The WWE Wins The War Against Daniel Bryan Fans

There have been a lot of controversies to pop up in recent weeks. I don't mean just #GiveDivasAChance, which I already talked about. I will get to some of these other issues next week. Today, I want to wrap up another controversy.

Daniel Bryan did not defeat Roman Reigns at Fast Lane and will not be in the WWE title match at Wrestlemania. A lot of fans feel deflated. Fans in Philadelphia hated what happened at the Royal Rumble and there was the expected Internet backlash. What followed was that feud between Reigns and Bryan with the winner getting Lesnar for the title. The WWE made the decision to stick with Reigns. And you even had Daniel Bryan go out there the night after on Raw and put Reigns over. That is a rub. And that is also why rubs are often overrated. Fans still are going to dislike Reigns. His win from Daniel Bryan and people talking about how great he is will not be enough to win over enough fans.

I think the WWE made the right decision. As I have said before, fans just did not want it bad enough. Last year, fans were so crazy and intense, I felt like the WWE might look like absolute villains if they did not treat Bryan better. There were even a few moments I felt fans might legitimately snap and something big would happen. This year, I did not get that same feeling outside of the Royal Rumble and the immediate reaction from that. Daniel Bryan is more over than Roman Reigns, but you are not just looking for a majority ruling here. To be inducted into some Hall of Fames, you have to have at least 75% or 80% of the vote. It is some high percentage, depending on what exactly you are talking about. A little more than 50% is not enough. Why should the WWE have such high requirements in this situation? Because you just had this issue last year. You not only spoiled your Wrestlemania plans, but you did it for the benefit of the same guy that you might be spoiling them again this year. And if you are going to do that again, the fans better want it as badly as they did last year. I don't feel they did. Reactions were not the same. I even saw some Daniel Bryan fans say that they would not enjoy a repeat of last year. That was probably not what the majority of his fans would say, but some fans that were excited for last year definitely did not want a repeat.

I have read a little of what other fans and pundits have said. I think some people are overreacting. Some make it sound like the WWE has been out to bury Daniel Bryan and his fans since the Royal Rumble. No. The WWE booked Daniel Bryan fairly leading up to Fast Lane. They did not run a storyline where Daniel Bryan was being humiliated every step of the way. They did not make his character look so awful. If you want to blame the WWE for mistreating Daniel Bryan last year, you have a point. If you want to blame the WWE for not booking the Royal Rumble this year better, you have a point. If you want to blame them for Roman Reigns getting a big push he does not deserve, you have a point. If you want to criticize them for the match they are likely to give Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania this year, which I will get to, you can do that. But do you want to say that they purposely tried to ruin Daniel Bryan's overness in the last few weeks? Do you honestly believe they are intentionally boring their fans so they will be less lively and the pops for Daniel Bryan would be softer? Problem with that theory, it is also the WWE's chosen ones that are hurt by this. Not being able to put out an entertaining product is hurting crowd reactions, not a desire to bury one guy. The WWE never wanted to push Daniel Bryan as an A+ player. That is true. But if the fan reactions were really that intense for him, there would have been a lot more pressure on the WWE to change plans in his favor. It is not just a matter of the Daniel Bryan fans being beaten into submission. Some of them just did not want it to happen again. A lot of them are just bored with the product in general. Even though Daniel Bryan is still someone I say has A+ overness, it has died down a bit since his return. Again, the same pressure just was not there this year that was last year. And I do not think the WWE tried to bury Daniel Bryan during that feud with Reigns.

Since his return, I have also noticed that Daniel Bryan isn't exactly the same in the ring. He can still put on a solid match, but I feel like he can do more. There was also one certain spot during Raw this week that caught my eye and made me want to talk about his ring work right now. That missed diving headbutt. That looked like it hurt. This guy just returned from surgery a few weeks ago. It is those kind of spots that will lead to him needing more time off. On the one hand, you want him to be careful to stay healthy. On the other hand, if he doesn't wrestle that certain style that excites fans, will he start losing some of them? Most wrestling fans will always respect Daniel Bryan. They know what he has done and he still performs well enough for them to love him. Other fans? That is where some support might diminish.

Now that Daniel Bryan is out for the WWE title match, you have to wonder what the WWE really has in store for him. A multi-challenger ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship has been announced. Daniel Bryan was involved in that scene on Smackdown this week. No, not what Daniel Bryan deserves. When thinking about the title feud between Ambrose and Barrett, I did not feel this feud was worthy of leading to the rematch at Wrestlemania. It just didn't seem big enough and didn't seem like what the WWE would do. Making it a ladder match and throwing in a few more bodies? Yeah, that makes it big enough and seems like what the WWE would do. Regardless, Daniel Bryan deserves better than being in this match. It is not only a question of whether the Intercontinental Championship is beneath him. This guy is arguably the most over full-time performer you have. Why shouldn't he have some kind of personal singles feud? If not that, get him involved is some other feud that is going on that is more important. You are having him get involved in a midcard feud between Dean Ambrose and Wade Barrett. I would rather he face Sheamus. There is also the issue of his health, which I just brought up, but I'm sure he'll know what he's doing in this ladder match, if that is how things go.

I have looked at how some Daniel Bryan fans have reacted to this potential Wrestlemania match for their guy. I haven't come across many complaints. Some are already anticipating United States Champion John Cena vs. Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan to unify the titles. Okay. That's nice. I won't get into that now. I will say I am a little bit disappointed. They don't think Daniel Bryan deserves better than this match? They are settling so easily. And if they will settle so easily, then the WWE pretty much made the right decision by not forcing Daniel Bryan into the WWE title match. They can get those fans interested for Wrestlemaia and watching without even pushing Daniel Bryan in a top feud. The WWE just won. The WWE didn't need to beat these fans into submission. They are already open to settling.

The WWE won the war against Daniel Bryan fans. This war wasn't even against Daniel Bryan. He doesn't seem to care too much about being pushed as an A+ player. If he was bothered so much about it, he would probably leave. The thing is, the WWE gave the fans a fair chance to be as demanding as they were last year. They just did not show up. And if they are going to settle the way they have, it is obvious that the WWE can just keep on going the way they are. Daniel Bryan is not buried to oblivion. The fans are not buried. They are still getting things they like seeing. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, two guys these kind of fans love, just won the tag titles. They won the titles the same night the WWE supposedly stuck the dagger into the hearts of all the smarks. The WWE won and they won very easily. Fans just did not want it bad enough.

A Twist In The Orton/Rollins Feud

I talked about Randy Orton's return back on Monday. As you might have noticed, I did not say much. What was there really to say? It seemed like it would be a straightforward feud. Orton was a part of The Authority. He started to have some issues with Seth Rollins, who took him out for a few months. Orton came back and targeted The Authority, specifically wanting Seth Rollins. It seemed pretty obvious what was going on. Nothing too fancy. I did not think I would bring this feud back up until a final preview before Wrestlemania.

There was a storyline twist on Raw. The Authority wanted Randy Orton back in the group. Orton seemed like he wasn't going to do it, but later started to play along with them. What is going on? Orton is a heel again? More than likely, this will still lead up to Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania. Orton is either playing with them or would like to once again be a part of The Authority, but his issues with Rollins will boil over and ruin that. The WWE can handle it either way.

I have seen a lot of fans complain about the WWE having Orton flip back to joining The Authority. They say it doesn't make any sense. They say it ruins Orton's momentum. You go back to 2013. The WWE was teasing issues between Orton and The Authority from the start. I complained about that back then. I do not remember other fans making a fuss about that. I guess they were too busy talking about Daniel Bryan. At a time when they should have been worrying about solidifying the new stable, they are already teasing friction. More importantly, it wasn't leading to anything. It probably would have played a big role in the original plans involving Batista, but that was ruined. They were not making the stable look good, they were not making Orton look good, and the storyline just wasn't going anywhere. It's like frequently teasing Cena will turn heel and never following through. After a while, it just gets annoying.

This time, I am not complaining. I see what the WWE is doing. There is actually a storyline here. This is Wrestlemania season. You should have more than just basic grudge feuds. Keep in mind, there are five weeks in between Orton's return last Sunday and Wrestlemania. How do you work with all that time? That is difficult. I have talked about how boring it is to have Kane and Big Show always wrestling whomever The Authority has issues with. There was a lack of a better storyline between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. Instead, there was a ton of Big Show and Kane, which fans hated. Do those fans complaining now understand they likely would have been in for a heavy dose of Big Show and Kane against Orton in this feud? The two heels would have been protecting Rollins from Orton. You will still eventually get these encounters, but the WWE is at least prolonging it.

If the WWE had gone with the basic story of Orton chasing after Rollins and Rollins always avoiding him or hiding behind his heel allies until the encounter at Wrestlemania, they would be telling a familiar story. This is what you had between Rollins and Dean Ambrose. That feud ended less than six months ago. They even inserted John Cena into that feud and had him chase after Rollins. Fans want to complain about the WWE always doing the same thing? They want to complain about the WWE not developing better storylines? They are doing something different now. There is actual storyline development here. If they did not do it, would these fans complain about the WWE doing the same thing they did with Rollins vs. Ambrose?

There is the idea that this will ruin Orton's momentum. He came back hot. Fans were hot for him when Raw started. Fans weren't so hot at the end of the show. Proof the WWE killed his momentum? You have to wonder about the long-term issue. Five weeks to kill. Could the WWE keep this thing fresh? Or would the momentum Orton had just naturally have dried up with him always dealing with The Authority's henchmen standing between him and Rollins. Will the fact that they just ran this kind of storyline with Rollins and Ambrose not too long ago make this current storyline even more boring? Those fans that want to see Orton snap can look forward to it again on the road to Wrestlemania. There will be some anticipation for it. People know it's coming. Besides, fans tend to be less interested in the product these days. Poor reactions are usually the norm. How likely is it that would have happened to Orton even had they not done this twist? At least the WWE can build back up to a moment that stands a chance of getting a good reaction on the road to Wrestlemania.

The ratings pattern for this week's Raw was interesting. The typical pattern is for ratings to decline over the course of the show, especially in the third hour. Ratings grew as the show went on this week. The third hour had the most viewers. Is that because fans were interested in seeing what Orton would do? Were they waiting for a part-time big name to show up? Was it just some fluke? Whatever the reason, there is still the possibility that the WWE's development of this storyline between Orton and Rollins might have had a hand in it. You are getting fans interested in what is going on and waiting to see what happens when Orton snaps. I think there is a level of intrigue there. This isn't meaningless as when they were featuring this inconsistency back in 2013. This is actually going somewhere.

#GiveDivasAChance

That was actually trending last night. It is still trending now for wrestling fans on Twitter. The WWE's mistreatment of the divas on the main roster continues to rile many fans.

What are they even asking for? Give the divas more time! Push the real wrestlers! Don't hold them back! Basically, do what helped to put TNA's women's division on the map. These fans are not asking for enough. To put it another way, they are asking for the wrong thing. There was a time when this diva division was more respectable and given more time. But it never really revolved around trying to be respectable and being efficient. This diva division was never what some fans want it to become. The diva division was founded on the principle that a hot model-type will be developed to be the top star. Where does that leave actual female wrestlers? They will not be pushed as centerpiece. They will either be pushed as credible jobbers, being used primarily as jobbers to the centerpiece and interim centerpiece, or be pushed as periphery divas, getting angles mostly in the men's division while the centerpiece dominates the title scene. Even though Trish Stratus became a solid in-ring performer, it does not change the fact that she is the model-type the WWE likes to push as centerpiece. And that diva division was at its best when she was the centerpiece.

What went wrong? Depth started to become an issue during the final years of the golden age, but things were still working out. What really started the problems was when a credible jobber came in that would do what no other woman pushed like that had ever done. Get over. I am not talking about just getting over with wrestling fans. I mean get really over. Become the most over diva on the roster. That was what Mickie James did. As a heel credible jobber, she got cheered against a face centerpiece in Trish Stratus at Wrestlemania. Trish soon retired. What goes over everyone's head is that the WWE continued to push Mickie James to put over the centerpiece and used her as filler when the centerpiece was not around. Because of those depth issues the WWE never resolved, they continued to push Mickie James more often than they would have liked. She was often the only face credible jobber available. They were pushing her out of necessity, not desire. They needed to push Mickie James because she was the only face with wrestling credibility available. They were not yet comfortable using other eye-candy divas as credible jobbers. And Mickie James took this career of mediocrity and solidified her overness.

The women they desired to be the centerpiece kept on getting injured, failing to get over, and just flopped. Candice Michelle did not work out. Maryse did not work out. Michelle McCool was not getting over. No centerpiece has worked out. The WWE was not getting what they wanted out of their diva division. It is not shocking that they would lose interest the way they did. Having some success with AJ Lee, a periphery diva, has not gotten them to regain that momentum. The Bellas look like they may be the next centerpiece attempt, but what do they have to do to inject that momentum to get the WWE to be efficient again with the diva division?

All these fans seem to want is for the WWE to look respectable again. That is not enough. Don't you think the WWE might love for it to be like that again? But they want it on their terms. Let's say they turn back the clock and create another golden age. The Bellas, whether it be one of them or both of them, are the centerpiece. AJ Lee, assuming she comes back, is a top periphery diva, much like Lita. You have credible jobbers on the main roster and in NXT. Paige is a credible jobber. Divas are given more time. The Bellas have the wrestling ability Trish had. They are that over. Everything is perfect. Everything is running like it did a decade ago.

Now, let's say Paige does what Mickie James did. Let's say she gets very over. Let's say the centerpieces start flopping again and fans are wondering why Paige isn't pushed more. The WWE will only push her when the need arises, much like they did Mickie James. Would fans realize what is going on? Will there be an uproar for Paige? Would you have a female version of Daniel Bryan on your hands? Whatever the case, there is also the possibility that the WWE starts to lose interest again. It happened before. The WWE has not really changed.

Give divas a chance? Why? The WWE does not want to give all these women a fair chance to get over and make a centerpiece of the one best capable to handle the push. They have never pushed the diva division like that since they created it in 1998. They don't even push the men's division like that. Fans know this. Ask Daniel Bryan.

Honestly, I find what these fans are asking for disgusting. When it comes to the men, fans are getting pissed off when talent that they love or believe have potential are underpushed, not pushed at all, or treated very badly. Daniel Bryan is consistently featured. He is frequently in main events on Raw and Smackdown. But fans are not satisfied with that. I would agree that the guy deserves to be pushed properly. Give him what he has earned. But when it comes to the divas, fans are only complaining because they don't get used better. What about the issue of women succeeding and not getting the better career? That demon was always there in the diva division. A credible jobber overcame it and never got the better career. Instead, the WWE just kept on making mistakes to get the diva division to where it is today. Do fans believe these women are not deserving of being pushed as stars? Do they think they are only good for featuring women's wrestling? TNA must be giving a lot of fans the wrong idea. TNA cannot properly create and feature stars. The WWE should not be like that. Fans just seem to be asking for a women's division that will be underachieving. You have to want better than that. You have to demand better than that. I think these women deserve the same fair opportunities to earn that better push for themselves that men deserve. But the women just seem to be a step behind the men. I don't even see fans bringing up the idea that what happened to Daniel Bryan could happen in the diva division. That's a shame. Because that's the kind of thing that can put an end to a golden age.

Randy Orton Returns At Fast Lane 2015

Randy Orton finally made his official return last night. As you would expect, he returned as a face and continued his issues with The Authority. A feud between him and Seth Rollins should be good for Wrestlemania.

How will his return affect the mild crowds and bad ratings you have gotten in recent weeks? Randy Orton is a popular guy and he is a guy the WWE will definitely want to use in a big way. Problem is, you have a lot of guys like that around. Daniel Bryan has been back for a few weeks. Fans talk about Cena being such a draw. He has been active. Part-time big names have been appearing. And yet, there is still that sense that something needs to happen to make things interesting. Randy Orton will probably get some good reactions now, but it will not be enough to really excite these fans. As far as ratings go, Randy Orton has never really proven to be a huge draw, but with all the other returns coming up and the road to Wrestlemania really taking shape now, viewers should start tuning in more.

Roman Reigns Vs. Daniel Bryan At Fast Lane: Final Preview

Fast Lane? Fastlane? Should I throw a "WWE" in there somewhere? Whatever you want to call it, the main match this Sunday will be Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan. The winner faces Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the WWE title. A lot to talk about here.

I said the WWE could approach this match in two ways. Either use it as a way to help put Roman Reigns over or put Daniel Bryan in the title match, if fan support for him was that insane. Let me start with that second possibility. Has fan support been that insane for Daniel Bryan? I would still say Daniel Bryan has A+ overness, but it feels like a few cracks in his armor have appeared. I have been paying attention to how fans have been reacting to him in recent weeks. It isn't as huge as it was last year. Again, he is still very over. I am not denying that. It just appears the fans have cooled a little. Is it because they find this whole thing stale? Are they just bored right now? Whatever the exact reason, I would stick with Roman Reigns in the title match at Wrestlemania.

I am not saying that because of any kind of favoritism for Roman Reigns or hatred for Daniel Bryan. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would make the same decision to stick with the original result. If Daniel Bryan had won the Royal Rumble, got a negative reaction for winning, Roman Reigns was the guy that they seemingly wanted to win, and everything else played out the same, I would stick with Daniel Bryan. Fan reaction isn't crazy enough to force the change. It is like when the referee reviews a play in football. If there is reason to believe that the original call might have been wrong, but there is not enough evidence to be sure, the ruling on the field stands. Wrestlemania plans already got messed up for the benefit of Daniel Bryan last year. He deserved it last year, but again this year? The fans better want it bad enough. And I do not see enough there that they do want it that badly. For the sake of not repeating last year and at least trying to make a new star, I would stick with Reigns.

Now that I have already said that they should stick with Reigns, let's talk story of the match. Putting over Roman Reigns in this match doesn't just mean Daniel Bryan loses. Roman Reigns has to give an impressive performance if he hopes to win over some of his critics. Daniel Bryan is a great worker to put against Reigns. This has to be a back-and-forth match. If Daniel Bryan is going to lose, you can imagine him dominating most of the action and Reigns pulling it out in the end. This match has to be about more than just putting Roman Reigns over a former World Champion prior to facing Brock Lesnar. Help him connect with the fans even better. Make him work.

I have seen more than one fan bring up the possibility of Sheamus returning this Sunday as a heel and costing Daniel Bryan the match. That sets up Sheamus vs. Bryan for Wrestlemania. That would be an even worse idea than having Roman Reigns get beaten down all match and still pulling out the win cleanly. Roman Reigns is supposed to be a face. If you have him win like that, and against a guy as popular as Daniel Bryan, you are only giving fans more reason to hate him. The logic is that Sheamus would absorb that hatred because he was the one that actually cost Bryan the match and he is heel now. But you are not doing Roman Reigns any favor with this match outcome. Do you want fans to respect him more or not? If they really want to turn Sheamus heel and have him go after Daniel Bryan, start that feud the Raw after Fast Lane.

Just to summarize my prediction, I think Reigns will win. If not that, I think you are more likely to get some situation that sees both guys go on to face Brock Lesnar than to see just Daniel Bryan getting the match. Fan reactions have not been scary enough to make me believe the WWE will change their original plans. But as important as who the winner will be, how they handle the actual match will also be important. If you want to help Roman Reigns, let him work. If he cannot, he might really need more time before he is the next top star of the company.

I already said everything I wanted to say about the match this Sunday, but let me talk about the feud development. It has been pretty lackluster. Some fans might even say it was worse than that. Always putting Big Show and Kane against Reigns and Bryan has been repetitive and boring. Some fans simply hate Big Show and Kane these days. Reigns and Bryan did not need to wrestle these two guys so much. They did not even need to be feuding against The Authority so much right now. There were other heels they could have worked against. Have The Authority put better focus feuding against Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan, which would be better development for that match at Fast Lane. I would even say that Reigns and Bryan did not need to be wrestling so much as they have recently. There have been some nights where they were featured too much. I brought up how they ran through much of the tag division. I get that they want to tease the idea that they can't get along, but it was not done in a fresh manner.

This whole feud has been kindergarten. I don't want to imply that it was childish. It has been basic and simple. It is what you might expect from a face vs. face feud. You could have done better. I have mentioned that fan reactions don't seem to be as killer as they used to be. Ratings also indicate that the product is not on fire right now. The WWE is struggling to get Raw to average over 4 million viewers. During Wrestlemania season? Really? The WWE needs to do something to wake these fans up. Simply having Sting around is not creating that hype. You have to do more with your full-time performers. And it definitely starts with the top feud you have going on, especially when there was so much room for improvement.

What would I have done? You go back to the Royal Rumble. You go to the night after. There was some real tension there. There was real excitement there. And I am not talking about The Rock coming back and getting involved to help Roman Reigns. That is the kayfabe controversy the WWE utilized to help create the lackluster feud you have been getting. The real controversy was over the WWE once again pushing what they want to work out over what the fans want to see. Fans were upset that Daniel Bryan lost the way he did and Roman Reigns won. They even talked about this the night after on Raw. Why wouldn't you make a storyline out of that? Let this feud be based on something real. Instead, you have a feud based on The Rock saving Roman Reigns from two guys that were already eliminated from the Rumble and Daniel Bryan seemingly forgetting he deserved a rematch for the title he never lost and instead entering the Rumble. Base this feud on the real tension that was there. That should get the fans interested. Create a "pipe bomb" atmosphere. Neither guy would have to turn heel. CM Punk did not turn heel back then. Cena remained Cena. Some fans love it when someone goes out there and gives a self-righteous speech. Nikki Bella went out there and gave a promo on Smackdown a few months ago that got her cheered. She was a heel at the time. She just went out there and spoke in that kind of tone that some fans love and respect. Have Daniel Bryan talk about busting his ass to finally get to the top, then having to lose it because of injury. Have Roman Reigns talk about never having the kind of opportunities Daniel Bryan has had. Embrace the fan reactions. Play off of it more. I am not saying either of these guys are like CM Punk on the mic, but Nikki Bella was able to go out there and get a positive reaction from the fans with this kind of promo. This feud between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns needed less matches, more promos, and more working off the real controversy. What kind of "Reality Era" is this? They are not even trying and it is not energizing the fans and drawing.

Seth Rollins On A Slow Fast Lane

Roman Reigns is not the only guy being developed to be a star. Seth Rollins, holder of the briefcase, is also in a good spot. And yet, he has not had clear feud development since the Royal Rumble. It is not unusual for even the guy that won Money in the Bank to sometimes be lost in the shuffle or be booked to look weak for a period of time. Regardless, the WWE should have done better here.

You have quite a few guys without an official match at Fast Lane that might end up with something. You probably will see Seth Rollins, Kane, and Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan. That is where this week's Smackdown seems to be leading to, although I do not think the match was officially announced for the PPV. Those three heels have also been involved with Bryan/Reigns recently. It has not been a clean road to this Sunday.

They should have done better with Seth Rollins. And they could have. Why not pick one of those faces and develop a proper feud for Rollins? Rowan is too lowly. Ziggler vs. Rollins probably would be the best option in terms of match quality, but a feud between Ryback and Rollins also could have been nice. Rollins should have individual focus on him. He did not need to be involved with Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. He is coming off looking like another Authority henchman. Again, you can let little periods of questionable booking go now and then. But when you have the issues making stars that the WWE has, can you afford to make too many mistakes? I would still not say Rollins is at a point where he can really stand on his own. The WWE has to keep on working.

Cena Vs. Rusev At Fast Lane: Final Preview

An element that had popped up in the storyline between John Cena and Rusev was that Cena was old. He's over the hill. In terms of years, he is not old yet. Even in the wrestling business, many guys wrestle after turning 40. Cena is not there yet. I think a lot of fans have overreacted to that part of this storyline.

You see this kind of thing with Cena a lot. They put his back to the wall, often making him look weak, and he overcomes. After losing to The Rock the first time at Wrestlemania, an angle eventually came about selling it as the worst year of Cena's career. He went on to beat The Rock at Wrestlemania to win the title. He got completely decimated by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam last year to lose the title. Some people loved seeing that. He bounced back and destroyed Bray Wyatt in one of the most awkward matches I have seen, not including botched matches. He also came close to regaining the title from Lesnar. Did anyone make a big deal about that treatment hurting Cena's popularity or star power? And yet, that is how a lot of people have reacted just because of this current storyline about calling Cena old. Do you ever think the WWE acknowledging Cena has a lot of haters might hurt his popularity? No one puts that much thought into it. Again, I think people are just overreacting.

Did you see what happened with Cena and Rusev this week? Cena turned the tables and destroyed Rusev. That was to be expected. It would seem like the WWE is already going that path of Cena proving himself in this feud. But I don't think this feud is over yet. Rusev will likely retain at Fast Lane.

What happens after that? Continue the feud to Wrestlemania? One of the reasons I did not like the idea of this being Cena's Wrestlemania feud is that it didn't seem good enough. But with this new storyline detail, they might lead it to something worthy of Wrestlemania. If they do not, saying Cena was old was just overkill. You already had enough in this feud. Rusev is undefeated. He has an anti-USA gimmick. He is holding the United States title. There is enough there for Cena to try to accomplish. Rusev can just continue his gimmick and put over his undefeated streak to keep this feud up. No need to make it seem like Cena doesn't have it anymore. You are just putting too much in there. And if what you are putting in is confusing some fans and possibly hurting the feud or one of the performers, you have to wonder even more if it is worth it. If this is all part of developing to an epic feud, it will be worth it.

One last thing. I just have to shake my head at some fans. For years, they have complained about Cena being pushed so hard and the WWE not pushing other talent. What is going on right now is exactly what these fans should want. Cena is not chasing after the main title and he is not involved in the main storyline. They have done this with him before. His feud with Bray Wyatt last year is an example of that. A lot of the same fans I have seen complain about Cena are confused by what is going on and some even seem to feel bad for him. It is just stupid. With fickle people like that always voicing their opinion, the WWE might be justified in ignoring them. John Cena will one day not be the centerpiece anymore. I do not think that is this year. He is just taking a backseat as they try to develop a new star. Last year, it was supposed to be Cena taking a backseat as they pushed Batista with Randy Orton and The Authority. That crumbled to Daniel Bryan getting the attention. I would not make too much of this feud currently going on. It is just a variation of what they have already done with Cena in the past.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Did you know there was a site that archives web pages? It obviously cannot get them all. There is an infinite amount of pages on the Internet. More are made every day. It is called the Wayback Machine. I found out about it the other day and took a look at it. I had deleted my old diva blog when I made the full switch to this one in 2010. I looked to see if any of it still survived. Yeah, a few pages from the first half of 2009 are on there. Not a lot, but you can at least see that I was talking about the diva division since then. You can go to this link to see the dates they have archived and read some of my earlier blogs. I am going to talk about a few things about my earlier diva blog.

First, a little self-critiquing. I definitely was not a great analyst of the diva division back then. I have definitely improved. There were a few things I said back then that I can now look back and wonder why I said that. I once said that Trish was used to give other women a rub and get them over? With more time to look at it and actually pay attention to which divas are truly getting over and how they are getting over, no divas ever got over because the WWE wanted them over and used Trish to get them over. Lita got over in the periphery prior to feuding with Trish. Mickie James getting over was not because the WWE wanted it. No other female wrestlers during the time Trish was there got very over. The eye-candy divas that worked with Trish didn't really need her, since it was their own sex appeal that was their main asset. And none of them really worked out as well as Trish. What is the point of giving some of these women a rub if you don't follow through properly? I think I was probably being a little too respectful towards Trish and not being realistic enough. In general, I sometimes don't like the tone I used back then. Not realistic enough. A little too much speculation at times.

I used to blog every day back then. And primarily about women's wrestling. I think it is good that I widened my subject matter and am taking a few days off a week. Don't force myself to blog. Moreover, it is good to pay attention to what happens in the men's division. Issues that exist there also exist in the women's division. Paying attention to that could have helped to sharpen my ability to read the diva division. There were a few blog entries I wrote on my old blog that might have been meaningless. Of course, the divas were my main subject, so anything related to what they were doing back then was open material.

Did I talk about Mickie James too much back then? Aside from being my favorite diva, what was going on with her was worth talking about. No one seemed to understand what was going on back then. The most over diva on the roster is not being pushed like it. Who is to blame? What is going on? Mickie James was for the women's division back then what Daniel Bryan is for the men's division in recent years. You have a man not being pushed as an A+ player that is going out there and connecting with fans better than a lot of guys meant to be ahead of him. That was the story of Mickie James. I always see people discussing Daniel Bryan. They talk about why the WWE mistreats him, whether he deserves that better career, what the WWE can do to make stars out of these other guys they actually want to push, how his fans are reacting, and so on. Not enough people were talking about this for Mickie James until it was too late.

On February 27, 2009, I talked about Mickie not being pushed as someone the WWE would want to be over and why they should want to do it. I "blamed" her for how she was being treated. I was being sarcastic. I tend to use that tone frequently. This was also the entry where I said Trish was used to get other women over, as I previously talked about. Moreover, I said that Mickie James rose the bar for the divas back then, or should have. Other divas actually have to work and step up if they want to get over and earn those better careers. Of course, the WWE was not even pushing Mickie at the time, so they didn't want to raise the bar. You can see that is obviously the case with the diva division now. The bar is so low, Eva Marie executing a dropkick properly would probably get her a standing ovation.

I would say Daniel Bryan is also a guy that raises the bar, or could be used like that. It is not enough to be pushed to be a star. You really want to get over? You have to steal it away from Daniel Bryan. If you want to be as over as him and earn the career he deserves, you have to be the kind of worker he is. You have to have the talent, you have to work hard, you have to be passionate, and you have to be something the fans love seeing. The WWE's ability to create stars has been weakened. They have not created a successful centerpiece in the diva division since Trish Stratus left. They are having issues developing Roman Reigns. Who should be blamed? How about Daniel Bryan? He can go sit in the corner with Mickie James. You can see how having someone you never intended to become that over can be a problem. This is two years in a row now that you have had a controversy around Daniel Bryan and how he is being pushed. Having someone like that just forces the WWE to work harder. They should allow their workers to work harder to compete against Daniel Bryan.

One more blog entry I want to bring up. On April 14, 2009, I talked about Mickie's 4th title reign, which she won one year prior to that. I called it a little "conspiracy theory" back then. In retrospect, I don't even like putting it that way. If you are ever going to examine what happened to Mickie James in the WWE, that fourth title reign cannot be overlooked. This is the reign that Ken Doane likes to say Mickie James slept her way to the top of and got over off of. Aside from what he says, this was the push that made it obvious to me the WWE did not want to push Mickie James as someone they wanted over.

That blog entry lacked proper historical analysis, which would have helped to support my point even more. Since the first dark age ended, the WWE never gave the title to an eye-candy diva not being pushed as centerpiece. It was one of the things that helped to keep the division respectable. Mickie James was the only face credible jobber at the time on Raw. Add in at least two more facts. First, she was already over prior to that push in 2008. Second, she was feuding with Beth Phoenix prior to Candice returning in early 2008. That feud never got a proper finish. If they had done anything else other than give Mickie James the push, it would have looked awkward and suspicious. Problem is, not handling the whole thing smoothly and killing her push when Candice Michelle would pop back up still points to something being wrong. I am glad that blog entry survived, even though I have probably brought it up again since then and argued it better.

Good to reread some of my old blogs. I wouldn't say I was wrong about everything back then, but I have gotten better. And some things definitely still hold true. Some things I once said for Mickie James years ago might apply to Daniel Bryan right now. Issues in the WWE that impact the divas also impact the men.

Tag Division Developments

Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns ran through a portion of the tag division on Smackdown this week. I will use that as an excuse to discuss the division. The Usos are still Tag Team Champions. I am just going to look at three heel teams that could be taking the titles off them.

First, the team they are actually feuding against. That would be Kidd & Cesaro. These are obviously two jobbers. The WWE has paired them up and given them a push. Should they win the titles? I don't think so. This would be a step down. They need more momentum I just do not think the WWE is willing to give them. Even should they win the titles, I cannot imagine the WWE doing anything great with them. Right now, Kidd & Cesaro seem to be there just so The Usos can go over them in this feud. There are more legitimate and credible teams deserving of the titles.

How about The Ascension? This is a legitimate tag team. This is not two guys in the midcard with nothing to do being tossed together. As far as credibility goes, the WWE is still protecting them. It might not really mean anything. Most guys that debut from developmental or guys on the main roster that get repackaged with a new gimmick get a little win streak. The WWE usually fails to develop proper feuds or runs out of guys for them to beat in a lot of these situations. The Ascension has still not had one great feud since debuting. And yet, they are undefeated. Are they being protected to eventually feud for the tag titles? Or to be fed to Cena next year as the undefeated act used to put him over? No, probably not that. With a team like this hanging around, it makes me believe even more that The Usos will keep the tag titles to eventually feud against them. I don't think they will win the titles, but it should be a fresh feud.

The last team Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns had to face on Smackdown was Big Show and Kane. Tension was teased between the two heels, which led to their downfall. I do not think this was a sign of a split coming anytime soon. This was just for the sake of the story of this one match. Regardless, Big Show and Kane should not be forced against Bryan and Reigns so much. I'll get into that more next week. And I also hate even teasing tension between Big Show and Kane like this. I didn't complain about it at the Royal Rumble. I can let that go. But again? So soon? They did this with Randy Orton and The Authority back when the stable was being formed. They just had this on-and-off relationship that didn't lead to that split they were teasing until what happened in 2014 with Orton and Seth Rollins. After a while, it just gets annoying. Instead of keeping your heel stable strong and feuding against all these faces out to run them out of power, the heel stable is having trouble from within. How can you strengthen the group? How about give them more titles? How about give Big Show and Kane the tag titles? Back in the day, The Corporation held a lot of titles. It wasn't just their main guy holding the World title. Present day, The Authority just does not compare. Outside of hounding after the World title at times, the group has not done a good job trying to get titles for their other members. It is like all those guys around Seth Rollins are there just for his benefit and he is the only one meant to be pushed in the group. That is probably the point, but for the sake of making the group look better and creating better feuds, you cannot be that limited. Big Show and Kane have held the tag titles before. I know a lot of fans despise seeing these guys these days, but putting the titles on them could be good. Not only does it help the stable look better, but it can really put over the team that beats them. It is the same idea as The Rhodes beating The Shield for the tag titles. It leads to a big moment. I am not saying it is likely to happen, but I think it would be a better option than what you have going on currently.

Sheamus Set To Return & Horrible Raw Viewership

The WWE has aired a return video package for Sheamus. He has been out a few months with an injury. Question is, face or heel?

Sheamus was a face the last time he was around. You can say Rowan has been filling in for him during his absence. Is that the spot Sheamus should get when he returns? Should he be used as another supporting player against The Authority? Ziggler and Ryback currently have that role and they lack true direction right now. Putting Sheamus in that position is a more credible option than Rowan, but it does seem like a waste.

What if Sheamus returns as a heel? That is where I think there is better potential. I don't mean just for Sheamus. I am talking about those other faces with no clear feuds for themselves. You can develop a feud between a heel Sheamus and either Ryback or Dolph Ziggler. These guys should not just be jobbers to the stars. How likely is it that they get dumped into some kind of multi-man match at Wrestlemania? And after Wrestlemania? Will they start utilizing them better then? In the meantime, Sheamus turning heel can at least lead to some different encounters for these performers.

Sheamus returning is not that big of a deal. Nice of them to hype it, but he is really just an upper-midcarder. They need to be efficient with him. They need to put him in a position where he can make things interesting. He does have a fighting style many fans appreciate, but in terms of creating matches and feuds, you can create some great situations with him. You can create situations that benefit other guys with nothing to do. Give the fans a variety of legitimate feuds to talk about. Simply adding Sheamus to the list of faces with nothing important to do will not help. Turn him heel and help some of those other faces with nothing important to do get something to do.

This week's Raw viewership was terrible. 3.79 million viewers for the first hour, 3.67 million for the second, and 3.52 million for the last. The average was 3.66 million. These are the kind of numbers you would expect during football season. Football season is over. NBA playoffs are not here. No major sports competition. This is also Wrestlemania season. Brock Lesnar was there this week. They teased Sting appearing, although he did not really show. You have Cena, Bryan, and most of your other top guys.

I have seen some people say that the Seth Rollins incident caused viewers to tune out and check what was going on on the Internet. That is ridiculous. People can check Twitter on their phones. They have laptops. They have computers in the same rooms as their TV. Besides, if that issue was really so hot, why wouldn't fans tune in to see if it gets mentioned or leads to changes in the program? Viewership just kept dropping from an already low first hour.

It is not surprising that Raw's ratings would be bad. I pointed out just a few days ago that January's numbers were down from previous years. Mediocre numbers is something you might have expected. But to get the kind of numbers you usually see only during football season in the midst of Wrestlemania season is horrible. That is worse than I could have expected. And they do not have anything that can bail them out. Fans know what is happening this year for Wrestlemania. They know Sting is here. Brock Lesnar is defending the title. There are no other legends or top draws rumored to be a part of Wrestlemania that can really create hype to get numbers booming.

Raw was still the most-viewed show on cable on Monday night. It didn't lead in the 18-49 demographic, but no need to worry too much about that. I don't think it will continue to slip. I don't think it will remain as poor as it is. The number will go back up, but I do not see how they can do anything amazing to get the stellar numbers you would expect for this time of year. It is obviously not enough to have all these stars floating around. You have to utilize them better and do better with the other guys on the card.

Grading Roman Reigns

Been a while since I did one of these. First, what type of career is Roman Reigns currently getting? For pretty much all the individuals I have done this for in the past, it was easy to classify them based on how they were being pushed. It usually didn't take long. I would probably have gotten to it already. The interesting thing about Roman Reigns is that he is in the process of being developed to be a top star. This guy might one day be the centerpiece (A+ player). The WWE definitely wants him as at least a true main-eventer (A player). I'll wait until he is actually holding his first World title before I say he has moved on to that next step. Until then, he is an A- player.

How about critiquing him as a performer? His best asset is his look. Women love it. Aside from that, he has a lot that he is lacking. He is very limited in the ring. Most of the moves he utilizes are pretty basic. Punch. Spear. He does work the crowd. His mic skills are also very poor. There was a time just a short while ago when the WWE was having him do these promos that he just could not execute well. That might have hurt his connection with the fans. He should just play a badass face. He just does not have the versatility to be the next Rock. Versatility is something that separates the A players from the A+ players. After a while, certain performers might find a certain role that they play very well. And that's fine. But how about those performers that show some versatility by taking on another role that they also end up making work out? They deserve that additional praise. Even if Roman Reigns cannot play the role the WWE wants him to have, they just have to build around what does work for him. Hope he improves while doing that. Right now, I would give him a C+.

His connection with the fans is something you have to wonder about. Just two months ago, he supposedly won the "Superstar of the Year" Slammy over Daniel Bryan and others by getting more fan votes than them. Recently, the WWE did a poll on their website about who out of Bryan and Reigns deserves the title match at Wrestlemania. Daniel Bryan is winning that. It isn't even close. Paying attention to other polls and just fan reactions, it is obvious Bryan is more over out of the two. Again, women love Roman Reigns for his look. Smarks and fans that lean more towards wrestling over entertainment are not fans as much. The popular thing is to turn a guy like him heel and that will fix the problem. That is what fans are always saying about John Cena. I think Roman Reigns can connect well with the fans as a face. He just needs the right character and not to be pushed too hard. After what happened at the Royal Rumble, you might think that he was in the same position Batista was in last year. Since then, I think fans have warmed back up to him slightly. It will depend on the audience. He is not bringing A-tier results, but I will not say he has no connection with the fans or a completely sour connection with the fans. I would give him a B.

As I said before, Roman Reigns is still in the process of being developed. A year from now, he will probably be in a different position in terms of how he is being pushed, as well as his connection with the fans and his overall talent. Hopefully. If I was to reevaluate him in a year, I would expect to see changes. Let me give my predictions. I would expect him to have become an established main-eventer, not yet pushed as centerpiece (A player). I think he will add more to his moves and solidify a character he can play well (B+). In terms of overness, with all that time, I think the WWE would have to have been able to come up with something to clean up his recent issues (A-). The only thing that could really screw him over is another injury or the WWE just giving up on him. I don't think the latter is very likely. If I'm still doing this in a year and I remember what I wrote here, it will be interesting to see if Reigns did improve at all.

Dean Ambrose Goes After The Intercontinental Championship

Dean Ambrose seems to be a very popular guy. For 2015 so far, I have more visitors to my blog searching for Dean Ambrose than any other one person. He reminds me of a mix between Steve Austin and Mick Foley. You can probably throw in a few other guys in there. I am not really a fan of the guy, but I can understand why people like him.

There is no need to question whether he deserves a title reign. He is feuding with Barrett over the Intercontinental Championship. The only thing that might make you hesitate is that Barrett just regained the title a few weeks ago. Should he lose it so soon? Personally, I would still have Luke Harper holding the title. He dropped it back to Ziggler too soon. Ziggler dropped it back to Wade Barrett, who should be above it right now. And now you are just going to drop it to someone else? If Harper was still holding the title, would a feud between him and Dean Ambrose have worked? I think so. Ambrose is coming off a feud with Bray Wyatt. Luke Harper was one of Wyatt's henchmen. There is a story there you can work with to transition to this feud to make it more than just a title feud. Too late for that.

Again, I am not against Dean Ambrose getting the title. How do you handle this feud? I would have Wade Barrett retain when these two go at it. The feud continues. Ambrose wins in a rematch. It does not have to happen at Wrestlemania. It can happen in the weeks leading up to it. Not all title changes need to happen on PPV. Hopefully, he will have a title reign that actually lasts a few months. It does not have to be as long as his reign as United States Champion, but it should be longer than some of the title reigns you have gotten recently with the Intercontinental Championship.

Paige Feuds With The Bellas

Paige finds herself feuding against Nikki Bella for the Diva's Championship. Unless some big development happens between now and Fast Lane, this will probably be the only preview I do for this match.

They are doing the bullying thing. I immediately got flashbacks of what they did with Mickie James against Michelle McCool. As I have pointed out numerous times, Paige is getting the type of career Mickie James had. Paige is being pushed as a credible jobber, a diva with wrestling credibility used primarily to put over the centerpiece and used for filler. I have also said that Paige has the potential to do what Mickie James did with that career and overcome it to get over. But she is not there yet. No reason for the WWE to go overboard in an attempt to bury her.

What about what this means for The Bellas? Obviously, they are meant to be the primary benefactors of this storyline. I have held off on saying Nikki is the new centerpiece. I was waiting for them to actually start booking her as they would someone like Sable or Trish. And this kind of feud going on now is that kind of treatment. This is kind of a step back. The Bellas were being pushed so strongly last year. They just seemed to have lost that momentum. Of course, this is not too different from what happened with Trish Stratus. She got some huge storylines in the main-event scene prior to being pushed as centerpiece. Pushing her as centerpiece might have seemed as a step down in some ways, but being pushed as the A+ player in the diva division is worth more than those periphery pushes. But I don't know how much this will help The Bellas. The division is inefficient and I don't think they have solidified their overness.

I also had some flashbacks to what happened just a few months ago with Paige. Because of how they were tossing the title around between Paige and AJ Lee, the feud ended up getting extended and the WWE created this angle of Alicia Fox being Paige's new best friend to make things more interesting. That angle went nowhere. The two split soon after. AJ Lee moved on to something else. Will that kind of thing happen again? Does the WWE even have the mindset to keep the ball rolling with The Bellas? The idea is that all they need is a spark to start running the diva division efficiently again. AJ Lee did not provide it. The Bellas don't seem to have provided it. These are women they have pushed to be stars that have gotten good reactions at times. Problem is, the WWE has not been able to follow through and these divas don't seem to be able to maintain their own momentum with the fans the way they should.

Who wins? I would say Nikki retains. Wrestlemania is just around the corner. Why would the WWE want Paige to hold the title heading into that? If recent history is any indicator, the WWE will just develop some kind of multi-diva match or get celebrities involved. The last singles title feud for the divas at Wrestlemania that was just between two divas and did not even include lumberjills happened in 2006. If the WWE is ready to put better focus on one diva being developed to be centerpiece, that would be one of The Bellas. They could have Nikki regain the title from Paige at Wrestlemania or drop it to Paige there just to give her a Wrestlemania moment. I am not convinced the WWE is ready to break away from the tradition of weak diva matters heading into Wrestlemania. Back to what happens at Fast Lane, if Paige has the momentum heading into the PPV, she will likely lose. If the feud seems too much on the side of The Bellas, Paige would probably win the title. Does not mean she will be pushed as a star. I will say Paige does regain some momentum and Nikki retains at Fast Lane.

What is more important than who wins? How about whether this storyline helps anyone? The bullying angle you had with Mickie and McCool was obviously meant to help a centerpiece that was failing to properly connect with the fans at the expense of a credible jobber that got over on her own. McCool could not keep a lasting connection with the fans. The only reason she got the great reactions she did get at times during that storyline was because Mickie James was there to cry for her. The Bellas are not as bad as Michelle McCool in terms of connecting with the fans. They are not A players, but they are somewhat over. Nevertheless, a diva pushed as an A+ player should get A-level results. How do you get that back for them? The bullying angle back then did not help McCool get long-term results, so I don't know why anyone should think it is a great idea to try it again. Just a lack of fresh ideas. I don't think it is helping The Bellas. I don't feel it is helping Paige too much. How about just interesting the fans in general? I don't feel the fans are that into it. It is not pushed at the level as what you had on Smackdown a few years ago. Moreover, it does not involve anyone that is very over. If it did, people would definitely be talking about it and reacting to it more. To put it simply, will this feud and storyline end up failing? There is a possibility.

I once had a conversation with a Paige fan on Twitter. I was talking about Paige getting over. He told me that Paige getting over is not something she needs to be concerned about because she's already over. I felt like bashing my head through a wall. Yeah, Paige is over. She has her fans. I like her. But she can definitely be getting better reactions from the fans and support for her could be better. Just because there are a bunch of Paige hashtags floating around Twitter does not mean she as A+ overness. You cannot just look around Twitter to determine whom is really over. The WWE probably wishes it was that easy. They can see a whole bunch of people talking about things they are doing and think those things are legitimate draws, even though other indicators would say otherwise. Paige has a lot of potential and she is being pushed in a manner from which almost no one ever gets over. She has not yet brought the results to be an A+ player, and I am not blaming her for that at all. Thing is, should she bring those results, would it be fair for the WWE to still push her as a C+ player?

Daniel Bryan Gets Another Shot To Headline Wrestlemania

It was not hard to predict that Roman Reigns might be in for a rough time during this push. He is limited in the ring, was in line for a big push, and was going to be pushed ahead of certain wrestlers vocal fans love. That is a recipe for disaster. Of course, I did not think the reaction would be that horrible. Looking at how fans reacted at the Royal Rumble and immediately after, I was ready to say I was wrong about that. This week, it looks like the fans have mellowed down a little. Roman Reigns is not the most hated man in the WWE. It is not as bad as it was for Batista last year. I think there might even be a good amount of fans who want him to get this push and not Daniel Bryan. But I am not going to change my tune every week. I'll just wait until Fast Lane is closer to give my final thoughts on how the fans seem to be reacting.

Daniel Bryan won a match to earn the right to face Roman Reigns to decide who will face Brock Lesnar for the title at Wrestlemania. This is like last year all over again. If Daniel Bryan had just been booked to win this year's Royal Rumble, that would be one thing. Sure, let him go on to face Lesnar. But to have him possibly get there by the same kind of story you had last year just annoys me. Blame the WWE booking, not Daniel Bryan or the fans.

I am not going to predict right now who wins this match. I will say that there are two different ways the WWE can use this match. First, if the fan reactions continue to be extremely one-sided for the sake of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns is getting crushed, the WWE can use this match as an easy way to change things. Second, if the WWE is bent on pushing Roman Reigns, they could use this match to really put him over.

Let me look at the first possibility. Last year, it was a match with Triple H at Wrestlemania that propelled Daniel Bryan to the main event later that night. This year, it could be happening at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns. I would say this is a chance for the WWE to legitimately pay attention to the fans. If the fan support remains as insane as it was last year, you pretty much have to put Daniel Bryan in. If it does not? Stick with Reigns. I have said before that he does have fans. He is over. He just doesn't have the kind of overness that Daniel Bryan has. But if the Daniel Bryan fans cannot really make as big a scene as they did back then, why should the WWE go down the same path with Daniel Bryan two years in a row? If the fans want him that badly, give him the push. If enough fans still support Roman Reigns, let him have this match to himself. But the WWE actually has to pay attention to how fans are reacting.

The second option involves the WWE already making up their minds. Roman Reigns is getting Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania and Daniel Bryan will do something else. The match at Fast Lane will just be meant to put Reigns over. I have seen some fans say that Roman Reigns putting on an amazing performance might warm him up to those fans that are against him. Who better to help him look amazing than Daniel Bryan? If Roman Reigns is putting on a monster performance against Daniel Bryan, the smarks will cheer him out of respect. Just keep in mind that John Cena, despite not being an amazing in-ring performer, frequently is involved in some great matches. He can get those kind of fans to respect him during a great match at times. Problem is, it doesn't last. He still continues to get those mixed reactions. True overness isn't just about getting a good reaction on one night or after doing one certain thing fans like. It is that consistent connection with the fans. Putting on the match of the night at Fast Lane may help Roman Reigns earn a few respect points, but it does not mean he will have A+ overness.

One of the things mentioned on Raw was that Daniel Bryan never lost his World title and should have had a title shot coming. Instead, they brought him back and booked him into the Royal Rumble match. And we all know how that worked out. That is actually a good point. Instead of people debating how the Rumble match could have gone down to appease Daniel Bryan fans and help Roman Reigns connect with those fans better, why didn't they work him into the WWE title match that night? It was already going to be a multi-man match. Would one more person have hurt it? Considering that one more person happens to be Daniel Bryan, I do not think it would hurt. He gets his rematch, might help the match be even more exciting, gets to go at it with Brock Lesnar, even though it is not the same as a singles match, and you probably shut down that issue with no problem. Brock Lesnar would still retain. No one would complain because Daniel Bryan gets a title match at the Royal Rumble, which is better than competing in the Royal Rumble match just to earn a title match and being eliminated. You could have even had The Authority force Daniel Bryan to beat someone like Kane to get into that title match, just to make the road seem more difficult. Further his underdog character. It really might have been smarter to not put him in the story with Roman Reigns. 

Mickie James Returns To TNA

Last week Thursday, Mickie James, my favorite female wrestler, returned to TNA. Coincidentally, Shakira, my favorite singer, gave birth to her second son that same day. Interesting.

Mickie James returned to get involved in the feud between Magnus, her fiance, and Bram. I think that is great. I have said before that I would like to see Mickie James get more angles in the periphery. She has a lot of potential to be an interesting character outside of just chasing after titles and basic grudge feuds with other women. She does not need this to help her get over. She already has a great connection with the fans. But these kind of angles will help her look even better. She is at a stage of her career where she does not need to be chasing after titles all the time. She has won 9 major women's titles. One more would be nice to get to double digits, but it is also good to add to that legacy outside of title reigns. If she was not over with the fans, then I would say that she should just be used as enhancement talent. Use her to just put over the stars and younger talent. But if she still has value as someone the fans like to see, use her properly. I would say she should be pushed as centerpiece of the KO division for the remainder of her time in TNA, but TNA does not do that kind of thing and they have too many women to push as priorities right now. As it stands, the periphery is good.

It is just a shame that it had to take her getting engaged for a wrestling promotion to finally start giving her a proper angle in the periphery. Not since her days as Alexis Laree in her first TNA run has she gotten a good angle in the men's division. Since then, she has not gotten one angle that did anything for her or even ended properly. Pairing her with Magnus pretty much writes itself. Magnus is a former TNA World Champion, but he is not really someone I would consider an A+ player. TNA doesn't really have any of those. Kurt Angle is probably the only one. Everyone else is at most a bunch of midcarders rotating all over the place. I am obviously talking about type of career these guys are getting, not overness or talent. Since Magnus is a guy they are still interested in pushing, Mickie James can be along for the rub for a while. And because Mickie James is a capable wrestler in her own right, she can break off into women's feuds whenever. Depending on how TNA handles things, there might even be some interesting intergender feuds developing. This will be good for Mickie James and storylines both in the men's and women's divisions.

What Should Daniel Bryan Do At Wrestlemania 2015?

Fans were obviously upset again following the Royal Rumble. Once again, part of that has to do with the mishandling of Daniel Bryan. He lost, getting eliminated rather early, and a guy many people did not like winning, Roman Reigns, won it.

It would seem the WWE is possibly heading towards Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler would most likely be the guy turning heel in that feud. No title is likely to be involved. Is this a great match for Daniel Bryan, a guy many feel should be involved in something big for Wrestlemania? I feel like this is a consolation prize. Not for Bryan or Ziggler. For the fans. These two guys put on what was likely the best match of the year in 2010. In terms of wrestling, these two can steal the show at Wrestlemania this year, even though both should be involved in better. Those fans so upset by what happened last week would likely be slightly appeased by a great match like this. At least, that might be the WWE's logic. I have seen other fans bring up this argument. I think it makes sense.

Of course, there is still plenty of time to change things. Fans are anticipating that something will be changed with Triple H's big announcement. Just a little while ago, people were talking about Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for Wrestlemania. Fan reactions helped to alter things last year. It might happen again.

What should Daniel Bryan get for this year's Wrestlemania? Wrestlemania is a PPV where the WWE tries to develop big matches. And if they cannot put you in a big match in terms of hype, they toss you into a multi-man match. That's not for Daniel Bryan. If you cannot be in the World title match, there are still options for you. You have a lot of legends getting involved at Wrestlemania. Celebrities sometimes get involved. I don't think a celebrity angle would be right for Bryan. In the case of John Cena, the centerpiece, you have even seen him face a well-developed upper-midcarder at Wrestlemania just last year. There are options.

Should Daniel Bryan be forced into the title match for the second year in a row? I don't think so. It would just get redundant. I know it was not their intention to tell that kind of story last year, but they did end up telling it. Will we have the "Yes Movement 2.0" this year? I would really not want that. It's annoying. Should you blame the fans for being so hot about Bryan or the WWE for mistreating him? The answer is obvious. The WWE put themselves in this situation.

There are two options I like for Daniel Bryan outside of inserting him into the WWE title match or a straightforward feud with Dolph Ziggler. First, think about the option of facing a well-developed upper-midcarder. This year, that is Rusev. He seems to be on the path of being fed to Cena. Let's say that does not happen and Rusev survives this feud with his undefeated streak and even the United States title. Even John Cena could not stop him. Who can? How about Daniel Bryan? It would be great to see someone else hand Rusev his first legitimate defeat outside of John Cena. You can say the United States title is beneath Daniel Bryan, but it definitely is beneath John Cena. It could be a nice Wrestlemania moment. You also have Bray Wyatt still protected, and he has had issues with Daniel Bryan. Bryan beating him at Wrestlemania is also an option, but I like the Rusev feud better. Just seems like Daniel Bryan can accomplish more there.

The other option involves giving Daniel Bryan the opponent he wants. He wants to face Brock Lesnar. It is a shame that almost all of Lesnar's singles matches since returning have been against guys that were around during his first WWE run. And too many of them have involved John Cena. For the sake of giving Daniel Bryan his dream opponent and creating a fresh match for Wrestlemania that fans would definitely like, how about putting these two together? It would be a non-title match. How do you get the title off Lesnar? You do have a guy floating around with a briefcase that guarantees him a title match whenever he wants. Have Rollins cash in. Rollins vs. Reigns at Wrestlemania for the title. Some fans are already worrying about the match quality of a Reigns/Lesnar Wrestlemania match. I think Rollins/Reigns would be better. And the fact that they have that history together makes this match even better. There will be a natural story there. You can even toss in Ambrose. Is this match worthy of main-eventing Wrestlemania? Probably not. Then again, Reigns/Lesnar will have obvious issues, if they decide to force that. It will just have to be one of those years where the title match does not end Wrestlemania. Whatever Sting and Triple H do can headline Wrestlemania. Back to Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar. I really think this is the best option for him and everyone involved.

Time to revisit an old question. Should Daniel Bryan be pushed as the new centerpiece of the men's division? Should he be that guy they want to consistently push in title matters and top storylines more than any other one individual? Should he be in John Cena's position?

The arguments against him might be his injury history and the fact that he is over 30. John Cena also has an injury history and is a few years older than Daniel Bryan. Just push him in that position for a few years or until fans legitimately get sick of him. While he is the top guy, you can groom Roman Reigns properly or give someone else a fair chance to earn that spot when Daniel Bryan's time at the top is done. 33 isn't that old. A superstar or diva in their 30s can still be pushed as a centerpiece for some time. 40 and over, that is when you should be moved to an HBK-like role and not even consider starting to develop someone like that as the centerpiece.

You can also bring up whether he can draw. Being over does not necessarily mean you can draw an audience. And a centerpiece of the entire company should be a draw. I don't think he ever got a fair shot to prove he can draw. His big push in 2013 started against football season. They depushed him a few months later. The whole situation to get him the push back was messy and annoying. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned some fans off. He got injured soon after that. Since his return, he has not been pushed hard. You are not exactly drawing well now with Cena, so giving someone else a legitimate shot would make sense. And I don't think Roman Reigns is the guy to do what Cena cannot.

Some fans get angry or bored when certain wrestlers get pushed too much. With Daniel Bryan, fans are getting upset because the guy is not being pushed enough. He had his year last year. He had won a lot even before that. And the fans still want more. This is the guy you should want to push as centerpiece. There is no other full-timer in that company that is connecting that strongly with fans. The WWE probably wishes Cena had that kind of connection with the fans. What's that? You want more Cena? Absolutely! Thing is, it isn't Cena that is getting that kind of reaction. It is Daniel Bryan. Those fans do not want to settle for moments. They want him to be pushed as a true A+ player. The WWE might as well give it a legitimate try.