wrestling / Columns

411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Daniel Bryan Wrestle Again For WWE?

December 3, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Daniel Bryan WrestleMania WrestleMania 30 WWE Image Credit: WWE

Welcome back to 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 411’s Len Archibald & Jake Chambers debate!

  • Questions were sent out Tuesday.
  • 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. WWE will end up allowing Daniel Bryan to wrestle again to stop him from leaving when his contract ends.

    Len Archibald: FACT – Daniel Bryan will wrestle again for WWE at the end of the day simply because Vince McMahon wants a monopoly on the entire pro wrestling/sports entertainment industry. Daniel Bryan going to ANY promotion instantly boosts its credibility and that is something he just won’t allow. Brie Bella is part of WWE’s most marketable venture outside of WWE itself in a wrestling capacity and would never take the chance of letting that go if Bryan leaves for greener pastures either. I am almost wondering if Bryan will return as soon as after SummerSlam 2018 because it clearly seems as if he is making a hard run at making some form of in-ring return, Brie is encouraging it, wrestlers outside WWE are name dropping him and it simply is becoming increasingly difficult to keep him on a leash when his contract runs out without the stipulation of him going back to in-ring performing. There is just no chance – literally – in hell that McMahon allows someone as popular, marketable and financially viable to WWE as Daniel Bryan walk without caving in and letting him wrestle.

    Jake Chambers: FICTION – I’m gonna base this on a publicly-traded WWE letting sick and injured Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy go and wrestle somewhere else when they were in their prime, stopping Edge and Sting from wrestling further, and – of course – the shadow Chris Benoit casts forever over pro-wrestling. If Daniel Bryan does wrestle again and – god forbid – the worst happens, then the WWE would be on the hook in many ways, from liabilities to CTE watch-dog groups. But let’s be serious, the WWE only begrudgingly cared about Daniel Bryan as a wrestler to begin with. They put one of the best wrestlers in history through that humiliating NXT season, fired him for fake-choking a guy during a violent invasion angle on an what is basically a variety show, promoted the Fandango dance more than the Yes chant (until they tried to co-opt it to the Big Show), and not once but TWICE were clueless about how the audience would react to screwing him out of Royal Rumble matches. Oh, and don’t forget, they cared so much about the guy’s career at (what would be his final PPV) WrestleMania 31 that they had to “protect” him from a dream match with that “dangerous” professional Brock Lesnar and stuff him in yet another pointless but “safe” multi-man ladder match. So, be sure that the WWE is going to make even more money in 2018, and they’ll be just as happy to do it without the potential liability risk of having Bryan perform whatever dumb idea they’d come up with for him anyways.

    2. The booking of Finn Balor has been completely horrible.

    Len Archibald: FACT – Larry, give me something challenging, man! Yes, it has been horrible. When Balor returned there was much fanfare and then he quickly became just another guy. The whole natural story of him challenging for the Universal Title he never lost just does not exist and has not even been touched on. He has been spinning his wheels with Bray Wyatt, who is quickly becoming known as the touch of death on another’s career. I truly hope the rumors of WWE not viewing him as not just over enough to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, but just not over enough period are not true. If it is, Balor should graciously thank Triple H for the opportunity given and bolt back to Japan ASAP. What is absolutely stunning (and this may seem like it’s a left-field conspiracy) is that McMahon, as a man of Irish descent, LOVES his Irish wrestlers. Sheamus, Finlay, Velvet McIntyre, hell, even Becky Lynch gets some shine at times. What is happening with Balor? It is becoming one of the great mysteries in pro-wrestling history. Because he feels like a sure thing in WWE. Maybe the landscape has changed too much for someone like Balor to resonate with Vince McMahon to give The Demon a real chance.

    Jake Chambers: FICTION – I gotta say FICTION here because this statement generally implies that only one aspect of the WWE “booking” is horrible, when pretty much everything they do is inconsistent, illogical, unfunny, boring, dumb and creatively horrible. However, I will say this: WWE has done everything possible to give Balor plenty of high level opportunity, all for a guy who arguably hasn’t done anything special to earn such regard. If you watched all of Prince Devitt’s New Japan career, as I did, then you’ll remember that he was a great junior heavyweight, whose best match in his whole career is probably the Jr Tag Team match with Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi, with a close second being his big singles “coming out” victory that concluded the Jr. Division “invasion” by NOAH’s Marufuji. I feel like many fans who possibly weren’t watching this stuff back then might be over-valuing Devitt’s move to heavyweight when he formed the Bullet Club. That version of the faction didn’t resemble the all-jokes Young Bucks stylings of today, nor was Devitt a main-event-winning leader like Styles or Omega. Instead, the Bullet Club back then was a small upper-midcard group that brought an annoying aspect back to New Japan: interference. They were ruining matches and generally not critically liked during Devitt’s run, with only his matches against Tanahashi as real standouts. So for him to come to the WWE and get the instant main event star push is pretty remarkable when you consider the general slow and annoying pace that company “books” wrestlers who were successful elsewhere, like Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Neville, Samoa Joe and Nakamura, to name a few. All these guys are of a similar age to Balor, some with clearly better careers before the WWE, and yet they didn’t get the same rocket-propelled opportunities (of course, being a super-good looking white guy probably tips the scales a bit). So Balor has kind of dropped the ball with all the marquee chances he’s gotten so far: I don’t think he’s done much to stand out, I’m unclear what his personality is, what the “demon king” make-up is supposed to represent, and his matches are generally one big blur for me. The booking might not be the only problem.

    3. It’s ridiculous that Brock Lesnar may not defend the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble because “WWE does not have a suitable opponent for him.”

    Len Archibald: FACT – This obviously is an epilogue of the last question: WHY ISN’T FINN BALOR CHALLENGING FOR THE TITLE HE NEVER LOST? Okay, I am over that piece of business. Do you know when the last Royal Rumble was since there was some form of a World Championship match? 1991 – the second Rumble ever. Brock Lesnar is apparently the biggest attraction WWE has, right? Shouldn’t they be showcasing him? I used to be of the belief that Brock Lesnar appearing sporadically was a good thing because it gave him, and by proxy the WWE Title/Universal Title a sense of aura and inapproachability that made it seem like anyone who was able to compete would look like a world-beater. This was under the assumption that Brock would appear for most pay per views, and ESPECIALLY the Big-4. Of course, this may not even be Lesnar’s fault, here. What is happening is the beginning of WWE’s insistence of relying on old stars and sacrificing their new ones for…whatever reason they have. I feel this may keep going until someone either steps up and makes a dramatic change in how WWE presents their newer talent or talent themselves decide to make their own moves, like deciding to stay in NXT and protest moving to the main roster or just walking out altogether. A situation like this, where the WWE Title is not being defended on one of the biggest pay per views of the year, I honestly hope that fans decide to just watch WrestleKingdom instead out of protest. It will never happen, but I am honestly becoming jaded with how WWE is handling their vision of professional wrestling.

    Jake Chambers: FICTION – Again, much like the last statement, I can’t go FACT on this because of the word “ridiculous” – these ridiculous Brock Lesnar world titles reigns are so status quo now that who cares? It’s no less ridiculous that he doesn’t defend the title in any other month. In fact, I’d say it’s almost ridiculous that they made us sit through pointless title defenses against Joe and Strowman, when we’ve known all along that they want Reigns vs. Lesnar for the title at WrestleMania in 2018. They could at least just literally say that from the beginning and craft some kind of story out of it – OR – how about this crazy idea: just give us Lesnar vs. Reigns in May 2017, instead of making us all wait one year for some stupid-ass match. The entire Brock Lesnar no-show title reign (V2) has been a predictable bore, and nothing they do with it registers as interesting enough at this point to even be “ridiculous”.

    SWITCH!

     photo cody and bucks_zpslyuv71cp.jpg

    4. The Young Bucks & Cody Rhodes plan to run a self financed, 10,000 seat event in 2018; the show will be a success.

    Jake Chambers: FACT – But how are we measuring “success” here exactly? Does it mean filling an arena with 10,000 fans who paid a reasonable price to get in and will all generally be satisfied at the end of the night? Or does that mean selling like 200 VIP tickets, a bunch of over-priced floor seats with terrible views, and then basically giving away the rest of the tickets to fill the quota, only for everyone to sit through the same shit-show “comedy” act / nonsensical, no-selling high-spot matches the Young Bucks have been doing across every indy for like five years now? I suppose both options are possible (although I lean way towards one over the other, can you guess?). I gotta say, it does genuinely surprise me that people are into the goofy schtick of the Young Bucks, from their Youtube show to their formulaic matches, but I am a bit older than their average follower and not a fan of broad comedy. To be that successful though, for all these years, without ever being in a major memorable angle or have one clear stand-out match to hang their hats on is pretty impressive. They are no doubt tapping into a frustration with the monotony of mainstream pro-wrestling, which I can appreciate, while also appealing to a thirsty kind of, lets say, “dorky” fan who is looking for a emotional camaraderie in Two Sweet-ing and “Soooper Kick”-ing that they clearly aren’t getting in their “social lives”. Is it possible they can generate enough buzz to milk even more money out of this situation? Absolutely. Oh, and Cody will gladly ride their tassels all the way to the bank!

    Len Archibald: FICTION – I want this to be fact. I really do. I suppose it depends on the time of year, location and what venue they are planning to hold this event. If they decide to run the event on WrestleMania weekend, sure they have a shot. But the reality is this: WWE pretty much runs everything. I’ve promoted events for over 1,000 people and believe me, the marketing itself is a killer. How will they get this out? Who will be the street team? Who will they be talking to promote the event? What participation will they get from the local government to assist? What kind of sponsorship or underwriting (yes, they plan to self-finance, but nearly any event created needs a corporate boost to ensure big money is involved to drive locals to participate and buy tickets.) What incentives or packages will exist for those who come from out of town or internationally? There are so many items to consider. Two of my friends are promoters but they don’t sleep and they’re not even in-ring talent. I just wonder how Cody and The Bucks of Youth will fare. Again, I WANT a venture like this to succeed. More pro wrestling is always good for business, but I am going with the odds, unfortunately. I want to be proven wrong.

    5. We will see a version of Broken Matt Hardy in WWE sooner rather than later.

    Jake Chambers: FACT – I assume this is pretty much a done deal now based on TNA letting go of the fight for those “precious” rights. Ugh. What’s next, are we gonna bring back the Bushwackers? Crowds went ape-shit for that act too, don’t forget. Just like how I sat in sold-out house shows during the early 90s as the WHOLE PLACE did the Bushwacker dance, so too do I see a near future where everyone at a (3/4 sold out) RAW taping is gonna be doing that “hilarious” Delete gesture. And not a ratings point will nudge, or a good match will be had from all that nonsense! You know, I never would have thought the WWE would go for the D-level stupidity of the “Broken-verse”, but shit, this is 2017 we’re talking about, and some people consider The Fashion Files to be “genius”, so… (hard eye roll). I mean, I hope the same people who rip on the WWE being “sports entertainment” aren’t the ones getting hyped for Broken Matt Hardy to bring his garbage brand of skit-making to their favourite “wrestling” show anytime soon.

    Len Archibald: FACT – As soon as Raw ended, it was obvious that Broken Matt Hardy was making in-roads to appear in WWE. Now with Anthem withdrawing their hold on intellectual property for wrestlers, this is a sure thing. What capacity, how crazy WWE will allow Hardy to be and how any moments will be produced is what will factor in if this will be a success or not. Would WWE allow Vanguard 1, Senior Benjamin…or even…Reby Hardy to appear? (Honestly, I would LOVE her to be in WWE just because she would be a firebomb that would give the Women’s Division the boost and unpredictability it needs as well as being a great antagonistic manager for Matt) I went on a tangent, but this is my shortest answer: Broken Matt Hardy is happening.

    6. What is your current level of interest in the Impact Wrestling product?

    Jake Chambers: 1 out of 10 – Oh, I so hate using the word “product” when talking about pro-wrestling. That one word just boils down everything gross about the capitalist state of what should only be an art form simply supported by sponsors. “Pro-wrestling” is now just another way for the establishment to further take advantage of disenfranchised workers by plugging them into a generic formula for generating escalating wealth at the expense of what can only be assumed is a under-educated, low income, ageing fanbase. Impact Wrestling is no doubt a “product” in this vein, as there is little to be found in the content that is innovative, creative, or an outlet for artistic performers to demonstrate their skill. Impact is clearly a company propped up by some rich investors throwing a WWE tarp over a broken down international television rights deal, hoping to get a minimal return from putting in the least amount of effort possible to produce digital images that might motivate some poor people to buy hats for their bald heads or action figures for the cubicle at their zombified office. “IMPACT fan” is not a culture or a specific demographic in 2017, and I’ve seen no effort on the promotion’s part to cultivate good faith with any particular kind of wrestling fan, from the mainstream to the niche. And this is a shame, as Impact does have a pretty fantastic roster on paper, and I would love to see many of these guys involved in great stories and having awesome matches. And since I am a pro-wrestling addict, I’ll quickly look past all the ethical and critical problems I’ve had with this company for years and jump up to an Interest Level 10 as soon as I hear they’re like giving Trevor Lee 45 minutes to work his CWF magic, or bringing back Austin Aries, or going full Lucha Underground, or whatever new “product” they try that gets some traction, like how I loved the World Title Classic months, and hated myself for it later. In 2017 there’s never been so much to love and so much to hate about professional wrestling, and hopefully 2018 will be the year Impact does something to jump over to the “love” side… but I doubt it.

    Len Archibald: 5 out of 10 – So before those who are passionate about Impact decide to throw stones and cast me in the fire, please understand for the sake of disclosure that I want Impact to succeed and there are things like Give No Fucks Lashley, ECIII and Rosemary that I enjoy and will always have my attention when they are on. I was a fan of the start of the promotion in 2002 because that is the moment when most fans realized that the combustible elements of the war between WWF and WCW were never returning. After the InVasion failed, a lot of fans just…left. Some have still never returned. Some just needed an alternative outside of WWE. So TNA appearing was a great thing. TNA/Imapct in 2005-06 and 2009 before Hogan/Bischoff was a thing of beauty. In my POV, my enjoyment of Impact Wrestling has just steadily declined. It isn’t the fault of the performers. I can tell that most of them are giving their all. The past few shows I have enjoyed and give me hope that the stench of the old TNA scent is finally wearing off. So, to be honest, my interest level has been rising from like a 2 a few months ago, but very slowly.