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 today. The WWE machine has yet to get truly get behind the next generation of stars. There is a major disconnect between the men whose names were on the marquee on 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, among other things. He said the following about Steve Austin being on the cover of the game:
One of the things I think it shows is that we have not really created enough new stars, to where we put new 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 keep 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 put 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, Bryan received thunderous reactions across the country. He was the everyman that 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, 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, 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 the recently returned supposed babyface Batista.
The WrestleMania 30 main event was set to be Batista and Randy Orton. In Grantland, David Shoemaker (The Masked Man) wrote of the decision to not only book that, but at first not budge from that 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 didn't originally have big plans for him at the biggest event of the year.
They were set to have him take on Sheamus in a midcard bout. He wrote of where that would land him on the card, "We would be lucky if 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 twiddle 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 Planes
There 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 if the roster features two different leagues. Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Triple H, the sure-fire Hall of Famers are the true big leaguers. The full-time roster is comprised of Triple-A guys who don't take swings against those top dogs' pitches frequently enough.
When The Rock returned after leaving the ring for Hollywood, 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.
Sure, he faced CM Punk during his return stint, but he beat him both times. Facing the elite gives one a push certainly, but not like beating them does.
Sting's first-ever 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. Sure. Remember, though, 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. If The Rock returns at WrestleMania 32, chances are it's Triple H who stands across from him, 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 Platform
WWE can't just make a star out of thin air, but a huge part of a wrestler raising to elite status is the company putting an effort to get 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 have Stone Cold feud with the head of the company in a feud filled with intrigue, twists and turns and plenty of spotlight.
Hogan and Austin of course made those investments work, but we haven't seen that kind of effort put behind newer stars enough.
That's what one imagines Bryan is talking about when he said that stars on the rise "need to be given the platform."
Cesaro didn't get that platform. After winning the first-ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal last year, 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, 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 ask the same question about Kevin Owens, Wyatt and Rusev.
All three had high-profile feuds with Cena, 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 have him ever lose out to these guys.
Beating Ric Flair put Sting on a new tier. It changed his position in the company, making him a true top guy, not just one with promise. As Sting told Rumble Magazine, "He helped put 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 new guy, 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, height-challenged security team. He tapped out to Cena. During his and Sting's feud, everyone involved wondered aloud whether Rollins was as good as Triple H.
That's a failure on WWE's part. Being world champ should have 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, not one still on the payroll.
Rather than look to punish him, however, the company would be better off, looking inward.
Bryan is exactly right about the company not creating new stars. It's the sickness WWE for which needs to find a cure.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2565618-daniel-bryan-pinpoints-biggest-issue-plaguing-wwe-today
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