As a wrestling fan for over twenty years, I’ve always known that the WWE has a vocal minority that likes to make their presence known. Whether it is on the Internet or chanting the announcer’s names at live events, they are out there. Most people refer to them as “smarks.” A lot of times they can be a pain when they go out of their way to try and make themselves look cool. The post-Wrestlemania crowd is a complete exception. They try to come off as know-it-alls and can sometimes be unbearable. 
But if you watched Survivor Series and RAW this past week, it seemed like that “vocal minority” was a little louder than normal. During the Randy Orton/Big Show WWE Title Match, the crowd was about as dead as you could imagine. Almost immediately after the match started, “Daniel Bryan” chants broke out in the audience. About half way through the match a “boring” chant broke out during a rest spot. And the crowd barely gave a damn when John Cena and Randy Orton had a stare down to close the show.
Now lets move to RAW on Monday. While Triple H and Randy Orton were exchanging words to start the show another “Daniel Bryan” chant broke out. And you can tell Triple H was taken back a bit with that chant by his reaction. Then I couldn’t help but laugh at John Cena. He comes out and says the fans chant Daniel Bryan because they are sick and tired of the same old administrative BS. So what does he do? Propose the idea of him against Randy Orton, a match that has been done to death in the past. And the last match a lot of fans want to see. Then again during the main event, the crowd was dead again and another vocal ‘Daniel Bryan” chant broke out.
So what does it all mean? It could mean nothing. It could just be that the vocal Northeast WWE audience was letting their feelings be known and that’s it. But it could also mean something different. Maybe, just maybe, the WWE Universe has finally seen enough of the same old crap that the WWE likes to throw out on TV. Of course, with so many hours of TV nowadays, a lot of that is bound to happen. The WWE gave us a tease of what it could have been like with Daniel Bryan on top this summer. He was given the chance to be in the main event at SummerSlam. But they essentially buried Daniel Bryan in the entire build up to the match, and it continued after the PPV. Every fan around was waiting for Daniel Bryan to get his revenge on Triple H and Co. After being called a B+ player for months, it would have been so great to see Daniel Bryan standing tall as WWE Champ. But that didn’t happen. And now, Bryan is nowhere near the WWE Title. And I never liked how they played off Bryan losing at Hell In A Cell. Was Bryan putting Shawn Michaels in the Yes Lock suppose to make us feel better about him losing?
The one constant about being a pro wrestling fan is that we are always looking for new stars to get behind. If a star is on top for far too long, there’s a good chance that the fans will turn on said star. We’ve seen it happen with John Cena and Sheamus. The fans were BEGGING for the WWE to put Daniel Bryan on top. But Bryan wasn’t pushed because of something the WWE did. Bryan got over on his own, which is something the WWE doesn’t like. Just look at Zack Ryder. We can only hope that at least the WWE doesn’t screw up Roman Reigns. Even when the WWE gets behind a new star, they can just as quickly pull the rug out from under them. Again, I give you Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler as examples.
It will be interesting to watch the build to TLC and how the fans will react. It was quite clear that Big Show was never the answer. Now we get another rehash of John Cena and Randy Orton. If the fans keep up the Daniel Bryan chants the WWE has to take note somehow. Whenever the WWE is in a panic, they always feel the need to go back to their already made stars like Cena and Orton. But the WWE needs to push new stars if they want to survive long term. Who cares if Daniel Bryan and CM Punk don’t have the look of a top star? If the crowd is behind someone then there’s no reason for the WWE not to give it a shot. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have been getting the best reactions on TV recently. And it isn’t just the smarks getting behind them.
If the crowd fails to get behind Cena/Orton at TLC, the WWE might have a big problem on their hands come Wrestlemania season. Especially if the WWE delivers another false finish to the match. Who didn’t think when the match was announced that the ending at TLC would see Orton pull down the World Title, and Cena pull down the WWE Title? If this program goes any longer than TLC I would feel confident guaranteeing a bad reaction from fans at future shows.
The WWE hopefully has something planned for Wrestlemania that will give the fans a reason to care going into it. I would hope that they don’t plan on stretching out Cena/Orton for that long. Do you know how badly the Wrestlemania crowd would crap all over that match? And I’m not saying that this just has to be about CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Why not push guys like Big E Langston, Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler? The WWE needs to realize that their out-dated business model isn’t going to work if they want to succeed long term.
I truly believe the fans are closer than ever to saying “enough is enough” when it comes to the lack of new stars in the WWE. But will they even care? The WWE loves to talk about the WWE Universe but often ignores them when it comes to their decisions on who will be pushed next. But part of it is their own ability to over-complicate things. Wrestlemania could have been built so easily. Bryan wins the WWE Title at Hell In A Cell. He beats, lets say, Dean Ambrose at Survivor Series as the WWE continues to tease tension in The Shield. Triple H then brings back Brock Lesnar to face Bryan at the Rumble. Lesnar wins the Title there. CM Punk wins the Rumble. After HHH screws Bryan over at Elimination Chamber, Bryan challenges HHH to a match at Mania. Meanwhile, Cena challenges The Undertaker. Your Top 3 Matches at Wrestlemania: Lesnar/Punk for the WWE Title, HHH/Bryan, Cena/Taker. That’s a solid card.
But I digress. The point here is to question how close the WWE fans are to just completely turning on the product. The WWE likes to still live in their old ways. They think big guys are what is best for business and will refuse to believe otherwise. It is almost as if the WWE looks down on their audience and thinks they are nothing more than money in their pockets. But if the WWE keeps up with the same old same old when it comes to their product, that money in their pocket will let their voice be heard. And then, the WWE won’t have so much money in their pockets anymore.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
