The 411 Pro and Con 9.09.12: Anger Management

What’s up Internet peeps? Continuing a new weekly article on 411 where I’ll be breaking down a major angle(s) happening in the world of pro wrestling. It’ll likely evolve each week as I get into a groove. Hope you all find it enlightening, if not, screw you! Jokes, jokes. Right now, it’s a pretty easy concept to wrap your brain around. Nothing in WWE or TNA is ever perfect (except for Mr. Perfect), so I’ll point out why I think it’s awesome, and why I think it might suck.

Chapter 2: Anger Management

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THE CONS (WHY IT SUCKS…)

I like the Anger Management storyline thus far. It’s funny, it’s entertaining, and it gives Daniel Bryan & Kane something to do post being in the title picture. However, just because it’s been good through 2 episodes of Raw, doesn’t mean that it’s ultimately going to lead to greater things.

So far, at least at the ending of this angle on the most recent RAW, Bryan and Kane are exactly where they were when they started. That’s not to say that it hasn’t been leading to anything, but what is it exactly leading to? I think most of us believe that after their Night of Champions match (shouldn’t they have to be champions to fight one another? anyway…) that they’ll become tag team partners. Which is probably the right direction for this storyline to go.

For it to have any real meaning, they’ll have to become the tag champs, likely sooner rather than later. Which means they’d dominate the division amongst undercard teams like the Prime Time Players, Uso’s, Primo & Epico… but wouldn’t they need a legit heel team to run up against? How many times would we want to see them dominate much inferior competition? I’m assuming it would spell the end of Kofi & Truth, which is likely for the best for each of those guys anyway, but if the rumors about Mysterio & Sin Cara being a new tag team are true, where are the heels?

They couldn’t book Kane & Bryan as a heel team, not after all the comedy segments they’ve been running, it wouldn’t work. This could however give the WWE reason to kind of re-establish a tag division with ACTUAL mid-card talent. I think that’s more wishful thinking than anything though. Another aspect of this that sucks is that it means Daniel Bryan would be taken off the main event level for a substantial amount of time.

After gaining the title for 2 months, then basically jobbing to Sheamus at WrestleMania, he’s been in the title picture ever since. It should have culminated in a WWE title run for him, but with Punk’s reign (and the storyline coinciding), it never came to fruition. So after all the build up of Bryan, turning him into a threat, and basically establishing a whole character for him… now he’d be stuck in tag team hell. Which could kill all his momentum.

Kane doesn’t really lose out on anything being put into this storyline. Although the entire joke parts really take away from the “fear” and threatfulness (is that a word?) of his character. If you’re Zack Ryder and Kane is coming out to the ring, maybe you might reach out for a hug? C’mon big fella, it’s okay, I’m here for you. WWE spent a lot of time in re-establishing the Kane character after giving him his mask back. I’m not saying this ruins it, but it doesn’t make him the “monster” they’d like you to believe he is.

More than anything though, I’m worried about what it could mean for Daniel Bryan. He needs to stay heel for his character to remain fun to watch. If he teams with Kane and we continue to get comedy bits, that’ll be entertaining… for a while. But it’ll tame both characters and ultimately hurt them more when they return to singles status. Bryan deserved a better title reign earlier in the year, and giving him the tag titles in place of a main championship, isn’t much consolation. Here’s to hoping he finally wins the big one at some point in the future… but if he gets stuck in tag land, not sure if it’s in the cards anytime soon.

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THE PROS (WHY IT’S AWESOME…)

All right with the cons out of the way, I can honestly say, this might be the best comedy storyline that the E’s produced in a very long time. Usually, they think people want to see Santino’s sock puppet, or poop/fart jokes. But there’s a quality to the writing of this angle that others don’t usually possess. It’s like a well-written sitcom thus far. I, for one, would watch the Kane & Bryan show if it existed. Maybe they can guest star on an episode of “Anger Management” with Charlie Sheen?

Simply put, it gives these guys something meaningful to do. In most cases in the WWE, when a heel loses enough times in championship matches, they get relegated back to the mid-card (except for Del Rio), sometimes simply to build up the next challenger. This takes 2 strong characters in Kane and Bryan, and utilizes them in a way, that if done correctly, won’t hurt them in the long run. They stay in the public eye, they continue to be major characters and they’d get to log wins as they move on up the ladder.

I don’t really see a scenario where WWE doesn’t run with this for a while. Maybe initially it was just for quick interest between the two, but after the rave reviews and success of the segments, it would seem counterproductive for them not to continue to move it along. The dynamics between the characters of Bryan and Kane could do a lot to enhance both of them. Kane’s been stale for a long time, despite his re-masking, he’s still the same character he ever was. It’s not like people have been clamoring for a Kane title reign or begging to see him in matches on TV.

It gives people a reason to care about Kane again. Whether it’s a full-face turn, or a reluctant, but humorous heel, the interest in his character is back… and I can’t even remember the last time it was there. 1998? Daniel Bryan’s popularity is at an all-time high. His “Yes!” chants have taken off, his “No!” chants are getting good reactions from the fans. Despite being a heel, he still gets cheered, and you can tell regardless of fan reaction, that people want to see more of his character. Combine that with his in-ring work and he’s definitely one of the WWE’s top guys right now. Giving him something meaningful to do is in the best interest of the company and for DB.

It could elevate him to an even higher level. Not to say he wasn’t pretty high already, but he’s not quite Punk/Cena/Orton level, at least in the eyes of the WWE executives and Vince McMahon… but this angle, and how it could get him over could change all of that. It’d hopefully mean that there would never be another scenario where Daniel Bryan gets A) left off the WrestleMania card or B) loses in a WrestleMania match in 18 seconds. I’m excited to see more segments with Kane and Bryan in them, and truthfully not much about the WWE gets much excitement out of me anymore. That’s definitely got to mean something, and hopefully for the E, Daniel Bryan and Kane, it means something good.

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Other Random Thoughts:

– Did Dolph Ziggler beat Randy Orton one-on-one? Even if he used the tights, it’s still hard to believe. Hope they continue to build the Show-Off prior to his cashing in.

– Did Randy Orton really lose to Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in the same month? Maybe this will lead to something new from his character (even if he’s leaving to make a movie soon).

– Hey WWE, start reading my columns damnit. Where’s Kelly Kelly?? We need our fix! Enough Layla already, put the title on Eve and bring back K2 full-time.

– Jack Swagger has left the building. Maybe to return in a major way someday? Face turn could work wonders.

– I really hope Mysterio and Sin Cara become a team. I’m really tired of watching them compete in the same singles matches over and over. Luchadors are fun spot-monkeys, but the storytelling in the ring is the SAME THING over… and over… and over… (Little guy gets beat up, does some flashy stuff, gets beat up some more, pulls out and underdog victory. Snooze.)

– Triple H cut his hair!!! He kind of looks like an old, blonde Bobby Roode?

– Anyone keeping up on the WWE ’13 video game? Honestly wasn’t a huge fan of ’12, but this one’s looking pretty good.

– Miz was pretty good behind the desk. The jobs not easy, and while he had his Matt Striker moments, for a first timer, I thought he did really well. Where’s JBL when you need him?

– Did Punk really need to kick Lawler’s ass again? I mean… did it really serve a purpose? It would’ve made more sense if they just said Lawler couldn’t call PBP this because of how bad Punk beat him the other week. And I think I’m going to side on the half of Heyman-Punk is awesome. I don’t like the idea of Punk having a representative, because he’s gold on the mic himself, but I’ll reserve judgment until the angles fleshed out more.

That’s all folks! I leave you with this bit of wisdom: