You see what a day can make? I mean, we’re all mad that Daniel Bryan lost his freshly won WWE Championship to Randy Orton via Money in the Bank cash-in at Summerslam. Yet many did not realize how huge this was for Bryan.
Bryan is now involved in THE story going on in WWE right now. We’re all emotionally invested in him, and want him to succeed. So he comes out and gets destroyed, having all the odds against him. He fights and fights, but the power in numbers is to the fifth power, and it’s so much harder than many believe.
Bryan was screwed at Summerslam, and this much was clear from the get-go. But we didn’t know what would happen after the event. All we knew was that Triple H was going heel and Orton may follow suit. That was it. However, rumors were swirling that a new-look Corporation may form. Those rumors came true.
We have the McMahon’s in Stephanie and Vince, like we figured. They are joined by The Shield as enforcers. Of course, every Corporation needs a “Corporate Champion”. That role is filled by Randy Orton. At the end of the day though, the Corporation needs a mouthpiece and leader. That role is taken up by “The Game” Triple H.
The Corporation has all the titles that matter seemingly, and the talent to get things done. Randy Orton is now a 10 time World Champion. With the help of the Corporation, it’s doubtful this title will change hands easily. It’s obvious that this prize is the most important and any other is secondary at best. This means that titles that The Shield holds are of little importance.
This means that when they lose the titles, it will be nothing anyone will really worry about other than The Shield itself. However, when the WWE Title is on the line, this will be where a ton of things will go Orton’s way.
Bryan was beaten down by 4 men at the end of RAW, which means that WWE is obviously considering him the new underdog threat. This was something WWE did with Rey Mysterio in a way. He was always called the ultimate underdog. But the man is a 3 time World Champion under the WWE banner. One of them was won at Wrestlemania in fact.
Austin, Rock, and Foley all had issues with the Corporation. They were even part of it at one point. Does that mean Orton will turn on the Corporation? That much is yet to be determined. But it does show that it’s possible if you look at the formula.
Stone Cold was not the average guy that McMahon is always associated with. Austin is not very tall. He may be about 6’0-6’1. He was around 240lbs, or slightly under it. WWE, like always, enjoys making guys sound bigger than they are. Sometimes they undervalue how big someone is. Did you see how huge RVD looked in TNA?
However, WWE likes to “bill” guys as bigger to make them sound better.
So a guy like Austin may be 235lbs, but will be billed at 250lbs. Simply because it sounds better.
But when it comes to a guy like Bryan, they keep the same weight and height that he is at. This is mainly because the small stature makes his role work.
People are trying to compare Austin and Bryan simply due to how their roles are similar currently. But they are actually quite similar in gimmick and past. Austin wrestled in several organizations and was actually released from WCW at one point. He headed to WWE and then took off eventually. Bryan wrestled all over the world; he even had some hype coming in. WWE ended up releasing him over a stupid reason. They then hired him back. Now, he’s taking the company by storm the same way Austin did.
The Corporation is in the same area that they were back in the Attitude Era. They have all the power and the gold. But the cool part is that whoever opposes them are the top face by proxy. This is why Austin stood out. The problem with this group is that there are too many leaders.
With the original Corporation, you had Vince as the ultimate boss. Shane and Stephanie came in eventually and then picked up some roles.
However, Vince was the ultimate boss. I think having Stephanie, Triple H, and Vince all in the same stable actually hurts the group. So Vince may be pushed out.
I would not be surprised to see Vinny Mac go face eventually as he sees Triple H start to mess with his company or take charge over things he feels he should be over. Triple H has real power in the back as an executive in the company along with his wife Stephanie. But Vince is of course the ultimate boss. We know this. But on TV, the scenario is the same. We know Vince controls it all in the end. So when he sees Triple H take his job away and do things he does not agree with, I feel that Vince will speak up. This will get on Triple H’s bad side and out Vince will go.
This would obviously set up a Vince face turn and maybe even a match at Wrestlemania. So, don’t look for this to happen next week on RAW for example. The heat the two have had previously with decisions probably will not go away though. So this will build for some time.
Triple H as a heel has always been power hungry. He wanted all he could handle and then some. So this obviously means he will be a tyrant in a way. I assume that Bryan will be the man he makes an example out of like Vince tried to do with Austin.
If WWE were to have Bryan do things similar to Austin, I really don’t think we could see a bad story. This could even make WWE relevant again. Austin was arrested, put a gun to Vince’s head, drove a beer truck to the arena, etc. I’m not sure what they will have Bryan do, maybe bring a Carrot Juice truck to the arena, I don’t know. But what I do know is that RAW will be a show we cannot miss.
Why?
If Bryan is anything like Austin, and we see anything similar to the stories we saw with the Corporation in the Attitude Era, things will be good. What’s so cool about this situation is that most of the Corporation stuff done back then could be done today in the PG environment.
Right now though, the big thing that the Corporation is focusing on is having Orton as champion. Orton does indeed have it all. He has the perfect everything that WWE wants in a Champion, always has. Because of this, ideally WWE wants this type of guy as Champion. But the people want Bryan. The people also wanted Austin. And they most certainly ended up wanting Mick Foley and The Rock.
So Bryan’s chase for the gold is the story we all want to see.
Obviously Bryan won’t be the only man involved in the Corporation rivalry. CM Punk seems like a prime candidate as does Dolph Ziggler. All three men by the way are Cruiserweight size. Just goes to show how much the WWE has changed.
WWE can be the same success it used to be. You don’t need a TV-14 rating to do so. You just need compelling stories and interesting characters. They have the characters, and are slowly getting the stories.
If the Corporation story goes how we all want it too, we could see WWE go up in a big way once again. However it does all hinge on the Corporation angle. If it sucks, stars cannot be created out of it like they were in the 90’s. The compelling TV will not be there as a result. So, the new look WWE starts now. Let’s hope they don’t mess it up.
But what do you think? Is Bryan the new Austin? Will this Corporation angle be good? What would you want to see involved with it? Let me know in the comment section below.
Follow me on Twitter: @JoeBurgett_WE
