Brian Danielson question

[dlg3000]

From what I have seen of his work, he is a good wrestler. How do you predict he will do in the WWE based on what you have seen of him? It is obvious that some of you have watched a lot more ROH matches than I have.

[Gopher Mod]

I worry that Bryan's going to get thrown under the bus and get fired within 3 years because "they have nothing for him".

[Agent P]

I agree with Reali, but I have a different question...

Did Danielson actually sign his contract?

[Mozenrath]

He could go the Punk route and be a sleeper hit, or he could come and go with little fanfair. I hope for the former.

[Zen411]

Depending on if TNA stays the same with guys like AJ, Samoa Joe, Desmond Wolf, etc on top, TNA could be a better place for Danielson. He would be a natural feuding with these guys in 5 star matches. If Hogan makes the changes and suddenly old WCW stars are on top, Danielson would be best in WWE.

I would like to see Danielson go against Punk, HHH, HBK, or any other top mat wrestlers. I would like to see a Benoit type character for him where he is a respected mat technician with an edge. It's tricky for WWE Creative to carry off a wrestler with a past correctly. I would hope for the best but am skeptical.

[H-Fist]

I believe that Danielson's contract has to be held up until his final ROH on HDNet match airs. That's why he hasn't been on WWE tv yet. I believe tonight is Bryan's farewell TV match, since the HDNet listing says "Premiere! Mon., Nov. 16th 8:00 PM ET Ring of Honor says goodbye to a legend."

Given Danielson's skill and knowledge, I would expect him to have an absolute minimum success level comparable to Jamie Noble or Charlie Haas. Before you think "jobber," remember that both of those talents have been used to test other talents and to ensure that upwardly-mobile midcarders (like John Morrison) can have a great match every so often with an opponent without giving away a PPV match. Noble also has been a producer/road agent, which likely is a long-term career projection for Danielson.

As far as in-ring ceiling, few of us delude ourselves into thinking WWE would allow someone like Danielson (at 5'9" and under 200 pounds) to hold either World title. But at the same time, he comes in with an even better resume and comparable notoriety among indie fans than CM Punk did.

* Danielson works well as a face, but is a fantastic heel also.
* He has worked equally well with undersized high fliers and big men like Morishima.
* Unlike many wrestlers of his generation, he knows how to sell and how to work an audience. He also isn't afraid to do either.
* While he doesn't cut bone-chilling write-home-and-tell-your-mama promos, he is able to deliver consistent promos that stress his competitive nature and athletic focus. WWE fans, much to WWE's chagrin, like their superstars to be athletes.

I believe that he will have no problem getting over as long as WWE brings him in, as they did with CM Punk, in a meaningful manner. He needs to look good and have an opportunity to establish his style and moveset as well as his personality. A series of small non-PPV feuds would be okay. A guy like him needs to prove himself first. Let him be like Mr. Perfect in that he Knows how to Win.

So I can see him easily as a credible ECW Champion or IC/US Champ. He could also be built into a placeholder challenger to a world champ on PPV when there are one or two other huge feuds going on and the one champ is sort of secondary. Just a challenge to make the champ vulnerable heading into his next feud.

So he has a pretty high ceiling. And I have a hard time believing that he won't reach damn close to it. WWE has made Punk, Kofi, Morrison, and Miz into stars despite being "undersized," and Bourne is well on his way. No reason to think the Best in the World would be any different.

[Ralnathane]

I too would like to see AmDrag in a good set up... I think a slower build up, spend some time in the mid card with a couple good reigns with either the IC or US strap, and then have a run at the top... after a MITB win of course.

[Chuckie Finster]

Danielson has signed his contract. He did so in the middle of October.

I'm just guessing, as already mentioned, they're waiting for his final ROH on HDNet show to happen which is tonight.

[Tapout]

I think it could go either way, since the previous big-name ROH guy, Cabana, was a huge flop in WWE, while the big-name ROH talent before that, Punk, became a huge success.

But like I've said before, I strongly believe Danielson's size will work against him in the long run and will likely keep him out of the world title picture for some time, if not forever, unless he catches fire and a couple other guys get caught on wellness and the company needs more main eventers in a hurry.

He's coming in with a ton of hype from the indies and it seems doubtful anyone in the company will care, if not hold it against him, so I'd say he'll have an uphill climb once he gets in.

[The Tank]

AmDrag's definitely got the talent to make it far, both in wrestling skill and personality/mic skill.

His size is definitely gonna hurt him, though.

Although, what would really help is if he debuted in a city that's very smark-heavy. (I'll admit that Punk would've succeeded no matter what, but if you think him debuting in Hammerstein had nothing to do with his success, you're wrong.)

[Trip Fisk a.k.a. Foley is Good]

In my opinion, it depends on WHERE Danielson makes his debut. If you bring him in to one of the places where ROH has a decent fanbase (NYC, Philly, etc.), then there is a possibility that he could have a good debut. WWE were absolute geniuses for having Punk debut at the Hammerstein as opposed to some generic arena.

[STMP]

He reminds me of Regal and I think he will go the Regal way. The guy who puts others over, is always in the main event or upper mid-card, but for some reason never THE main event guy, no matter how popular he is, because he is too hard to sell to the crowd.

[hajimenoippo]

ECW should be his home for 2 years

[H-Fist]

The thing with Dragon is that he can get "3-star" matches out of anyone. Recently he tore the house down against Silas freaking Young (really built my respect for Silas, btw). He can make anyone look good. Perfect Matt Hardy-type for years to come.

[Long Live the Stream]

I think as long as he's booked like Benoit was in 2000-2001, where he's the technical wrestler who will beat you within an inch of your life, he'll be great.

[jdsnelson]

I hope he starts on ECW and gets a run with the title there. After about a year in ECW, I'd like to see him drafted to Smackdown. There he could be a contender and possibly hold the Intercontinental/US Championship numerous times. Same if he went to Raw but we all know how scary that can be.

[Deleted]

It's really unfortunate he's not just a little bit bigger.

Maybe he can pull it off anyway, but it doesn't help.

[Dave at the Movies]

He will either end up like Punk or he will not get anywhere and go to TNA.

[Bubble Lead]

Nov 16, 2009 15:23:00 GMT -5 Trip Fisk a.k.a. Foley is Good said:

In my opinion, it depends on WHERE Danielson makes his debut. If you bring him in to one of the places where ROH has a decent fanbase (NYC, Philly, etc.), then there is a possibility that he could have a good debut. WWE were absolute geniuses for having Punk debut at the Hammerstein as opposed to some generic arena.

Eh, give Heyman the credit not WWE. He was the one who wanted Punk for the relaunched ECW and he was also the guy with the book in ECW at that time.

I do not hold out much hope for Danielson in WWE. I was hoping he would go to TNA where he could get a fair shake. In WWE he is just going to be a little guy for the big guys to beat up on. Either that or he will get the Charlie Haas treatment where they talk about how great of a wrestler and what an impressive athletic background he has while he jobs night in and night out with no chance to show it. If neither of these happen I will be absolutely shocked.

I think the BEST possible thing that may happen to him is he goes the Bourne route, debuts on ECW and puts on some exciting matches, gains momentum, gets drafted to one of the big shows and ends up being a ragdoll for whoever the writers are high on at the time.

I also dont get why people think he will just debut immediately on WWE TV as if he was a TNA main eventer signing or something. He is going to be in developmental for awhile. Every other indie guy they signed was and he will be no different.