(Writer’s Note: Trust me, I don’t want to keep writing about this topic, directly or otherwise, but that’s the way the cookie happens to be crumbling right now. You have my word, though… next week’s column will have nothing to do with Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, The Bloodline, or anyone involved in the telling of that story. Now that I have given you that promise, watch some earth-shattering news story involving one of those people take place, forcing me to write about them again.)
After I posted my SummerSlam review column a little over a week ago, I got a DM on Twitter from one of my long time readers, and he told me that he felt almost exactly the same way I did about what Jimmy Uso did. He and I went back-and-forth for a bit, venting about how it was a major miss in a storyline that has been almost exclusively full of hits until that point.
After I posted my “follow-up” column going into further detail about my feelings on what took place at SummerSlam, I got a message on Facebook from a different long time reader of mine. He mentioned how angry the Jimmy Uso turn made him, and after reading my column, he was glad to see that I, someone who has been completely pro-Bloodline storyline across the board, wasn’t a fan of what happened, either. At one point, he asked me if I would consider myself “angry” or “mad” at what went down, and I wouldn’t classify myself in either of those categories, but then it got me to thinking…
In all my years of watching wrestling, what was the angriest I had ever been?
To clarify and narrow it down, I’m talking about being angry at something that happened on-screen in a pro wrestling capacity, not something like being angry at a wrestler for being arrested, killing themselves, killing someone else, and so on.
I remember the day it truly started like it was yesterday.
August 18th, 2013.
For those of you that have been riding with me for a long time, this was, of course, back in the days of the Lords Of Podcast Roundtable, the official pay-per-view post-show podcast of this very site, back in its Lords Of Pain days. Myself, Repo, De, and Steve (aka YourAyatollah) would all hop on a Skype call together and watch WWE and TNA pay-per-views live, and we would then go live on BlogTalkRadio mere moments after the pay-per-views ended.
On this particular night (well, I guess it was barely evening for me, as I still lived in Hawaii at the time), we just sat and watched the 2013 edition of SummerSlam. You ‘member the show, right? You ‘member. In his first match on the main roster (in that character), Bray Wyatt defeated Kane in a Ring Of Fire Match. THE MEGA RHODES SCHOLARS EXPLODED as Cody Rhodes defeated Damian Sandow. Alberto Del Rio successfully defended his World Heavyweight Title against Christian. Natalya defeated Brie Bella in a match that was one of the many things to take place in the history of space and time. Brock Lesnar defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification Match that would make many year-end Match Of The Year lists. Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn would team up to defeat the duo of Big E Langston and AJ Lee.
Then came the reason many of us were watching SummerSlam in the first place… John Cena defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan. This was smack dab in the middle of Daniel Bryan’s meteoric rise in popularity. Cena was given the opportunity to hand select his SummerSlam opponent, and after asking the WWE Universe who he should choose, they went with “their” guy, DB.
After an incredible match (my pick for 2013’s Match Of The Year), Daniel Bryan had come out on top, winning the WWE Title on one of the company’s biggest stages by defeating the company’s top star. As a fan of DB, it was a great feeling. Just as we were starting to make our final preparations for the podcast, someone (I don’t remember which of the guys it was) said something, seemingly half-joking, that made the joy in the “room” begin to fade away like air leaking from a tire…
“Why is Triple H still in the ring?”
Triple H was the Special Guest Referee for the match, but all throughout DB’s celebration, Trips seemed to make sure that he was near DB, if not standing behind him outright. Then, we heard the music of Randy Orton, who was the holder of the Money In The Bank briefcase at the time, and I will never, ever forget my immediate reaction…
“FUCK!”
It clicked in my head, and it was like everything turned to slow-motion as everything that was in my head played out before my eyes a millisecond later. Just then, Triple H grabbed DB, spun him around, kicked him in the gut, and laid him out with a Pedigree.
“FUCK!”
Orton entered the ring, handed his briefcase to Triple H, and we got the bell to start the match. “The Viper” made the cover, and just like that, we had a new WWE Champion, mere minutes after crowning the previous one.
“FUCK!”
It was such an insane roller coaster ride to be taken on. We would go on to have our most animated podcast episode, and some would say best episode, with a lot of arguing and emotions from all corners.
Ten years ago, I believed something with every fiber of my being… everything we saw with WWE putting roadblocks up in front of Daniel Bryan, and not listening to the live crowds that obviously wanted to will a push for him, was not originally part of the plan. While they fed him some breadcrumbs here and there, that was meant to try and shut the fans up. The company wanted to push John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Brock Lesnar, and the wrestlers of that nature. When the WWE Universe and the “Yes Movement” grew stronger, WWE pushed back just as strong, until eventually, they simply could not ignore the fans any longer. They couldn’t ignore the fans because the fans decided to “hijack” WWE programming. If Daniel Bryan wasn’t involved in a match or a segment on television, fans were chanting for him. This was never more evident than during the “Championship Ascension Ceremony” on the December 9th, 2013 episode of Raw. It was to hype up the main event of that coming weekend’s TLC pay-per-view, where WWE Champion Randy Orton was facing World Heavyweight Champion John Cena in a TLC Match to unify the titles. During the ceremony, WWE had a dozen or so men in the ring with Cena and Orton, and each of those dozen men were former WWE or World Heavyweight Champions. Mick Foley, Mark Henry, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Bret Hart… the list goes on… and yes, Daniel Bryan was there, and he was the focus of the crowd that night. Those fans didn’t care much about the narrative WWE was trying to push. They wanted Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who were in the ring, to hear them. They wanted Vince McMahon, who was at his usual spot in the Gorilla Position, to hear them.
Then came the time when WWE had Daniel Bryan turn “heel” and align himself with Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family. On the December 30th, 2013 episode of Raw, Bryan was facing The Wyatt Family in a Gauntlet Match, and defeated both Luke Harper and Erick Rowan before both big men attacked him and caused a disqualification during Bryan’s match with Wyatt himself. Bray had been trying to recruit Bryan to join them, and this caused Bryan to give in, declaring that he couldn’t defeat “The Machine” on his own, no matter how hard he tried, so he was finally going to give in and join the Wyatts. At the time, I specifically remember some major wrestling news sites writing about this move as WWE’s final decision on moving DB away from the main event scene of WrestleMania. People were pissed.
Then, a strange thing happened exactly two weeks later.
On the January 13th, 2014 episode of Raw, Wyatt and Bryan lost to The Usos in a Steel Cage Match. After the match was over, Wyatt would berate Bryan and try to force him to fall in line, but Bryan refused. As Bryan continued to refuse, the crowd’s anticipation was building until they completely exploded when Bryan fought back and starting kicking the holy hell out of Bray. For as long as I live, I will never forget the moment of DB standing in the corner, guiding the crowd in a “Yes” chant, first starting it off slowly before building up the speed as he nailed Bray with a Busaiku Knee. It was one of the most goosebump-inducing moments I’ve ever seen in my time as a wrestling fan. Surely, this meant that Bryan was back on track and would go on to win the upcoming Royal Rumble match, right?
Right?!?
Not so fast, my friend.
He didn’t win the 2014 Royal Rumble match. In fact, he wasn’t even an entrant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match. He was in a singles match against Bray Wyatt earlier in the night… which he lost. When the crowd in Pittsburgh realized that he wasn’t going to be in the Rumble, they lost their shit. The 30th entrant, Rey Mysterio, was booed mercilessly simply because he wasn’t Daniel Bryan. Do you know how difficult it is to make Rey Mysterio the biggest heel in the building? The crowd took their collective pants off, copped a squat, and took a nice, creamy shit all over the rest of the match. They did not give one iota of a fuck about anything else that happened in the match, and they swiftly and decisively turned their backs on Batista when he ended up winning.
Now, it all ended up working out in the end. We know that. Bryan would piss Triple H off so much that Trips agreed to face him at WrestleMania, saying that Bryan would join Randy Orton and Batista in the night’s main event if he won the match. Bryan did just that, and would go on to close WrestleMania 30 by making Batista submit to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
As I said, though, I truly believed that WWE never wanted that to happen, and that they only gave in to the “peer pressure” from fans when it could no longer be ignored.
Do I still believe that, ten years later?
Absolutely.
Of course Vince McMahon looked at Bryan Danielson and failed to see anything resembling the visions of pure love and ecstasy he saw when he looked at wrestlers who were taller, tanner, and more muscular. Yes, Vince McMahon truly saw Daniel Bryan as the “B+ Player” that he was referred to as on television for months on end. Nothing Vince has ever done… e-v-e-r… before or after this would indicate he has a mind for the creative side of wrestling that is strong enough to craft a story like that. He’s a man who has tripped and fallen upwards more than anyone else in the history of pro wrestling, and has become a success in complete spite of himself.
That entire story, from SummerSlam 2013 (although it did start before that night) all the way through WrestleMania 30, was the angriest I’ve ever been at pro wrestling. What happened at the end of this year’s SummerSlam was something I feel was a poor choice, and kind of lazy all around, but it wasn’t like taking everything that live crowds were telling you they wanted, and then deciding you’d rather slash their tires and punt their puppies over the sides of bridges instead. Yes, live crowds were behind Jey Uso, and you definitely had people who were completely convinced that he was going to beat Roman Reigns, but it doesn’t come anywhere near what we got to see in 2013 and 2014.
Beyond that, it’s really difficult to think of times when I can say I was legitimately angry about something in wrestling. Lord knows there have been plenty of incidents that made me shake my head, groan, or get annoyed. There have been things that made me sit there and stare at my screen for a moment before changing the channel or turning my television off quietly. What WWE was doing with Daniel Bryan, and perhaps more specifically, what they weren’t doing with Daniel Bryan, just stuck in my craw. Man, to an extent, it still does, as I find it difficult to wrap my brain around just how bad Vince McMahon has been at his job through the years. Fucking bum.
What has made you angry as a wrestling fan? Again, try to stick with match outcomes, booking decisions, and things of that nature, instead of focusing on out-of-the-ring happenings. As always, hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
Axiom vs Mustafa Ali: His run in NXT has seen Ali put on some of the best work of his entire career. Even better, it seems like he’s bringing the best out of his opponents, as well. It’s hard to ask for more than that from a main roster name making his way to NXT to work with the “kids” there.
Chad Gable vs Ricochet vs Matt Riddle vs Tommaso Ciampa: It wasn’t all that long ago that we would’ve seen Gable lose this match because it was in his hometown. Not only that, but he would’ve been dealt some sort of personal embarrassment, because Vince McMahon is a fucking moron. Everyone had to look like a complete and utter doofus in their hometowns, but to see Gable win this was a lot of fun. The crowd was definitely behind him, and now, Gable gets his rematch against Gunther. That could be special.
The House Of Black vs CM Punk & FTR: There have been nine episodes of Collision. In those nine episodes, the show’s main event has gone longer than 20 minutes five times, and a sixth match was seconds short of the 20-minute mark, while a seventh match was seconds away from the 18-minute mark. The shortest Collision main event was on the third episode, when Samoa Joe defeated Roderick Strong in about 13 minutes, which is still a good amount of time for a televised wrestling match these days. Three other matches on Collision have topped, or approached, the 20-minute mark, including the 58-minute Match Of The Year contender between FTR and Bullet Club Gold last month. The show is taking a different approach to things, and it has been fun to watch so far.
Gunther: He now officially owns the second-longest Intercontinental Title reign of all-time, and his level of sheer dominance almost makes it seem like the reign has been even longer. Next up? The all-time record, currently held by The Honky Tonk Man. This has been mentioned before, but Monday Night Raw comes to us from Memphis, Tennessee on August 28th, which is 11 days before Gunther breaks the record. Do you know who was billed from Memphis during his career? The Honky Tonk Man. If Honky (lol) is willing to put his life on the line, it could be a lot of fun to see him show up on the 28th and have Gunther chop him so hard that it looks like Thanos snapped his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War.
MJF, Adam Cole & Roderick Strong: Another week of entertaining promo and character work from MJF and Cole, but this week, it was taken to another level by the over-the-top sadness from Strong, who is having his heart torn to pieces as he watches his best friend become someone else’s best friend. Silly. Stupid. Fun.
Lucha Brothers vs Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli: Hey, it’s what the match should’ve been all along, as I’ve said for the last couple weeks, and it didn’t disappoint.
Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes & Shinsuke Nakamura vs The Judgment Day: As soon as Nakamura was added to the match as Sami Zayn’s replacement, you could pretty much see what was going to happen, but the match itself was really good and the crowd was involved from bell-to-bell. We did get what we expected, but that’s fine with me, because…
Shinsuke Nakamura: Nakamura makes his long-awaited return to the main event scene. Sure, nobody in their right mind thinks he’s going to take the World Heavyweight Title from Seth Rollins, but he’s more than capable of putting on a good match or two with the champion. I am trying to temper my expectations, though, as those same expectations led to disappointment when Nakamura was feuding with AJ Styles in 2018. We shall see.
The Miz: Say whatever you want about The Miz, and Lord knows I’ve said a lot about him through the years, but the man can deliver an impassioned promo when the situation calls for one. He was able to completely outshine LA Knight during this promo battle, but the good thing for LA Knight is that the WWE Universe won’t hold that against him. It’s crazy, though, that The Miz has been around for long enough to become the grizzled veteran who is upset with the new flavor-of-the-month, even if this particular flavor-of-the-month isn’t exactly “young,” being only two years younger than Mr. Mizanin.
Tyler Bate vs Noam Dar: The Heritage Cup still hasn’t really clicked with the NXT crowds, with the matches, as good as they can be, having a bunch of rules that North American fans simply aren’t accustomed to. NXT decided to do the only logical thing in this situation… make a second Heritage Cup. Of course. Why stop there, though? Make another one! I dare you, HBK!
Rey Mysterio: Congratulations to the brand new United States Champion. This was probably going to be the plan before he was hurt in his match against Santos Escobar, but now, it is easy to see it being the fuel needed for Escobar to snap and turn heel again. I’m enjoying Escobar as a face, but I don’t think any of us really expected his face run to be a lengthy one. Either way, congratulations to Rey on his first singles title since he lost this very championship to Andrade at the very end of 2019.
Edge & Sheamus: Edge wants a match with Sheamus, who he has never faced in singles competition, because his appearance on Sheamus’ YouTube show is what led to him thinking he might be able to return to the ring after spending years away. He also credits Sheamus for helping him train for said return to the ring. Sheamus wants a match with Edge because it was Edge who helped him continue his journey to becoming a WWE superstar after a chance encounter between the two at a nightclub in Dublin, Ireland back in 2004, when WWE was on a European tour. Very simple premise, but it’s also very effective. We got the “why” out of the way immediately, and now, we can just focus on another banger of a match.
Darby Allin vs Brian Cage: Darby’s complete lack of fear makes him a very intriguing opponent against much larger wrestlers. Usually, when someone is his size, they’re at a major disadvantage against taller, larger, stronger, more physically imposing wrestlers. Darby doesn’t back down to anyone, and he might as well be a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier with the way he uses his body and the aforementioned lack of fear as weapons. He puts on very entertaining performances against the likes of Brian Cage, and it helps him to stand out.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bronson Reed: Needless to say, it was a big week for Nakamura, with this being his third entry in my Power Rankings. Now, we wait and see how he, and WWE, can capitalize on the momentum that he’s building up.
Dominik Mysterio vs Dragon Lee: NXT got their highest viewership numbers in over two years? You know what that means… more Dom! Have him wrestle six times every week from here on out. Seven, even.
This Week’s Playlist: “Now It’s Real” by Gucci Mane… “LOUDER” by G Perico… “Stop Playin” by G Perico… “In The Silence” by Caskets… “Forgotten” by The Plot In You… “No Love Is A Crime” by To Kill Achilles… “Dominus” by War Of Ages… “Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane… “Somebody To Love” by Jim Carrey… “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf… “Light My Fire” by The Doors… “Walk” by Pantera… “Raining Blood” by Slayer… “South Of Heaven” by Slayer… “Blind” by KoRn… “Nightmare” by Avenged Sevenfold… “Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand” by Primitive Radio Gods… “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” by Bobby Womack… “Finding My Way Back” by Jaheim… “You Are” by Charlie Wilson