WWE's Yes Revolution: The Daniel Bryan conundrum

It started on a warm evening in 2012, on the night after WrestleMania as RAW headed into Miami. Since then, it has crossed borders, broke barriers – echoing the voice of millions in sync. A certain phenomenon transcended professional wrestling, as people bore witness to the birth of a revolution. This revolution, fueled by the might of word and the fiery passion traveled through different continents, through different genres. Like an old fable rekindled by the hearts of the wise, it found its way through time and space, culminating in what can only be described as a phenomenon so massive, that even the greatest of antagonists admitted defeat, and yet in defeat was the greatest victory; all but one – The machine that has tried and succeeded before in crushing the hopes and dreams of many. But this time, the machine had finally met its match.

“Wrestling fans don’t know what they want”.

WWE and Vince McMahon have been very successful – It would be foolish to consider otherwise. Through five decades of turmoil, competition, scandals, trials and tribulations, WWE outlasted every other major pro wrestling promotion in North America. The adaptations, progressions and the metamorphosis of professional wrestling business had one catalyst, its nucleus, and it was the WWE. Through this, one can imagine how successful of a businessman Vince McMahon Jr. would be. One can also imagine how correct Vince has been in the past three decades. In a world of puppets and shadows, Vince has been the puppet master, and the fans the puppets.

As I sit here, trying to come up with words that would put my emotions and the emotions of millions across, who’ve invested time and money in WWE’s product merely hours after the Royal Rumble PPV, for the first time in ages, I can’t help but wonder if Vince McMahon was wrong all along. Maybe the puppet master has lost control of his strings. Maybe the puppets have a better understanding of their own world. Maybe, just maybe, the WWE fans are giving up on the company.

“Yes!” and “Daniel Bryan” were all what the fans could think of for the entire three hours of the PPV. The first match on the main card between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt blew everyone away. I called it the best opening match in Royal Rumble history, while the others called it the main event of the night. The match for the WWE World Heavyweight championship witnessed a barrage of “Yes” and “Daniel Bryan” chants by the Pittsburgh crowd. Some called it disrespectful; few others called the fans “Sheep”. To millions all over the world however, they were the voice of reason. Sadly, they were the voice of anguish, disgust and hope. Pittsburgh became the rendezvous of a swansong – A final cry for the machine to see the light.

For the past two years, one man has been the talk of the industry. Greatness doesn’t come with complacency, and legacies aren’t made by taking the easy way out. When you’re left alone fighting the mightiest of foes, it is then when you realize your true potential. Sometimes, a few faithful stand beside you and fight with you. A few hours ago, nearly 16, 000 faithful stood beside Daniel Bryan, taking his name at every opportunity they had. As the WWE played it off as “WWE Universe having a good time”, a chorus of boos rang through the Consol Energy Center. Chorus of boos, defiant and loud, to send a message across to the WWE management.

“We want Daniel Bryan”.

They say it is only a matter of time before hard work pays off. In any business, the key to success lies in knowing what the customers want. Sometimes, it isn’t obvious what they want; sometimes, it is difficult to read between the lines. But when fans from a different sport, a different country and a different genre of entertainment start echoing the same word, the word that defines the revolution started by one man, it isn’t hard to know what they expect. It gets easier when everyone starts asking for the same thing – Like the faithful countrymen starting a mutiny against their beloved king, there is only so much the fans can take.

“Professional wrestling fans don’t remember, and they don’t care”.

WCW went out of business because the powers that be stopped listening to the fans. Not that I’m comparing WCW with the WWE – That can’t be a fair comparison at least for the next decade, but you don’t turn your back on your fan base, and you certainly don’t stop listening to them. Sure, we’ve had the Zack Ryders and Dolph Zigglers that the machine successfully ruined, but if we can’t stand up for what we want, why bother having an opinion? Why are we, the professional wrestling fraternity, known for being the most vocal and passionate bunch in the entertainment industry? You call us hypocritical, we’ll call ourselves opinionated. You say we don’t know what we want, we’ll tell you exactly what we want – Daniel Bryan.

For three hours, the vocal crowd of Pittsburgh chanted and sang the name of Daniel Bryan. When it turned out that Bryan wasn’t even involved in the Rumble match, the entire arena started booing each and every superstar. If you’re running a wrestling organization, you’d consider that to be the eulogy of the company.

For WWE, it’s just something they can ignore. Or can they? Can they suppress the voice of the millions, asking every night for one individual? Can they sing yet another lullaby to silence the vocal crowd, who’ve chanted “This is awful” throughout a match that is considered to be the “main event” for the “richest prize in the business”, pitting supposedly the two “torch bearers” of the company? Certainly not; this isn’t just the beginning of a revolution, but the march of millions against the machine, the powers that be in the WWE, for one individual who has given more to the fans than any other in over a decade.

The Yes Revolution won’t stop, and sooner rather than later, the WWE machine will listen to its fans.