411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Should Daniel Bryan Retire?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are Greg DeMarco and Dino Zee!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

1. Following Monday’s Raw where Daniel Bryan had to relinquish the IC Title, it may be for the best for him to retire.

Dino Zee: FACT – Quite possibly the most gutwrenching answer I’ve ever given in a Fact or Fiction, strictly from a fan’s point of view. I honestly can’t believe what’s happened with Daniel Bryan. The end of 2011 saw him win the World Title, and his heel shtick started bringing in fans. 2012 saw the WrestleMania XXVIII revolt, along with the great feud with CM Punk for the WWE Title. 2013 saw his rise as “not the weak link!”, capped off by beating John Cena for the title at SummerSlam. Since then, outside of WrestleMania XXX, it’s been a pretty rough ride. His push was given to Big Show, he was briefly placed in the Wyatt Family, he won the title, he feuded backstage with Kane, he got injured, he came back, he won the IC title at Mania 31, and he got injured again. In all honesty, I was expecting Bryan to announce his retirement back in December. I really thought that was going to be it. When he said he’d be in the Rumble, I was absolutely surprised. Stoked, a bit worried, but ultimately surprised that he would be returning. He had some good outings, but that ladder match at Mania had “bad idea” written all over it. And whether or not he suffered an injury that can be pinpointed as having occurred in the ladder match, there’s no way that match did his condition any favors. As a fan of guys like Edge and Santino, I hate to see yet another favorite have to hang ’em up due to neck injury, but I also don’t want to see Bryan get hurt any worse. His detractors take joy in pointing out how he never belonged in the main event (and these injuries prove it!), but I’ll always look back on his rise to the top with a huge smile on my face, and take a special joy out of getting to see him live at WrestleMania this year. I’m no doctor, and I’m not telling him what to do, but I do think that, yes, it’s probably time to call it a career.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – This is a controversial question for me, because it’s all speculation. I don’t know the exact extent of Daniel Bryan’s injuries, or what risks he could face in stepping back into the squared circle.

Thus, my “fact” is a cautious fact. As a wrestling fan, I want to see Daniel Bryan compete in the ring again and again and again and again. I loved his work live in Ring of Honor and still do today. Even with a less high impact style, he still puts on great matches and gets fans young and old behind him.

But he’s also a man with a new wife who is probably looking to start a family. He’s made enough money, and he’s married to a freaking Bella Twin! Plus, he’ll never be able to top his WrestleMania XXX moment. There is no reason to risk lifelong injury—call it a career and enjoy yourself. Maybe host a podcast. That seems to work for everyone else!

2. With WWE including names like Jericho, Hogan, Bryan, Lita and others; you are now excited for the new season of WWE Tough Enough.

Dino Zee: FICTION – Point of fact: I never get excited for Tough Enough. I also never get excited for The Ultimate Fighter. Make it on the real roster, and I’ll care, but until then, please don’t expect me to watch some reality show featuring a bunch of people that aren’t worth the investment of time. Just a personal thing, but that’s how I am. I might watch a final episode just to see who the winner is, but I usually just depend on the word of mouth from friends that are watching to tell me who to keep an eye on. Even with those great names being announced, I’m still not caring about Tough Enough.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Semantics…pure semantics.

I am excited for Tough Enough, but it has nothing to do with the host, trainers or the expert panel. It has everything to do with the cast. Despite not knowing the cast, it’s always a blast to see an indie name or two try their craft in the WWE, and Tough Enough gives you a chance to get to know those wrestlers as people, much like the recent ESPN E60 special.

So yes, I am excited—but no, it has nothing to do with the “WWE names” involved.

3. While it would be great to have a full Owen Hart documentary and DVD, WWE should respect Martha Hart’s wishes and not move forward with the project.

Dino Zee: FICTION – I just touched on this last week, so this feels like a bit of a retread, but what the heck, right? I feel that skewing the question towards it being a matter of “respect” for Martha Hart makes it so anyone saying “Fiction” to this is an asshole, but that’s fine. Look, I know that we have the Network. And I know that some people seem to think that the Network is a replacement for a DVD, but in my opinion, they’re hugely mistaken. I want old footage. I want videos of his peers talking about him. I want stories that we hadn’t heard before. And, yes, I want matches. The Network can provide matches, but that’s about it. A DVD would provide a wonderful story about the man’s career as completely as WWE is capable. Like I said in my article, I understand Martha Hart’s (look, I can say her name!) feelings. I understand her point of view. Understanding and agreeing, however, do not have to go hand in hand. Call me selfish, fine, but I think WWE should ignore her wishes and go forward with the project. Martha Hart owes nothing to the fans, and so I don’t expect her to want this project to move forward. At the same time, what do we, the fans, owe Martha Hart? I’ve never done anything to her, and neither have the rest of us. And us wanting to see an Owen collection is not some slap in the face; it’s just saying what we want, which we’re entitled to do. Make the DVD, please.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Sorry Martha, but unless you have a legal document saying the WWE cannot do this, then they are fully in their right to use footage they own.

I understand you had the love of your life taken from you due to a WWE-produced stunt. I cannot get into the legal side of things because I know nothing about them. Removing that form the equation, I just cannot see why the WWE shouldn’t do this. Owen deserves to have his career memorialized, both in the form of a DVD set and a Hall of Fame induction.

4. At this point, it would be for the best for WWE to reunite Harper and Rowan as a tag team.

Dino Zee: FACT – They basically have already, but yes, absolutely, reunite them. The split didn’t go so well, as only Harper got anything resembling a real push, and even that seemed to be done solely to justify the split in the first place. They never expanded either guy past the characters they had already established in the Wyatt Family (well, besides the revelation that Rowan is an accomplished vintner), and so bringing them back together isn’t so hard to do. Plus, the division could use them, especially if they’re doing nothing of note as singles acts. Yeah, this is a pretty easy one for me.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Semantics (once again).

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were a good tag team together. They deserved a solid WWE Tag Team Championship run. They were prematurely broken up. They still had more story to tell. So putting them back together is a no-brainer, right?

WRONG!

The question asks if it’d be best for the WWE to reunite Harper and Rowan as a tag team. For me, that isn’t enough. The WWE needs to reunite the whole damn Wyatt Family, and it needs to be done yesterday. And take that story one step farther.

What am I talking about? Sister Abigail, that’s what.

SWITCH!

5. Due to the injuries to Hideo Itami and Sami Zayn, your excitement level for the upcoming NXT Takeover special has dropped significantly.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – The injuries suffered by Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami are indeed a hit to the next NXT TakeOver special. Yet my answer is fiction.

Why? Tyler Breeze, that’s why.

I’m not saying that Tyler Breeze is the answer to the injury problems. What I am saying is that Tyler Breeze, unlike Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami, is a talent that I didn’t know of before NXT. And today I think he’s the most main roster ready talent in all of NXT. Same with Sasha Banks on the female side.

The injuries to Itami and Zayn provide an opportunity for someone else to step up. It’s a tough statement, but that’s the nature of the business. And talent stepping up to be discovered by NXT’s legion of fans is what NXT is all about. Who will it be? Solomon Crowe? A new signee? Someone we’ve never heard of?

Whoever you are, I’m ready for you. Bring it.

Dino Zee: FACT – Losing those two, who were to feature in big matches, absolutely hurts the level of excitement. I still don’t watch NXT with anything resembling regularity, so my take on this is probably less weighted than usual, but yeah, this hurts. There’s still plenty that can be done to make the event fun, and maybe they’ll pull out a super duper surprise appearance to “make up” for the losses, but for the time being, losing Itami and Zayn is a bit of a bummer.

6. TNA made the best of a bad situation regarding the Tag Team Titles by booking a best of five series between the Wolves (Richards and Edwards) and Dirty Heels (Roode and Aries).

Greg DeMarco: FACT – I almost went fiction because I didn’t want The Hardys to be TNA Tag Team Champions in the first place. But I can’t wish injury upon anyone not named Abyss, so I’m going fact.

Because the Fact is Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards are four of the most talented wrestlers in the world—wrestlers that I could watch over and over again—and we’re almost guaranteed five great matches from this group.

So count me in.

Dino Zee: FACT – Yes, they did. Another tournament, or (Hulk forbid) battle royal to determine new champions would have only helped the TNA titles fall even further. Yeah, it sucks to have the belts forfeited twice in a row like this, but injuries happen. TNA did the best they could to make a shitty situation a bit more palpable, and did it with two teams that have a ton of love from the fans. On top of that, the matches themselves should deliver just fine, thank you very much, and in the end, we’ll have a team who defeated another very good team three times to stake their claim to the belts. In TNA, wrestling is the main order, and all four men can wrestle. I may not be the biggest Davey Richards fan, but I’m also not that much of an Aries fan, and I can still appreciate the fact that both bring something that fans like. For the record, I love Aries 100000X more than Richards. I just don’t want anyone thinking I’m an Aries hater from my last statement; just not a huge fan of his. Still, I give TNA credit for making a good decision in a bad predicament.

7. Following the reveal of some roster members, describe your level of excitement for Global Force Wrestling.

Greg DeMarco: 3 out of 10 – Call me skeptical, I get it. I am just worried about how this will pan out. And what will it mean for the other indies out there? What kind of contracts do these men hold? Will they just be used to put Jeff Jarrett over?

Okay, that last question is a little silly at this point, but still. I just don’t know what to think. ROH has taken over as the #2 promotion in the United States, and TNAT is one Lucha Underground touring schedule away from being demoted to #4.

This just doesn’t have the same Lucha Underground buzz around it. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong. At this point I am watching closely, but I can’t say I’m excited. Not yet.

Dino Zee: 5 out of 10 – I’m keeping everything reasonably grounded (without turning into a cynic) until I actually know what the hell is happening with GFW. Like, where I can watch it, and at what time. Until then, yeah, it’s nice to see the guys they’ve added, but these are just building blocks, and I want to see a finished tower. I’m not hoping they fail, I’m not secretly rooting against them; I just don’t have much to be excited about outside of “Yay! More guys!” announcements. I just want a little bit more before I get super duper excited is all.

8. WWE adding a Network Exclusive PPV, featuring the Elimination Chamber, on May 31st is a great idea.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – I only said “Fact” because Hell Yes wasn’t an option.

This is what the WWE Network is for! I love the archive content as much as the next guy, but I tend to live in the world of today. I want to see today’s stronger midcard and the amazing talent in NXT. That’s what these WWE Network specials are all about.

So on May 31st, I will sit back, relax, and enjoy my surprise PPV event, the second in the month of May, that only costs me $9.99 to see.

Thank you WWE Network, thank you very much!

Dino Zee: FACT – First off, we need to stop calling these things “pay per views”. They’re not. They’re exclusive presentations from a pay site that you only pay once per month, and then watch whatever you want, as frequently as you want. That said, yes, this is a great idea. Maybe not as great as killing “Payback” and just having Elimination Chamber rejoin the rotation, but still great all the same. I tuned into King of the Ring, and while it wasn’t some blow-away show, it was still a good time, and did a good job at making me feel like I shouldn’t miss something that wasn’t going to be on TV. Same goes for Elimination Chamber. They know that we the fans miss the match, and so they’ll give it back to us- provided we’re on the Network! I’ll be watching, and I can’t wait to see it.