Remember Zack Ryder? He was the guy that got very over off of an Internet show. But he wasn't just over on the Internet. He soon got chants on live shows. The fans wanted Ryder. The WWE didn't immediately push him and danced around it. Eventually, they did acknowledge how over he was. John Cena entered that storyline. I even remember them showing Zack Ryder having a rally with the fans. And where is Ryder today? Back to the lower-midcard. And his push, as I have mentioned many times before, really was not that great and more about using him as a pawn in the larger storyline between Cena and Kane. After that, attention on him from the WWE just trickled down. Even though they incorporated the fans reaction to Ryder into the show, it really changed nothing for him.
And how about John Cena? The story with him isn't really one of a worker getting over with the fans off of a career in which he is not being pushed to, then getting screwed out of the better career. It is kind of the opposite. Ever since John Cena has been pushed as the centerpiece, he has been getting these mixed reactions. On some nights, the reactions seem to be all negative. And this guy is a face, not a heel. This is not how the WWE would like the fans to react for Cena. It has never gone away. They have accepted it and have frequently acknowledged it. Not only has John Cena mentioned it in promos, they have run storylines about it. I just mentioned his feud with Kane. That was about trying to get Cena to "embrace the hate" and turn heel, which seems to be something a lot of these fans want. Despite all that, Cena has still been pushed as the top star of the company. Will that change now? That is another issue. Point is, the WWE incorporated the negative reaction their top face was getting and really changed nothing else in how they pushed him.
Bring that all together. Just because the WWE is incorporating fan reactions that they do not like, that does not mean actual change is coming for the superstar in question. The WWE is just taking advantage of it creatively and in terms of making money off merchandise. I do not think fans are going crazy for Daniel Bryan only because they want more Daniel Bryan merchandise to buy. They want to see him pushed better. Not only are they not really giving Daniel Bryan fans what they really want, I think the WWE will have an easy time handling this "movement" by treating it like this. Instead of it coming off as a real problem in which the WWE is not giving the fans what they are screaming for and not willingly giving a very over star better pushes that he is earning, it starts to look like it is all part of the show. I already get the feel that the fan support for Daniel Bryan is losing some of that edge. They are still supporting him very well, but if the WWE can just play off their reactions that easily, and possibly even make money off of it without giving them real change, it just seems a little hopeless. Going by the other two examples of this I gave, if history is any indication, the WWE will not break easily just because of fan reactions.
One more thing I want to say about Daniel Bryan and what the WWE is doing recently with him. Some people still want to bring up that he is not marketable? That is the reason a lot of people give as to why he should not be pushed better. If the WWE did not view him as marketable, they wouldn't bother producing merchandise for him. They are trying to make money off him. He will make money, as well. The fans get their merchandise. Problem is, he is not getting pushed as the fans would like. You can question whether or not he has what it takes to be the face of the company, but pushing him more as the centerpiece would be nice. Even if you want to rotate centerpieces like TNA does, give Daniel Bryan a legitimate shot. Over performers are more marketable than performers that are not over. That is common sense. Do a good job with your most over performers.
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