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Stone Cold Daniel Bryan

Hey Scott,

Do you think there's a future in a Bryan/McMahon long-term feud? Because these two seem to be recreating the Austin/McMahon feud by accident, in so far as having an owner who absolutely doesn't want a wrestler as champion.

The general rule of wrestling is that if the fans believe it, it sells, and if there is one thing fans seem to, at least want to, believe, it's that McMahon, in real life, HATES Daniel Bryan. Sure, that's probably the furthest thing from the truth but plays to the myth that McMahon always and forever will push bigger guys. It also plays to the legend of Bryan as the man who overcomes obstacles. You could have McMahon come out and run down Bryan as small, trollish and an embarassment and Bryan can come out, kick his head in and say, "Yeah, I'm small. But I will kick your head in!"

Yeah, I'm a Bryan mark, but I still think there's potential in a Bryan/McMahon long-term feud with or without the belt. Thoughts?

I think clearly they're leading to Orton cashing in as Vince's avatar at Summerslam, while Bryan is HHH's guy and we'll say Cena is Stephanie's person so they can recreate the McMahon In Every Corner nonsense at some point.  Vince's wish that Bryan and Cena both leave Summerslam without the belt is pretty big foreshadowing that Orton is getting the belt there, at least.  

Comments

  1. I know a lot of people are tired of Orton (myself included), but I think a stint as Vince's henchman/corporate champion could be the refresh that Randy needs.

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  2. I think the Orton stuff is a red herring. Or he tries to cash in and fails.

    There's zero money in Bryan chasing Orton. The money is in Bryan finally getting the title and struggling to keep it.

    If they do have Orton cash in, its just going to piss people off. And not in the good way. People want to see Bryan get his moment. At some point, you have to give the fans something. You can't just endlessly tease them without a payoff.

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  3. 4th corner: Laurinitis makes a power grab by rehiring Batista

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  4. Slight threadjack:


    So the WrestleMania numbers were officially announced with 1,039,000 buys. This is down from both 28 AND 27. Kind of shocking that 27 did a better number, even though I knew the rematches as main events this year would hurt it. Either that's the reason or the novelty of the Rock being "back" has worn off completely.

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  5. Hey I was only off by 54,000 buys!

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  6. With Richard Blumenthal as Shane-O-Mac's guy and Linda repping Chris Murphy no doubt.

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  7. I'm going to slightly disagree. Orton is very over right now. He's has over as any guy on the roster including db. Theres lots and lots of money in a bryan/cena/orton/Vince angle and they can solidify db as a tippy top guy.

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  8. ticked off enough to have them wack Randy in the junk? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t060RGfXM0

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  9. I could see him as a Paul Heyman Guy, too.

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  10. Yeah...the exact copy thing is no good. You can rewrite angles but they have to be sufficiently changed to fit the times and characters. Lightning doesn't strike twice.

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  11. The problem I have with the Orton angle is it an exact copy of Austin/McMahon with Orton as the heel corporate champ. If they are gonna do Vince Vs Bryan at least tweak it a little.


    I'm thinking something like Bryan beats Cena and then beats Orton at SS. Then Vince basically puts a bounty on Bryan and says that whoever beats him will be his corporate champ and will be treated better than Cena. You could go a million ways from there, with guys like Kane turning on Bryan, or Vince bringing out a parade of "Big" guys to challenge Bryan and leading up to Vince making a deal with Heyman to sic BROCK on him.

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  12. Doesn't necessarily imply the Rock's aura has totally worn off. Also possible the buyrate would have been downright turrrible relative to 27 and 28 if Rock wasn't at 29.

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  13. Orton has been over for a long time with live audiences yet he's been hanging out in the upper mid card for a long time. Presumably this is due to the Wellness strikes he has. So, what's changed if they're going to let him carry the belt?, is my question.

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  14. Dirtsheet rumors are that we're pushing to more MCMAHON FAMILY DHARMA for WMXXX so Scott's hypothesis, sadly, seems right on.

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  15. You're forgetting that the crowd has turned over since Austin-McMahon. New eyeballs will see this as fresh. We're the lifers that remember all of this stuff.

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  16. Charismatic e-Negro Jef VinsonAugust 1, 2013 at 9:05 AM

    If they are going to have a McMahon in every corner they should just get the old six-sided ring from TNA and get it over with. That way they can get Shane, Linda and HHH's daughters in the mix.

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  17. Is there not an expiration date on the wellness stuff? Like you get two strikes but go 10 years clean, seems it shouldn't be held against you.

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  18. IMO, if he's on the roster then use him. He's still in the wwe, healthy, and over so they probably figure shit or get off the pot. Also that three strikes thing is a totally arbitrary wwe made up rule so even if he did fuck its not set in stone they would fire him. Its wrestling so no media will care/ report it, and theres no regulatory body to answer to. So fuck it, orton paid his dues, stayed over...give him a belt I guess

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  19. It would be great if Vince demanded that the match be a one-hour Iron Man match to ensure that both guys are exhausted when Randy comes out.



    Not sure if Cena could do an hour, but I said the same thing about HHH and the Rock. Imagine if they pull it off, have a total classic match that leaves the crowd nuts for Bryan, then Orton cashes in with McMahon in tow after an hour-long match. Heat would be intense.

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  20. Cena can work an hour match dude. He's one of the best workers ever, give him and dbry an hour and its 5 stars

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  21. You have a point. I'd like to think if Rock wasn't there, they'd have been forced into some fresher matchups, like having Punk/Taker for the title and maybe a Cena/Lesnar re-match, which I think most fans would welcome instead of Lesnar/HHH. They'd have probably just ran with Punk/Cena and Lesnar/HHH with Taker wrestling Jericho or Ryback which may have yielded a similar buyrate though as Cena/Punk is kinda stale. Always good, but stale.

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  22. Ehhhhh...I don't think Orton is going to turn, not anytime soon at least. Every logical time they had to do it they held back, and he's more over than Sheamus or anyone else under the Bryan/Punk/Cena triumverate. I think he won MitB as a fallback in case the Bryan "experiment" (in Vince's eyes anyway) fails or starts to lose steam.

    If it's written in stone for Randy to cash in on Bryan (or Cena, who I still think is going to win, sadly...remember, forgone conclusions are NOT their forte'), it won't be at Summerslam. I think they like to save cash-ins now for TV to spike ratings.

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  23. What if you had that, but D-Bry busts out a sneaky small package to steal the win?

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  24. And here is an undeniable truth: when Orton and Bryan were going at it a few weeks, you undeniably had a few crowds hotter for Orton, such as the crowd for the no dq match.

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  25. That was still the right angle at the right time. The new eyeballs of 2013 are not the same as the new eyeballs of 1998.

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  26. Charismatic e-Negro Jef VinsonAugust 1, 2013 at 9:18 AM

    Side note: I wonder if RVD will be in Heyman's group?

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  27. Cena's done an Iron Man match with Orton and had a near hour classic with HBK. I think he'd be fine.

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  28. As Jobber implies above, who the fuck knows? Since it's an arbitrary internal rule.

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  29. I agree with you, and, honestly, I'm surprised they haven't had him in the title picture for so long given the positive reactions he gets in person. Maybe this is just a case of cycling a "fresh" face in for some new matchups and I'm overthinking it with the wellness stuff.

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  30. Exactly. Bryan deserves his own angle if he really does get this megapush. Not a remake that is bound to be as fondly remembered as a Hollywood blockbuster remake of a timeless classic.

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  31. Doubtful. RVD is still running hot as a face. Plus, I think Heyman would not want to go back to rehashing ECW stuff.

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  32. Your_Favourite_AssholeAugust 1, 2013 at 9:39 AM

    linda in fandangos corner. she likes the way he swivels his hips.



    and shes gonna replace summer rae

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  33. I think the better payoff would be for Bryan to win, and then have Orton cash, and lose. But because Vince is in charge Orton gets a shot the next night on Raw and loses. And then he gets the PPV shot. Kinda like the way Dude Love was pushed as Vince's champion.

    I think its time to make the MITB not be a complete guarantee and make it work that the big stars falter with it Cena, Orton etc. But the younger guys have not.

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  34. Family Dharma? A polar bear in every corner!

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  35. Bryan: You taste like strawberries.
    Bella Twin: You taste like a fish biscuit.

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  36. theres no money in bryan getting the title and struggling to keep it.


    Dont delude yourself into believing that. Vince uses Bryan as a backdrop for the DIva show.


    I hope I am wrong.

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  37. Scream09_HartKillerAugust 1, 2013 at 11:56 AM

    And this all leads to Wrestlemania were Cena defeats Orton to avenge Orton beating Bryan.

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  38. And hey, some remakes are actually better than the originals. Ever seen the original Ocean's Eleven? Yeesh.

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  39. I think Damian Sandow inevitably losing his MITB challenge will be their way to make MITB seem more unpredictable.

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  40. Not that I'm aware of. The only way any Strike clears is after you've hit Strike Three and gotten fired. A year later you can be re-hired and reset to Strike Two (so that any subsequent offense gets you fired for another year)

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  41. It seems like a lot of smark fans cling to this idea that WWE doesn't care what they want and constantly craps on "their" guys -- which is why this Vince/Bryan "troll" story line is working -- but I just don't see the evidence supporting that. Every smark darling I can think of in recent memory has had their run (or runs) at the top with the championship, including Daniel Bryan with the World Heavyweight title. I can't think of one smark darling that has truly been held down by WWE; the closest would probably be Steamboat never winning the WWF title. So why is there this sense of dread that Vince isn't going to let Bryan look strong against Cena/Orton and have a legit run with the WWE title?

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  42. Actually it will lead to Triple H-Kevin Nash: Part 12 at WrestleMania.


    Apparently Puppet H will Skype chat Nash telling him to stick the winner of the Cena-Bryan match so Orton can cash in, much to the real H's dismay.

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  43. YankeesHoganTripleHFanAugust 1, 2013 at 1:55 PM

    I miss Puppet H

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  44. I really hope Orton taking the title with a cash in on Bryan is what happens. We need a nuclear heat feud with a scumbag (but still strangely loved) heel, and a fan favorite, as well as a feud between two guys who can loath each other on camera.

    I've never understood Orton's appeal, but I certainly can't deny it; both guys can go in the ring; and they both have rabid fans that can tear into each other, that's an attitude era level feud waiting to happen.

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  45. Don't give WWE ideas.

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  46. Someone reported, foget if it was Meltzer or Keller, that Vince is positioning his character this way so smart/Bryan fans will buy the PPV to show their support for Bryan being in a top main event. If Summerslam does a huge butyrate ill never question Vince again.

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  47. I can appreciate the story-telling, but I fear the HHH/Vince involvement turning this into another HHH/Nash thing during Summer of Punk. I'm great with Orton as the cocky corporate heel alligned with Vince. Bryan & Cena both getting burned sets things up nicely. If the end game is Bryan getting his revenge and becoming a mega-star, then let's have it.

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