John Cena and Daniel Bryan: Taking The Power Back

WWE Crown Jewel will take place today, live from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Did anybody really think that it wouldn’t? Sure, WWE has taken tons of criticism from the likes of John Oliver, Dan Le Batard and myself, but everybody knew how this was going to go. If anything, the negative backlash made it more likely to happen. There are few things that WWE enjoys doing more than pissing people off.

It’s going to take a lot more than one tortured & murdered journalist in a Saudi consulate for WWE to turn down that paycheck. Besides, dude wrote for the Washington Post. It’s not like he was a Fox News reporter or somebody honorable like that. Once Sean Hannity meets the business end of a bonesaw, maybe WWE will re-think this whole Saudi Arabia thing. Until then, it’s full speed ahead!

Some unexpected faces will be there. Hulk Hogan’s being advertised, which makes perfect sense as he & Saudi Arabia go together like peanut butter & jelly, brother. Renee Young is going to be on commentary, which some are already falling over themselves to declare a beacon of hope & change, and proof that WWE is doing the right thing & influencing policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Hey, I’ll give them credit for at least getting one woman on the trip this time. I’ll bet Renee rocks a wicked headscarf on Friday. Get it, girl!

However, not everybody is feeling the Saudi love. Two of WWE’s biggest names won’t be appearing on the show or making the trip, despite originally being advertised. John Cena’s name was removed from the World Cup tournament on Monday while Daniel Bryan challenged for the WWE Championship on Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live. Samoa Joe will be taking Bryan’s original spot in Crown Jewel’s WWE Championship match.

Reports that Cena & Bryan refused to work Crown Jewel hit the Internet like a ton of bricks last week. Fans of this era are unaccustomed to wrestlers standing up to promoters except in televised angles. Back in the day, men like Bruiser Brody knew their worth and were unafraid to tell promoters when they didn’t want to do something. There were plenty of territories to work back then, so if you didn’t like how things were going you could either stand up for yourself or go work somewhere else.

Today, there’s one major company. We can talk up some of the other companies, and maybe a competitor will emerge sooner or later. Right now, WWE is the top dog. Vince McMahon owns the wrestling world. He has for nearly twenty years now. He holds all the cards & is an intimidating presence. Negotiating with him is much more difficult than it was with the local bosses back in the day.

Most people that become WWE Superstars grew up watching the company. Vince was a constant presence on their television throughout their childhood & into their adult years. Going to WWE & working for Vince McMahon was their dream. They don’t want to put that in jeopardy.

John Cena doesn’t need to worry about such things. He barely needs wrestling at this point. Acting has provided him a new outlet to channel his love for performing, and people are happy to give him work. Of course, he still loves pro wrestling & will perform for WWE whenever possible. If he has a day off from working on a film, he’ll probably fly out to wherever WWE’s running a show & do something.

Those days off don’t come often. Cena has had two matches since WrestleMania. One was in Australia, and the other was at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Not only did Cena make it a point to be at that event, he made quite the speech after his match.

https://youtu.be/H_vi3KU-uLo

Back in April, John Cena had nothing but positive things to say about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Now, he doesn’t want to go. We don’t know why. Cena hasn’t released any kind of statement regarding the situation and doesn’t really owe any of us an explanation.

Some would say its hypocritical of Cena to pull out of the show after previously being supportive of WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia, including the speech on the Greatest Royal Rumble event. John Cena has the freedom to make his own decisions. He loves WWE, but he doesn’t need it. If fraternizing with MBS & his regime is bad for his brand, he doesn’t have to do it.

Daniel Bryan hasn’t released a statement either. He also appeared at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, lasting longer than an hour in the Rumble match. Aside from Sami Zayn, who has zero fear when it comes to speaking his mind and wouldn’t be allowed in Saudi Arabia anyway for multiple reasons, Bryan might be the most politically outspoken WWE Superstar that isn’t a registered Republican or a general supporter of the current regime that Linda McMahon works for.

It’s ironic how most WWE Superstars are afraid to speak their minds to their bosses. From most accounts, Vince respects people that do. The Kliq gained all that power in the 90s because they were willing to tell Vince what was up. Whether McMahon agrees with Bryan’s views or not, I think that Vince respects the guy now a little bit more than he did before.

We have to keep in mind that not every WWE Superstar has the same opinion on everything. There are plenty of wrestlers working for the company that have no problem taking Saudi Arabia’s money. Shawn Michaels came out of retirement just to take Saudi Arabia’s money. Kane is unconcerned with any fallout affecting his political career, and frankly, the people that would vote for him aren’t bothered by anything the Saudi Arabian government does. Expecting these men to take a stand counter to their own personal values is a bit silly.

That being said, Cena & Bryan’s choice to take a stand here could change things going forward. They’ve shown that wrestlers still have power over promoters…if they choose to use it.