What's the Story?
On the recent edition of WWE’s Talking Smack on the WWE Network, Daniel Bryan, the current Smackdown General Manager, was asked about his opinion on part-time performers who are currently on the active roster.
Bryan stated:
“Around Wrestlemania time, all these people who are part-timers come in and they take the best spots at Wrestlemania.”
He went on to praise Dean Ambrose, who is at every show including live events, but during Wrestlemania, he is bumped off for part-time talent coming in, and Bryan didn’t think that was fair.
In case you didn’t know...
On February 8th, 2016, on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Daniel Bryan stood in front of the live crowd to announce his retirement due to concussion-related seizures. Despite his underdog persona, he was highly admired for his work ethic, including rarely missing any live performances and being on the road close to 300 days a year.
The Heart of the Matter:
While Daniel Bryan was a full-time wrestler, he often criticised those who were not willing to put in the work to get to where he was. Continuing with his Talking Smack segment, co-host Renee Young pressed Bryan about the part-time performers a little more:
“I had this issue when I was a full-time wrestler, and I still kind of have this issue today.”
Bryan was referring to his dislike for those who aren’t willing to put in the work that he did but were still inserted into the spotlight on a Wrestlemania card.
What’s Next?
Later, Bryan did change his tune, stating that he feels a little bit differently regarding John Cena and that Cena doesn’t necessarily deserve the criticism because he is someone who works harder than anyone else.
All Bryan has indicated, now that he is a General Manager instead of a performer, is that he wants to see a mix of talent from part-timers to full-time performers, earning their spot at a Wrestlemania.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
I believe Daniel Bryan has a point, but he also has to understand that the current crop of talent isn’t enough to fill the type of arenas that WWE wants to showcase at a Wrestlemania. If you notice, most part-time performers were from the Attitude Era, and those were the talents that sold out arenas.
Today, with Raw being three hours and with so much content out there today, you don’t necessarily see the ratings increasing over the current roster, despite their hard work, because of the fact that you see them so many times during the week in recycled matches.
Hopefully, Bryan continues to speak up and SmackDown continues to beat Raw in the ratings so that change can finally take place with what is currently happening in WWE.
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