Bryan needs to be funnier as a main eventer

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

No, I'm serious, and no, I'm not acting as a WWE spokesperson here. I don't care how much he's getting stomped by the Shield and Orton, he still needs to keep that element of craziness he had with Team Hell No, or at least an upbeat (and determined) attitude throughout his feud with the Corporation.

Granted, I'd like something a little more witty than him just calling Orton pretty or spraypainting cars, but even stuff like is the lesser of the two evils as opposed to him becoming "super serious pure wrestler guy"- and some of the promos he's cut as of late (the "armory" shit) have me nervous WWE will try to force him into that role, which would suck.

It's the same reason I can't get into Punk the way I do with guys like Cena and Sheamus- people accuse them of not taking the situation seriously enough, but damn that, they get that wrestling's supposed to be fun above all else. At some point, Bryan needs to start talking about bears again.

[Brother Nero....Wolfe]

I'm with you. I hate this mindset that main eventers need to be absolutely serious characters.

Poor Swagger and his eagle.

[The Man They Call Asher]

As long as he doesn't utter the words 'clown shoes' or 'toolbox'.

[Deleted]

If the feud is really heated humor should take a backseat. If the feud is heatless humour should dominate the feud. That's why Sheamus vs. Del Rio was really secretly the most genius well booked feud of all time!

[Emmet Russell]

I think Bryan has has his funny moments as a main event wrestler thus far; his line to Stephanie about her reminding him of a word that started with B was very entertaining.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

I would agree.


But WWE's track record of trying to make main event faces "funny" is pretty bad. Remember Sheamus' awful stand up comedy routine and CM Punk's insults of "clown shoes"?

[lildude8218]

funny how? like a clown?

[EyeofTyr]

Right now, to me, it's perfectly understandable that Bryan isn't doing much comedy. His big moment, and the WWE title, was taken from him and he's hellbent on getting revenge for that moment and getting the title back.

It's actually refreshing to see a main event babyface be serious when it's called for and not yucking it up like a dufus after he's lost something important to him.

After this business is over, or more specifically after Bryan's gotten some measure of revenge or the title back, then he can yuck it up again. Till then the comedy should be kept to a minimum. Otherwise it undermines the drama.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Yeah, now's not really the time for Bryan to start with the funny business again. Maybe once he's past all this, but for now...

[thelonewolf527]

He's not gonna be able to do that until he learns how to cut a promo without sounding like he's thinking of what he should say

[BigWill]

I think Bryan's plenty funny as he is. Any more and he'll turn into another John Cena character that can't ever take anything seriously. And I think we have enough of those on the roster already.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Sept 9, 2013 1:06:13 GMT -5 BigWill said:

I think Bryan's plenty funny as he is. Any more and he'll turn into another John Cena character that can't ever take anything seriously. And I think we have enough of those on the roster already.

That's the idea. Cena gets it- he's plenty intense in the ring, he doesn't need to be super serial outside of it. That's where I want Bryan to be.

[BigWill]

Sept 9, 2013 1:13:31 GMT -5 BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps said:

Sept 9, 2013 1:06:13 GMT -5 BigWill said:

I think Bryan's plenty funny as he is. Any more and he'll turn into another John Cena character that can't ever take anything seriously. And I think we have enough of those on the roster already.

That's the idea. Cena gets it- he's plenty intense in the ring, he doesn't need to be super serial outside of it. That's where I want Bryan to be.

That's one of the main reasons people hate Cena.

I enjoy Daniel Bryan not getting booed, so I think he's fine as is.

[EyeofTyr]

Thing is, for good and proper story telling...sometimes you need to be serious outside the ring. Otherwise the drama, the tension, the suspense falls apart if while everybody else is those things the central protagonist, the one who is supposed to carry the weight of that, is grinning like a fool and trying his best Bugs Bunny impression.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

I want a face version of World Heavyweight Champion Bryan with U.S. Champion Bryan's dashing good looks.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Sept 9, 2013 1:20:33 GMT -5 EyeofTyr said:

Thing is, for good and proper story telling...sometimes you need to be serious outside the ring. Otherwise the drama, the tension, the suspense falls apart if while everybody else is those things the central protagonist, the one who is supposed to carry the weight of that, is grinning like a fool and trying his best Bugs Bunny impression.

The problem with that is this is still pro wrestling, and its inherently ridiculous nature makes it impossible to create a dramatic narrative without it coming off as unintentionally funny at some point. That's why I can't relate to fans that insist a babyface can't be fun loving, because a funny babyface can deflate both the heel's pretentions as well as wrestling's pretentions.

A jokey hero wouldn't work in most mediums, but for wrestling it's absolutely perfect.

[EyeofTyr]

Sept 9, 2013 1:28:28 GMT -5 BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps said:

Sept 9, 2013 1:20:33 GMT -5 EyeofTyr said:

Thing is, for good and proper story telling...sometimes you need to be serious outside the ring. Otherwise the drama, the tension, the suspense falls apart if while everybody else is those things the central protagonist, the one who is supposed to carry the weight of that, is grinning like a fool and trying his best Bugs Bunny impression.

The problem with that is this is still pro wrestling, and its inherently ridiculous nature makes it impossible to create a dramatic narrative without it coming off as unintentionally funny at some point. That's why I can't relate to fans that insist a babyface can't be fun loving, because a funny babyface can deflate both the heel's pretentions as well as wrestling's pretentions.

A jokey hero wouldn't work in most mediums, but for wrestling it's absolutely perfect.

I'm not saying a babyface can't be fun loving. But there has to be a balance, otherwise the story telling aspects of pro-wrestling fall apart.

It might be an inherently ridiculous media, but it can still produce genuinely dramatic moments that can generate an array of emotions out of it's fans that are invested in it. While things can be silly when they try to be serious, such as the Brock & HHH feud, other times they can hit it right out of the park in amazing ways, the Undertaker/HBK Saga for example.

If this storyline is to be taken seriously, if it is to potentially be something remembered for years to come and if they hope for it to strike such emotional spectrum with people, Bryan has to be able to get serious. He, as the protagonist, has to be able to do some heavy lifting of the gravity of the storyline. For he is the connection the audience, ideally, has with the story and he is the person they should be invested in. But if he can't be invested in it or if he is giving the camera the old grin and wink through the entire thing it deflates it entirely for the audience...because why should they care if he can't be bothered to?

It makes people naturally feel "Well, I guess that WWE title and big moment at Summerslam didn't mean crap to you. Because you're yucking it up over here and doing your usual song and dance shtick for us".

And, with so many top level babyfaces already fitting the mold you desire, why can't there be a different type at the top too? Part of what made so many of the "biggest" eras of the company work from a storyline perspective was the varying characters at the top. Both in terms of faces and heels. For every Rock, there was an Austin or a Foley or a Kane.

I see nothing wrong with Bryan being different than Cena or Sheamus or babyface Punk in that regard.

[Hit Girl]

He's getting his head kicked in on a weekly basis. He has to be serious. If he uses humour it should be gallows humour.

[AwamoriRock]

Sept 9, 2013 1:28:28 GMT -5 BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps said:

Sept 9, 2013 1:20:33 GMT -5 EyeofTyr said:

Thing is, for good and proper story telling...sometimes you need to be serious outside the ring. Otherwise the drama, the tension, the suspense falls apart if while everybody else is those things the central protagonist, the one who is supposed to carry the weight of that, is grinning like a fool and trying his best Bugs Bunny impression.

The problem with that is this is still pro wrestling, and its inherently ridiculous nature makes it impossible to create a dramatic narrative without it coming off as unintentionally funny at some point. That's why I can't relate to fans that insist a babyface can't be fun loving, because a funny babyface can deflate both the heel's pretentions as well as wrestling's pretentions.

A jokey hero wouldn't work in most mediums, but for wrestling it's absolutely perfect.

Wrestling has an inherent silly quality, but that quality doesn't need to be present all the time. The storyline as it has progressed so far doesn't need Bryan to be grinning and chucking it up. He can make quips/barbs in arguments or whatever, but the second he starts acting like Sheamus, Cena, or super-face Punk, then he'd just be forcing it. He's mega-over in his current persona, and while I'm sure he'll bring up his character quirks sooner or later, not everybody needs to act like Cena.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Sept 9, 2013 1:45:01 GMT -5 EyeofTyr said:

I'm not saying a babyface can't be fun loving. But there has to be a balance, otherwise the story telling aspects of pro-wrestling fall apart.

It might be an inherently ridiculous media, but it can still produce genuinely dramatic moments that can generate an array of emotions out of it's fans that are invested in it. While things can be silly when they try to be serious, such as the Brock & HHH feud, other times they can hit it right out of the park in amazing ways, the Undertaker/HBK Saga for example.

If this storyline is to be taken seriously, if it is to potentially be something remembered for years to come and if they hope for it to strike such emotional spectrum with people, Bryan has to be able to get serious. He, as the protagonist, has to be able to do some heavy lifting of the gravity of the storyline. For he is the connection the audience, ideally, has with the story and he is the person they should be invested in. But if he can't be invested in it or if he is giving the camera the old grin and wink through the entire thing it deflates it entirely for the audience...because why should they care if he can't be bothered to?

It makes people naturally feel "Well, I guess that WWE title and big moment at Summerslam didn't mean crap to you. Because you're yucking it up over here and doing your usual song and dance shtick for us".

And, with so many top level babyfaces already fitting the mold you desire, why can't there be a different type at the top too? Part of what made so many of the "biggest" eras of the company work from a storyline perspective was the varying characters at the top. Both in terms of faces and heels. For every Rock, there was an Austin or a Foley or a Kane.

I see nothing wrong with Bryan being different than Cena or Sheamus or babyface Punk in that regard.

Sept 9, 2013 1:48:07 GMT -5 AwamoriRock said:

Sept 9, 2013 1:28:28 GMT -5 BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps said:

The problem with that is this is still pro wrestling, and its inherently ridiculous nature makes it impossible to create a dramatic narrative without it coming off as unintentionally funny at some point. That's why I can't relate to fans that insist a babyface can't be fun loving, because a funny babyface can deflate both the heel's pretentions as well as wrestling's pretentions.

A jokey hero wouldn't work in most mediums, but for wrestling it's absolutely perfect.

Wrestling has an inherent silly quality, but that quality doesn't need to be present all the time. The storyline as it has progressed so far doesn't need Bryan to be grinning and chucking it up. He can make quips/barbs in arguments or whatever, but the second he starts acting like Sheamus, Cena, or super-face Punk, then he'd just be forcing it. He's mega-over in his current persona, and while I'm sure he'll bring up his character quirks sooner or later, not everybody needs to act like Cena.

The great thing about Cena is that he already does bring that balance, as he's equally skilled at intense angry promos, straightforward serious ones and muggy jokey ones. In no way is he an example of going too far in the silliness direction (that would be Santino, if they actually gave him a main event push). Bryan, though he's not on the same skill level mic wise, is equally versatile, so even in this angle he needs to at least quip a little.

A big aspect of this storyline is HHH and the power structure, in a sense, forcing the fans to swallow bitter tasting vegetables because they feel it's better for them (or business). Why not let Bryan be the ice cream cone he was during Team Hell No?

I'm not asking for him to lay out Screwy Squirrel traps for the Shield (although that would be pretty hype), but if the end result of where we're headed is grim faced wrestling machine Bryan, pass. I think more comedy would properly even his current character out.