The problem in recent years is that most of the time, the heat goes on the promotion instead of the top heel because it's too transparent that the top heel is just playing a role. This time is working better than usual because the top heel is also "the promotion", so people have a place to channel their anger in a way that's productive. And even besides that, people have decided to project the world's problems on to Batista, which is great for him because it makes it so much easier for him to be a heel.
I don't know -- all I can think when people are doubtful of WWE giving Bryan a chance is that WWE has them right where they want them. The more people convince themselves that Daniel Bryan's win will be less than they think it should be, the more it will mean when WWE gives a real satisfying payoff.
And for all the worry about Bryan not hanging on to the top spot, I'm not sure he should. I think this storyline needs to be paid off convincingly and they need to let him run with the ball to see how successful he can be. But nothing suggests John Cena shouldn't be the guy anymore when looking at every possible indicator. For all the booing that happens on TV, he's a guy that typically receives a hero's welcome on house shows. This past weekend at MSG, Cena actually received a bigger babyface reaction than Bryan. For whatever reason, Cena is the guy who gets booed when the cameras are on but cheered loudly when they are off. That seems to be the house show norm. No way should Bryan play second fiddle to Batista or Orton, who are both fading by the week, but I don't really think there's anything wrong with him doing so to Cena.
Wrestling fans can be demanding, flighty and impatient. We also tend to sometimes want things that directly contradict what other fans want. We also sometimes tend to give reactions that don't mean what they initially appear to mean. We're a tough bunch to figure out when it comes to big picture stuff. The positive right now is that people are emotionally invested in this storyline and they are building to the proper payoff on the right show at the right time. Why isn't that enough for now?
The reason people are doubtful is because of WWE's spotty track record of coming through in the end. Yet the reason this is working is that people are doubtful because of WWE's spotty track record of coming through in the end. It just seems like they are using their past creative failures as a positive to generate investment in their build to Wrestlemania this year, which is fascinating to me. Pretty cool that booing the top heel since Summerslam and cheering the guy who has more or less been at or near the top babyface spot since Summerslam is seen as an act of fan rebellion against WWE. WWE briefly lost control around the time of the Rumble, but quickly steered back in a good direction after that. They haven't been surprised since. Every fan reaction since the Rumble has been one they've booked with the purpose of getting.
Talk about it here.