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MARKETING DANIEL BRYAN AS A VICIOUS HEEL, WWE NETWORK SUCCESS PREDICTIONS AND MORE

I’ve been a big fan of Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan since I first heard of him right before NXT part 1. I’m glad to see the indy shmuck have a WWE Title, but WWE’s booking of him is questionable. Why doesn’t WWE book him in the role that Chris Beniot played in the “Wolverine” gimmick? I know Beniot is a taboo subject, but as far as the character he played in his championship run with WWE, I enjoyed it, and he was one of my favorite wrestlers to watch at the time. To me, Daniel Bryan is the perfect person to fit into that type of smaller but vicious technician. While he lacks the muscular build and thickness that Beniot had, a few tweeks and that type of character would be perfect for Daniel. Can WWE creative not see this?

Right now, they don't. I don't know that I would put Bryan into that role either. While he is tremendous physical performer, he doesn't have the intensity that Benoit did in the ring, which is where the "Wolverine" deal came from. Bryan is closer to a Dean Malenko than a Benoit in my mind.

It was declared a surprise to see that the mystery man on Raw was Chris Jericho. But was it really? There have been countless questions asking when Jericho was coming back. If he was returning at all. Many thought it was either him or The Undertaker. Was it considered a shock to see that it was him or was it just a wrestling star returning to the fold?

I don't know that it was a shock considering I reported it was him the night the promos began, but it was certainly something fans wanted to see.

I noticed a few weeks ago you mentioned about WWE having this great love of Twitter these days and something was mentioned about the talents using the service to push their characters/storylines (or something to that effect). My question is why not have 2 twitter accounts (if the talent wants 2) - 1 for their personal use (if they want) and another branded as @WWE that can be used by the wrestler to push storylines/whatever Vince wants done on Twitter. I know it might be hard for some of the guys to change with how they use it now, but it might keep a lil kayfabe alive - even though it's about 99% dead (but some wrestlers still keep it up because they respect the past).

That's not a bad idea but the reality is that WWE would only want guys having accounts that promoted their characters and the company. I am sure some guys maintain private accounts for friends and family (I know of one who does for sure) but in terms of publicly known accounts, they should be used for marketing and promotion over anything else.

Don't see Pier 6 Wrestling listed as an Indy and also don't see Jordan Lennox on there for any match of the year stuff….how come?

PWInsider Year End Poll nominations are made by Elite subscribers, so I am guessing there were no nominations made.

Let’s be honest, pro wrestling isn’t as hot today as it was even just 10-20 years ago. Even though WWE has given a projection of the WWE Network “reaching” 40 million homes, do you believe this endeavor will succeed? They’re obviously putting a ton of money into this network, and I just don’t know if they really have the following in order to make it as successful as they want it to be. I hope it works out for them, but do you see this Network tanking and losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars? I can’t help but think of the XFL fiasco.

It remains to be seen. The plan is for the network to become the new center of the WWE wheel, as opposed to just being another spoke on the wheel, so there is going to be a long time of transition as well as losses the company have to undertake while trying to get the Network established and into a position where it can drive money for the company. I don't believe it will be an XFL like flop but I also don't see where the company will, immediately, be able to place it into a prominent position within the cable industry. But, they have a long term goal, as in over a number of years and as long as they get to the goal in the end, the ends will justify their means. This is the new top project in their mind.

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