Daniel Bryan...Danielson

[Alchemy]

Shawn at WM12 was a babyface coronation to a degree as well.

 

As good as Bryan's push and character have been, I'm not sure he'd even close Mania with a World title win, not with the way they've done recent Manias. On the other hand, this run feels like transitioning him from a comedy act to someone "legit". Perhaps Summerslam is the concluding point, but Mania feels like a stretch.

Austin at 14, too. "Age of Austin!"

 

Lots are babyface coronations.

 

But WM X and XX have a lot of parallels.

[rovert]

The latest Wrestling Observer has him down as a ratings mover and in the main event of Money In The Bank PPV against John Cena. PWInsider have him down for a major Summer push too.

 

Seems like he will get a chance to blot the box office ledger of his Wrestling Observer candidacy.

[Guest TheGreatPuma]

The latest Wrestling Observer has him down as a ratings mover and in the main event of Money In The Bank PPV against John Cena. PWInsider have him down for a major Summer push too.

 

Seems like he will get a chance to blot the box office ledger of his Wrestling Observer candidacy.

If it happens, I hope Danielson stays face. I don't want him turning heel for quite awhile unless something unexpected happens.

[NintendoLogic]

I'm worried that having Bryan headline a B-PPV is setting him up for failure, intentionally or otherwise. He's not a Randy Orton type who will get shot after shot because he fits into preconceived notions of what a star looks like, so if MITB does average or worse numbers, he might get written off as someone fans don't buy as a top guy. That goes double if they do a rematch at Summerslam and it tanks.

[Mini Bennett]

How is SummerSlam a B-PPV, NL? Are you saying they should test Bryans drawing ability by throwing him in the main-event of wrestlemania?

[NintendoLogic]

No, I'm saying that MITB is a B-PPV.

[Sidebottom]

WWE has done a great job in making MITB seem like a big deal, as far as their PPV's go. It's perhaps #3 on my anticipated list after Mania and Rumble.

[Mini Bennett]

No, I'm saying that MITB is a B-PPV.

Seems like a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't situation then. No one gets to just main event mania or summerslam without a track record. MITB also seems like a weird example considering what happened with Punk.

[Matt D]

So apparently, Bryan has a licensing deal with Norelco now. Good for him. Who would have thunk it?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yLkfoexDkk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6-VigLpeuo

[Jmare007]

Is Bryan's momentum comparable to Eddie or Jeff Hardy?

[Guest Staples]

Almost. Bryan has that title reign last year that was booked decently and came across as a guy they might put it on again. I don't think anyone saw Eddie coming because of his size and Jeff because of his wellness strikes.

[Matt D]

How is Bryan as a draw compared to those guys?

[Loss]

We'll probably find out after Summerslam, which is the first show that's ever really been built around him.

[Guest Staples]

Didn't Smackdown ratings go up a bit while Bryan was champion?

[Guest TheGreatPuma]

So Bryan looks like he is establishing and using the small package as a finisher now! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!!!!

[Jmare007]

We'll probably find out after Summerslam, which is the first show that's ever really been built around him.

It ain't looking very good

According to wrestlingobserver.com, the WWE's 2013 Summerslam PPV did 298,000 buys. 186,000 of those buys were domestic (US, Canada and Puerto Rico) while the other 112,000 buys were international.

And NOC probably did a terrible number too. A horrible build up, a non draw like Orton, Mayweather/Canelo and Niners/Seahawks didn't help but still...it seems Bryan is one of those "over but can't draw much" type of guys.

[goodhelmet]

What did last years show do?

[Dylan Waco]

How could that be?! I thought it made sense to have Punk lose/fail to win every match for a year!? I was told that was genius booking!? I thought Brock was an HoF level draw, even in wrestling!? Man Bryan is such a terrible draw he obliterated the strengths of Punk's booking and the Jim Londos level drawing power of Brock in one fail swoop! Why does he even have a job?

[goodhelmet]

Who were you talking to?

[Matt D]

[Jmare007]

What did last years show do?

close to 350,000

 

How could that be?! I thought it made sense to have Punk lose/fail to win every match for a year!? I was told that was genius booking!? I thought Brock was an HoF level draw, even in wrestling!? Man Bryan is such a terrible draw he obliterated the strengths of Punk's booking and the Jim Londos level drawing power of Brock in one fail swoop! Why does he even have a job?

 

I get what are you saying but he isn't doing it that well on the house show front either according to Meltzer (is there any other source to current HS business?), he's not doing bad, but with no Cena attendance has dropped. I mean, we can also blame that to the weird booking the Bryan vs Corporation feud has had, and to being paired with Orton's non drawing ass but we can find an excuse for a lot of people if we really try.

 

I'd really like to know how well Jeff Hardy did in his short stint on top with his programs with HHH and CM Punk.

[Jimmy Redman]

House show business is down because Cena is gone. I can't even fathom blaming that on anyone else's drawing power or lack thereof.

 

People can't expect anyone in current WWE to become a draw overnight. Cena left literally the minute that Bryan was placed on top, and he is expected to hold or even increase business straight away? This run kind of came out of nowhere, yes he was building momentum and getting over but he was still in tag team title feuds right up until July. A month later he's the #1 face in the company and there's no Cena.

 

If you look at WWE's pushing of stars in the last half-decade or so, look at the reluctance the audience has in trusting big pushes now that they've been burned so many times, nobody can be surprised that Bryan hasn't turned into a draw yet. They need, above all else, patience, patience in keeping with Bryan, continuing to build him up and trusting the audience to finally thaw out and trust them back. They seem to have it so far by going all the way with Bryan vs the World, but let's just hope there's no ratings-panic after the Summerslam number, which I think they should realise has little to do with Bryan's long-term worth, and more to do with the devaluing of Brock and having a weird face-face dynamic that almost never draws.

[Dylan Waco]

My memory is that Hardy did very well on the house show circuit. I know he and Punk did a really strong crowd in Charleston. Rey being gone has also probably hurt house shows, because I honestly believe aside from Cena he's the only real house show draw.

[Jmare007]

Interesting, I don't know why I thought Punk/Hardy was a lackluster program business wise. Maybe they drew 1 bad buyrate and that gave me that impression? I can't remember.

 

Rey being gone hasn't meant much in the past 2 (?) years he's been mostly away due to injuries. There's no doubt there was a time when he was key for drawing good house shows numbers but at this point? I'm not so sure about that.

[notoriusvig]

I'm trying to figure out why it even matters if SS did well or not. The WWE desperately needs new faces on top and he's over. As far as I'm concerned, that's good enough. Who was the last new guy to actually move PPV numbers? Punk barely did it in 2011 on one PPV and then went on to bomb at SS. Oh look, he's fine now and the number 3 guy in the company. Ryback moved like one show when he was an upstart face and that's it. No one is going to sustain buyrate increases for a considerable amount of time these days. Like I said before, Bryan shouldn't be crucified for SS numbers being low. Who else have they got that can do better right now, who also isn't established?