Bryan/Sheen should Not happen

As we saw on RAW 1000 last week, Charlie Sheen played the role of celebrity liaison for WWE to celebrate the big achievement for the company’s longest running television program. Throughout the show, the former star of Two and a Half Men and countless films checked in to talk to commentators Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole about the show, about WWE, and about his new sitcom, Anger Management. During one of his check-ins, Sheen was asked about Daniel Bryan being left at the altar by new RAW General Manager AJ Lee, with Sheen basically saying that he’d be glad to fight Daniel Bryan down the road. Bryan himself responded by saying that if Sheen ever got in his face, he would get destroyed.

The talk about Sheen continued through Friday night on Smackdown!, and was again brought up during this week’s episode of RAW during the segments in which Bryan was receiving a psychiatric evaluation. The reason this has been going on is because WWE would like to have Sheen in for a match with Bryan, possibly at this year’s Summerslam. It’s not news that WWE loves celebrity involvement in their shows, especially in matches for big pay-per-views (mostly Wrestlemania), as it gets them free publicity, and is usually good for a ratings spike or a boost in pay-per-view sales.

In response to the rumors, Sheen recently sat down with IGN, answering the question about his possible involvement in WWE, specifically Summerslam: “Oh, there’s gonna have to be a lot of money on that one, but yeah, if it’s the right look at that moment, sure, why not?

While I understand the good celebrity involvement can do for the company as well as the wrestlers themselves (bigger ratings/buyrates = more money in their pockets), Charlie Sheen is not a good fit for this kind of project. While in his youth, he was a major star and a relatively fit human being, times have changed. Sheen is now 46 years old, and a shell of his former self, thanks to years of drugs and alcohol abuse. Although he is reportedly clean now, these things take their toll, and it’s pretty obvious when you look at Sheen who, despite not even being 50 yet, looks closer to 60 years old. On top of all of that, Sheen is not even an athlete. It’s one thing when athletes are brought into WWE for guest appearances, such as former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal or boxer Floyd Mayweather. Pro athletes from other realms have a much easier time adapting to a wrestling match since they are already involved in something physical. Actors and TV stars, on the other hand, almost always fail due to no training or athletic ability.

Furthermore, while it might spike ratings or a buyrate, in the long run, it really doesn’t benefit anyone. Once the match is over, Sheen will go back to Hollywood, and that will be it. And what of Daniel Bryan? Win or lose, this doesn’t do anything to help his career. If he wins, he gets looked at as a bully who couldn’t do anything but pick on a weak actor, and if he loses, he looks like a wimp for not being able to beat an actor up. While it might get him a little bit of outside media attention, it will fade fast and, before long, Daniel Bryan will be viewed by non-wrestling fans as just another one of those “wrestler guys”. Meanwhile, Sheen simply goes back to being an actor, and the whole incident is likely forgotten by Hollywood in a matter of a couple of weeks.

This match does not need to happen and, for their sake, I hope WWE isn’t able to offer Sheen enough money.