The pro wrestling community is rallying behind Daniel Bryan after he was pulled from the Royal Rumble, creating a fan-frenzy in Pittsburgh. Many accuse the WWE are out of touch when in reality the sad truth may be that it is those critics who are out of touch.
Is there a conspiracy against Bryan? Why would a company hold someone back who is obviously their biggest star right? Of course a company would rather give up profits, sellouts, and big buyrates to prove a point right? Sounds pretty silly right? I think so too.
I have said it many times about Bryan and I’ll say it again. The numbers don’t lie. Bryan may have a chant that is over but he is not. Bryan does not move ratings. All you have to do is go back and look at his quarter hours and see the sad truth. John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and even CM Punk are bigger ratings movers than Bryan.
According to those in the know, Bryan is not a big merchandise seller. Granted why would he be? Who is buying Fear the Beard shirts anyway? However, John Cena and CM Punk still sell more swag than Bryan. How could that be if Bryan is the most popular star? I must have missed it but I didn’t see a sea of Fear the Beard shirts in Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
According to Dave Meltzer Bryan is not a ticket seller and this is a key point. Bryan is not drawing the same kind of money to the house shows that John Cena does. If Bryan was truly a draw you would think that everyone would be running out to the arenas to see him. If you want the WWE to push Bryan you are better off buying a ticket to see him headline a house show instead of repeatedly chanting “Yes” at the television tapings.
The sad truth is the guy is just not a draw. The WWE have listened to their fans. The responsibility that the WWE has is to their shareholders and putting a guy on top with a super push who isn’t a draw is downright irresponsible. So they should appease these fans at the television tapings by giving Bryan a monster push at the expense of the bottom line? That is just plain ridiculous.
This whole idea that the WWE is ignoring their fans or out of touch is just foolish. The only ones out of touch here are the fans who think that the WWE should drop everything and push Bryan ahead of Cena, Batista, and even CM Punk. Bryan did nothing during that four month push on top in the numbers to quantify this…nothing!
You may think that chanting “Yes” on television is enough but it is not. Buy some Daniel Bryan t-shirts, go to the house shows, and stop watching pirate streams when Bryan is headlining if you really want to see him pushed. Booing John Cena , Batista, and Randy Orton isn’t going to get it done.
The ugly truth here is that Bryan is just not “the guy” that some people think he is. He isn’t anywhere in the league of Hogan, Austin, Rock, or even Cena and Batista at this point. Could it happen? I don’t think so. I think this is the best it is going to get and that isn’t a bad thing. Until loud “Yes” chants are accepted for currency that isn’t likely to change.
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Eric G.
Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business.
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