The Spirit of The Ultimate Warrior will run forever in The Wrestling Thread

[Gee]

Which makes me think: Who were the woman and child on the ring after Bryan won? His sister and niece?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Yeah they were his sister and niece. I recognised his sister from the Wrestling Road Diaries documentaries. She plays host to Bryan and the wrestlers he's travelling with when they're in that area.

 

[Slushy]

DANIEL BRYAN: JOURNEY TO WRESTLEMANIA XXX

In the first of many to come, The WWE Network debuted its exclusive documentary. This one on American Dragon. Running 57 minutes, it recaps Bryan's life from humble beginnings in Aberdeen, WA all the way to the grand finale in New Orleans.

Rollins, Cesaro, Bella, Cena, Cole, Miz, Austin, Michaels, Patterson, Sheamus, and Bryan himself give insight.

The format is very much like Best In The World. More candid and behind the scenes unlike the usual documentary format. They skim Bryan's upbringing (no childhood photos or in-depth conversations with his mother as seen in You Think You Know Me or Thy Kingdom Come), Bryan wanted to become a wrestler since he was a kid and that's all he ever wanted to be. They show footage from his wrestling days in Texas Wrestling Academy and Ring Of Honor.

Rollins and Cesaro have a lot of screentime since they worked close with Bryan trying to make a name for themselves. Cena puts over Bryan big time with his seal of approval and hates the term "indy guy". Bryan notes how frustrated he was when he got fired for the stupid tie incident then not being used much when he came back until the following year. Bella kept his chin up since they first started dating. Patterson has an emotional connection to Bryan just like he did with Bret Hart for his talent and hard work ethic. Sheamus hated how their Wrestlemania 27 match was handled, called it the worst moment in his career and wished it never happened.

(Its funny a few years ago, Miz was the guy going up the card and Bryan was a nobody in WWE and now Bryan is The Man and Miz is the nobody, lol.)

Bryan is a super nice guy, but admits to not liking the celebrity lifestyle and hates it when he gets approached by fans off the clock, but takes in stride instead of avoiding it like a plague like Brock Lesnar would. However, Bryan loves the public events where he gets to sign and meet fans in an arranged manner.

He gets pushed because of the fans (he's another guy who Vince thought wasn't world championship material until proven wrong much like with Hart, Michaels, Austin, Maivia, Cena, and Punk.) thanks the 18 seconds fiasco. We finally get to Wrestlemania XXX week where Bryan has to do countless interviews. I can see how that would burn anybody out. The camera crew follows him everywhere from his house to shopping to working out to red carpet events to his hotel room. Finally, we get to The Grand Spectacle with Bryan overcoming the odds (I haven't heard Cole this emotional on commentary since Guerrero challenged Lesnar.) and Bella's reaction backstage being shown as the victories happen. Now the Undisputed Champion, he remarks the end of this journey and the beginning of the next one. YES!

They leave you with the feeling that Bryan will be the guy to carry the company just as Sammartino, Backlund, Hogan, Hart, Austin, Helmsley, and Cena did.


My only complaint are that more time could've been added as I'm used to watching 90 minutes / 2 hour documentaries and I hated how Mick Foley was ignored. Hopefully, this will be released on DVD / Blu-Ray later this year with a dozen matches and a bunch of deleted scenes included.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Good write-up, Slushy. I wouldn't say that Bryan said he hates being approached by fans so much as he hates when those fans treat him like he's something special and want his autograph and his picture. He says he thinks of himself as just a guy and would rather get treated like that. But I do think one advantage he has over CM Punk is that he has a natural warmth to him where, even if he isn't comfortable with celebrity, he can switch it on and give people the time of day, and smile for the camera.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Good write-up, Slushy. I wouldn't say that Bryan said he hates being approached by fans so much as he hates when those fans treat him like he's something special and want his autograph and his picture. He says he thinks of himself as just a guy and would rather get treated like that. But I do think one advantage he has over CM Punk is that he has a natural warmth to him where, even if he isn't comfortable with celebrity, he can switch it on and give people the time of day, and smile for the camera.

I imagine if everywhere you went, people started shouting "Yes! Yes!" it would getting annoying after a while.

 

[Lobo]

Had to update the avvy as me and Slushy had the same one.

Are they ever going to back to just one title? I see them using the big logo going forward.

 

[Hotwire]

Any idea who that is with "Sexy Porno Business Woman" Steph?

 

[OnTheAir]

The future mother of my future children!

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Layla!


And you know Nancy Grace is a useless **** when she can get Jim Cornette and Kevin Steen to get along.

 

[The Sage]

Fellas, this is the truth.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

Fellas, this is the truth.

It ain't happening. #DealWithIt

 

[Wheels]

Fellas, this is the truth.

So true.

 

[OnTheAir]

Fellas, this is the truth.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Keyser Soze]

Fellas, this is the truth.

To be fair to Sting, before TNA broke his spirit towards the end of his run (as it eventually does to all who compete there long enough), Sting was arguably at the most motivated and engaged he'd been in years. His better matches were probably the best Sting had been in the ring since 1997/1998, and he was doing some of the best promo work of his career once they did that conflicted heel run with him in the Main Event Mafia. I would have been totally cool with THAT Sting having a decent match with The Undertaker I've been used to seeing work magic at WrestleMania. But this year was a sobering wake-up call that even the mighty Deadman can't work magic forever. This is a dream match which, sadly, will probably be best left in the "What if?" category.

 

[SpideyFan866]

Fellas, this is the truth.

Why are you trying to ruin my happiness.


Plus, I don't really care.

 

[Hunter Rider]

@Slushy, interesting list dude!

I watched the Bryan documentary last night and I thought it was really well done. Austin hit the nail on the head, he's not a cartoon character, he's Daniel Bryan, a blue collar everyman who fans can live through which is why fans have gravitated towards him.

John Cena came over as a class act in the documentary and it was interesting to see how much time Rollins got and he came over really well as well. I also have to say Brie seemed very genuine and a great girlfriend.
I also liked hearing from Sheamus who I felt kinda sorry for given how things panned out.

One thing felt really clear, for all that has been said onscreen, WWE as a company are now fully behind making him the top guy and that most within are wanting him to succeed. This certainly extends to Triple H and Steph who payed-off everything that was built up at Mania and did their part to cement him, and you could add Batista to the list as well, Randy of course has been putting Bryan over since last summer.

When you look back at Mania 30 you realize that Bryan was put over in a stronger way than perhaps anyone else has been in ten years, the show was built around his story and the fact he did it all by himself and they saved The Shield full turn for the Raw says a lot about how much WWE value him. You don't spend that type of money and invest that much time and promotion in a guy you don't expect to be delivering for years to come.

 

[wheatshox]

I'm not saying that I want to see Undertaker/Sting or even another Undertaker match, but I do wonder if whatever injuries he actually sustained at Wrestlemania impacted the rest of the match. Depending on how early they occurred, especially if it was the leg drop over the edge of the ring, then that would account for a lot of the general sluggishness (surely that Last Ride was supposed to look better). I doubt they'd been rehearsing this match for weeks...and that that's what they came up with. Some things might've gotten nixed based off a potential concussion.

But after trying to make excuses for him, I'm fine with Undertaker retiring. He had a memorable career with some great matches sprinkled in. I might be in the minority, but I think I liked his American Bada$$ gimmick the most. It included his best promos, some of my favorite matches (like against Triple H at WM XVII), and you could tell he was simply enjoying it.

As for Sting, I haven't seen much past his build-up to Starrcade in '97 and the work that immediately followed it. He seemed decent with a lot of energy, but I never liked that that version of the character was basically a rip-off of the Crow. At least there aren't many, or any, obvious parallels for The Undertaker from pop culture.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Rob Van Dam returned on Monday’s RAW instead of WrestleMania XXX because Vince McMahon wanted to save the pop for the post-WrestleMania RAW. There was talk of using him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but it was Vince’s decision to keep him off TV until RAW. The deal for RVD to return this month reportedly was agreed on two months ago.

Word from RAW is that RVD is scheduled for a “nice push” over the next few months and that Vince really wants to keep him around past SummerSlam if possible. Vince is really high on RVD and has always been a fan.

It'll be interesting to see how he is used, a feud with Cesaro might be a good bet as Heyman could really get his teeth into things given their history and it could allow RVD a chance to show more character.

- Word from RAW is that the Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger feud isn’t something that’s expected to “drag on” and could be a “one and done” program.

As it should be, Cesaro should win at Extreme Rules and then move on.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]

Shield girl tweeted this to Rollins last night.

 

[wheatshox]

I missed most of Raw. Trying to think of what to do with RVD, does Big E or Ambrose (on his own) have anything going on? They have those belts but they aren't doing a dang thing with them.

I think I would book RVD against one, probably Ambrose, at Extreme Rules and have him win the belt. It wouldn't necessarily help or hurt Ambrose, especially if it's some type of hardcore match that gets insane. Ambrose hasn't been using the belt anyways.

And then here is where my booking would get fun. RVD, historically being linked to it, would change the US Title to the Television Championship and would defend it every week on Raw. After Cesaro finishes up with Swagger, you have him take on RVD at Payback and win. Then Cesaro, for months, defends the title every Monday on Raw and is completely dominant, yet putting on classics on an almost weekly basis. I would have him go until Survivor Series when he puts his belt on the line against Bryan for the World Championship.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I missed most of Raw. Trying to think of what to do with RVD, does Big E or Ambrose (on his own) have anything going on? They have those belts but they aren't doing a dang thing with them.

I think I would book RVD against one, probably Ambrose, at Extreme Rules and have him win the belt. It wouldn't necessarily help or hurt Ambrose, especially if it's some type of hardcore match that gets insane. Ambrose hasn't been using the belt anyways.

And then here is where my booking would get fun. RVD, historically being linked to it, would change the US Title to the Television Championship and would defend it every week on Raw. After Cesaro finishes up with Swagger, you have him take on RVD at Payback and win. Then Cesaro, for months, defends the title every Monday on Raw and is completely dominant, yet putting on classics on an almost weekly basis. I would have him go until Survivor Series when he puts his belt on the line against Bryan for the World Championship.

I like the idea of the TV Championship, Cesaro defending weekly in 10 minute time limit matches would showcase what he does best and actually give guys he wrestles the chance toi shine as well.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]