, he changes his mind, gets back in and engages in a brawl with Wyatt. And as Bryan finally finds a way to throw Bray over the top rope, he guarantees himself a spot in the main event at WrestleMania XXX. Obviously it can’t happen that way now because Bryan already turned on the Wyatt Family, but it would’ve been really interesting.
On the bright side, I thought it was really unpredictable when I watched the ending to Raw. I thought that changing the tag-team match from the opening bout to the main event was a strange move, because I expected it to close the show anyway. It just seemed like a way to uphold the viewer count in the 3rd hour, so I didn’t think much of it.
I didn’t even catch the hint when Kane made it a Steel Cage Match where the door would be locked shut. Thinking about it now, I really should’ve known something was up, but I was just looking forward to the match. But as soon as the Usos escaped and Bray stood eye-to-eye with Bryan inside the structure, I knew something huge was about to happen.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t really care that they turned Bryan so early. Sure, I think there is a chance that it would’ve been better to wait it out two more weeks, but the moment we got was phenomenal. The crowd was so invested in it that it may be one of the biggest moments of the modern WWE era.
Whether or not the storyline was rushed, it was definitely not a waste. Like I said, I feel like this will be the moment that makes Daniel Bryan a permanent big name in the company, contributing to him becoming a WWE Legend. Besides, if they had waited until the Royal Rumble to turn Bryan, then Harper and Rowan could’ve easily interfered and the crowd may not have been as invested because it may have been a bit more predictable. Elimination Chamber would’ve been the perfect spot for it all to go down, but again, shoulda coulda woulda.
At this stage, I’m sort of praying for Daniel Bryan to win the Royal Rumble. If it’s not him, it’ll be Batista, as far as I’m concerned. I think CM Punk is a definite contender, but he could be screwed out of a win by Triple H. If Bryan wins, he can go on to earn the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, in one of the most deserving, heart-felt ‘Mania moments of all time.
And hey, let’s talk about how the ideal WrestleMania would go down, shall we? If Daniel Bryan faces Randy Orton for the Championship, then what’s left for Batista? Two words… BUUURRRRRROCK LESSSSNARRR.
How insane would that be? Lesnar’s occupying his current time facing big, strong giants (i.e. Mark Henry, Big Show), so who better to face at WrestleMania than the Animal? And to solve the problem of Lesnar challenging the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Elimination Chamber, well that’s where the feud can start! Batista and Lesnar could both participate in the Chamber Match for the straps, and eliminate each other to set up the match.
And if Brock Lesnar is facing Batista at WrestleMania, who faces The Undertaker, you ask? The Icon, Sting. Yeah, I said it. It’s ‘Mania season, I’d be ruining tradition by not suggesting it. I’m not going to go into detail on that one, but it’s a definite possibility, so don’t rule it out.
Daniel Bryan needs to be in the Title Match at WrestleMania. End of story. And after a fantastic moment for his career this week, it would be insulting for him to be in any other match. I don’t know how this potential concussion is going to affect Bryan’s near future, but it shouldn’t alter his destiny at WrestleMania, so I don’t want to say much about it.
If the concussion is bad, then they should make sure not to let Bryan compete at any stage between now and the Royal Rumble, and if he’s cleared to compete by then, which in fairness is only a week away, then they should let him. If not, I don’t know. The timing is certainly atrocious, that’s for damn sure. Let’s just hope it goes our (and Daniel’s) way.
Daniel Bryan is well on his way to becoming immortal within the ranks of the WWE thanks to what is now being referred to as ‘The Yes Movement’, and the only person to thank for that is Bryan himself. He is the embodiment of in-ring skill, submission wrestling, charisma and passion for the business, and there is nobody more worthy of representing the WWE as the face of the company than him. He and CM Punk have burnt down bridges and kicked in doors to get to the level they’re at, and prove that you don’t have to be over 6’5” and have muscles upon muscles to make it big in the WWE.
This week on Monday Night Raw, something happened that I believe will mark the first day in the rest of Daniel Bryan’s epic career, and I truly can’t wait to see what the future holds for the American Dragon!
That’s about all for this week, folks. Someone pointed out that my articles were really long last week, so I suppose this one is shorter for all of you to read. See? I listen. That’s not to say they’ll all be this short from now on, but as I’ve said before, I never go into an article with a set word count that I want myself to hit.
It always depends on the topic. If I don’t want to go over, say 2000 words, but I have a lot to say, then things get really messy, so it’s best to just write what you want and leave it the way it is. At least that’s my opinion anyway, and I’m sure a few of you think the same. So since that’s been addressed, if anyone else has any feedback on my work, I’d be more than happy to hear it.
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Thanks for reading, folks!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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