You know, I have put up with a lot from WWE over the years. I've been a fan since I was a kid and stuck with it even as an adult. My fan status has been tested greatly at times, for instance the Katie Vick saga in 2002, Triple H = God in 2003/2004, and many horrendous stretches of blatantly bad television here and there. I almost walked away in 2002, but the Smackdown Six kept me on board. I nearly quit again in 2005, but the curiosity of newly cemented company leaders John Cena and Batista strung me along. Then they brought in guys like CM Punk, Evan Bourne, and others who I had an invented interest in seeing. There has always been a hook, even when the product is horrible.
The past year has been another rough stretch. I had to see Jeff Hardy burn out again. I had to sit through CM Punk getting elevated to what appeared to be a permanent main event status, only to get the rug pulled out from under him (though I acknowledge that his SES angle has done wonders for him). I have to sit through week after week of "celebrity" guest hosts. I had to bear witness to the abomination that was Chavo Guerrero vs. Hornswoggle (I kind of consider that one to be the anti-Austin/McMahon feud). Even with WWE going PG, that hasn't been a big issue to me, because it seemed like all it really did was prevent embarassing trash storylines from making it on TV and the lack of blood was a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
But now, I think I have just about had it.
On Monday, Raw was complete and utter shit. It was truly embarassing. Need I say anything more than "dancing Vladimir Kozlov?" But at the very end, something interesting and unexpected happened. The NXT rookies stormed the ring, beat up everyone at ringside, tore the announce tables and ring apart, and gave John Cena the worst beating he's suffered in years. It was the first truly interesting and exciting angle that had come along in years. Think about it, in recent memory WWE's idea of a big angle is "Who killed Mr. McMahon" or "Who is Mr. McMahon's bastard son?" NXT rookies invading is a great wrestling concept that would lead to, what are those things called, oh yeah: MATCHES! And in the midst of all the excitement, Daniel Bryan choked Justin Roberts with his own tie, spat in Cena's face, and informed Cena that he was "not better than me." It was fantastic and I was eagerly anticipating what the follow-up would be on the next Raw.
But nope. Not anymore. To my disbelief, I clicked onto 411Mania only to read that WWE had released Daniel Bryan. This made no sense at all to me, because there had to be a good reason, right? We are talking about a man who in recent weeks pinned The Miz cleanly and went toe-to-toe with Batista. If I didn't know better, I would say that Daniel Bryan was a man that WWE had big plans for. So why was he released? The first idea was that the Linda McMahon for Senate campaign was horrified by the Justin Roberts choking because of a fear that Linda's opponents could make Chris Benoit comparisons. That seems like a stretch to me, but whatever. But then, the seemingly real reason came up. Mattel, the toy company, which makes WWE action figures, did not like the incident. And apparently it was not enough to just ask WWE never to do another choking segment again, apparently they need Daniel Bryan fired.
So now the NXT invasion could be in jeopardy. Perhaps it will continue as planned, just minus Daniel Bryan. Or maybe the whole thing will be scrapped due to the violent nature of it, which is just too much for Mattel. I don't see how or why Mattel should be calling the shots. They make action figures and games based on Avatar, but I don't recall James Cameron asking them for permission for what he could or couldn't do in that film. Did Mattel even see Avatar, there is quite a bit of violence in that film, including the DEATH of several characters. Basically, if WWE now operates in a business model that includes taking orders from their toy companies and bending over to appease them, then I am no longer interested in the WWE product. I have sat through too much shit over the years to have to tolerate my favorite wrestler getting fired because he upset the Hot Wheels guys.
On the plus side, the rumors seem to suggest that WWE will rehire Bryan in a few months, after this has cooled down, but that is still unacceptable to me. Daniel Bryan is needed on television NOW. The NXT angle needs him NOW. He has worked too hard for too long and taken too many bumps over the years to even have to wait six months. He earned his job with WWE and paid more than his share of dues along the way. I really hope the internet outrage over this incident spills over onto Raw. "We want Hardy" chants got Matt Hardy back into the WWE once, perhaps "We want Bryan" could do the same. To get rid of him this way is an insult to everything he went through to get there in the first place. It's an insult to every fan who supported Bryan over the years. And it's an insult to us fans who put up with all the stupid shit in WWE programming in the hopes that someone like Bryan will make it to the top.
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