The Pay Window 7.28.13: Vegan 3:16?

How’s everyone doing this fine Sunday morning? Thanks for taking a minute out of your weekend to check out this week’s edition of The Pay Window, the column that focuses on the biggest money matches, angles, and performers in professional wrestling!

It was the Daniel Bryan Show once again this past Monday on RAW, and his march towards his WWE Championship opportunity at Summerslam was the focus for the majority of the three hour show. But it was this segment at the end of the night, a little snippet, barely over a minute long that might have the most ramifications going forward far beyond Summerslam. At first glance, it may just seem like a quick way to set up the major matches for next week’s RAW, or another piece of the puzzle that is the slow, slow burn of the McMahon Family feud. But it could be the start of something much, much bigger.

Vince’s opinion of Daniel Bryan has been a point of contention on-air now for several weeks, with the Chairman of the Board not seeing Bryan as someone who’s worthy of all the attention’s he’s been getting. A lot of people tend to believe it’s a storyline created from McMahon’s real life feelings. Word is he doesn’t see the “money” in Daniel Bryan, whether it be due to his size, or his look, or whatever. Realistically, I doubt he feels that way anymore, if he ever did, or Bryan likely wouldn’t be on the trajectory he’s on. But, at least storyline-wise, VKM doesn’t think D-Bry is fit to be a main-event level WWE Superstar.

And so it seems that he’s going to do everything that he can to prove it. At the end of RAW, he coerced Brad Maddox into making Bryan vs. Kane for the following week, and it was hinted at pretty heavy-handedly that he was the one ultimately behind the gauntlet match that took place just prior. Under the guise of giving Daniel Bryan the “opportunity” to fight and “prove himself”, he’s actually putting the ‘Goatface Killah’ through the physical and emotional wringer, just waiting on him (Bryan) to crack so that he (McMahon) can once again be proven right. Hmm… Mr. McMahon doesn’t think Daniel Bryan is fit to be the guy… he’s mentally unstable… he’s not good for business. This all sounds… vaguely familiar…

I know, it’s pretty ridiculous to think-

Daniel Bryan and Steve Austin are pretty much polar opposites when it comes to, well, pretty much everything. In ring style, lifestyle, amount of folical endowment… But there are some parallels if you stop and think about it. Neither guy was really intended to get over to the point that they were/are (and I’m in no way arguing D-Bry’s even in the ballpark of being as over as Stone Cold, believe me, he’s still got a looooooooooooooong way to go on that one), it just kind of happened organically when they were allowed to just be themselves. And just like I’m sure “Foul-mouthed, beer-drinking redneck” was never what Vince McMahon envisioned to lead his company into the future, “Hairy vegan with a napoleon complex” was probably down near the bottom of his list as well. But to the boss’ credit, he’s shown a willingness to adapt and give the people what they want on more than one occasion. Are they positioning Daniel Bryan as the next Steve Austin? Not exactly. Like I said before, the two men are diametrically opposed, so it would never be quite the same. Could it lead to a boom period the same way the rise Stone Cold did? I’m inclined to say no. But you’d have never guessed any of the booms before they actually happened, so it’s impossible to say, really. All that’s certain is that the seeds ARE being planted for a feud with Vince. Whether they water those seeds or not remains to be seen. But just the fact that they would even entertain the idea of pairing the two together leads me to believe they feel like they’ve got the potential for something big on their hands. “YES!” is the new “WHAT?”, after all…

Just as RAW was the Daniel Bryan show, Smackdown was focused on one Sir Money in the Bank, Damien Sandow. He started off the night well enough, holding his own against his Money in the Bank counterpart Randy Orton in a solid match. But the real fun started when his former partner Cody Rhodes appeared, stealing the Money in the Bank briefcase and costing him the match with Orton.

The rest of the night was comedy gold, with Sandow hitting all the extremes, from contempt and disdain from everyone in the back, to outrageously demanding that Cody be brought up on charges and fired, to doing a complete about face and trying to flatter and compliment Cody in order to get the case back. The culmination I posted above with him diving into the Gulf of Mexico to retrieve the briefcase was just the icing on the cake. Part of me wanted to say he was channeling his inner Genius all night long, but honestly, I’m not sure I was ever entertained this much by Lanny Poffo. I was only five-ish at the time, though, and right in the middle of my Hulkamania fandom, so I may not have appreciated him as I should. I’ll have to go back and re-watch some of his stuff, but just going off my memory, I feel like Sandow’s taking the same basic character archetype, and raised it to an all-new level.

Where the Rhodes/Sandow feud goes in the immediate future is anyone’s guess; it’s been oft-rumored they may face off at Summerslam with the case on the line, and the events of Smackdown Friday night lead a lot of credence to that theory. But I got a glimpse of a character that could be really entertaining for years to come, long after the case has come and gone. I think the character could even work as a face, all he would really have to do is be condescending to the heels instead. I can imagine him likening Ryback to a cro-magnon as I’m typing this…

As much as Daniel Bryan gets mentioned in this column on a weekly basis, I’m sure some of you are starting to believe I’m just a fanboy, looking for excuses to fawn over him whenever I see an opportunity. But this pick has nothing to do with Daniel Bryan. Well, I guess technically it does a little. You need two guys to have a great match, and Bryan certainly pulled his weight. But he’s not the main reason I chose this match, nor is he the man who I want to focus on. I want to talk about the guy who might just be the best wrestler on the planet: Antonio Cesaro.

When it comes to the total package, he probably falls short to guys like Cena, Bryan, or Punk. But if we’re strictly talking what goes on in-between the ropes, you could make a really strong argument that Cesaro is number one. The match from Monday night is already in the discussion for TV match of the year, and if it’s not, then it’s third or fourth at worst. Although it has yet to be televised, his upcoming two out of three falls match with Sami Zayn (formerly El Generico) is being touted as another potential MOTY candidate by the likes of good ol’ JR, Jim Ross. His whole series of matches with Zayn in NXT recently have been absolutely fantastic, and if their two out of three falls encounter manages to surpass those, then I can see why JR would be buzzing about it to the extent that he is. There was a must-see match with Kofi Kingston on Main Event a few months back, and I could really go on and on and on. If he’s not the best wrestler in the world, then he’s got to be the most consistent, at least.

So what’s the deal? Why is he not connecting with the audience? It seems like conflicting reports come out on a weekly basis, the office is high on him, then they’re down on him, then they’re high again, then they’re down. They’ve got big plans, then he’s yodeling, then he’s in a tag team… it seems like they’re unsure what they’ve got in Antonio Cesaro, and unsure of what they want him to be. But the constant throughout everything, whether he’s having instant classics against Daniel Bryan, or tapping out to the Miz on house shows is the wrestling. It doesn’t matter where he is on the card, or what type of character he portrays, the man is a machine, manufactured to put on fantastic wrestling matches whenever, wherever, and with whomever. I think it’s only a matter of time, similar to guys like Bryan or Punk. Eventually, the cream will rise to the top. It’s clear that they recognize his ability; they’ve already positioned him as the “A” guy on his tag team with Jack Swagger. I read people saying all the time that if his character could ever catch up with his in-ring ability, then he would become a huge star. But I would argue that a guy who can do what he does doesn’t even NEED a character. You want him to get over? You want him to connect? You want him to draw money? Just look at the match from Monday, and let him do that. Every week, give him fifteen or twenty minutes and let him go. He doesn’t even have to win a lot. Just stick him in there with guys like Bryan who can keep up, and let him showcase himself. People will take notice eventually.

Stock Watch for the Week of July 21st-27th, 2013

Ryback: He fully embraced his inner O’Doyle Monday night, not just his catchphrase. The bully character has a lot more potential than the whiner did, and he had one of his best matches against Daniel Bryan to boot.

Wade Barrett: Before, I thought Wade Barrett was just being woefully under-utilized. Now, it’s become clear to me that he’s a full-on jobber. It’s too bad, man.

Christopher Daniels: Had an excellent match in the Bound for Glory series with Samoa Joe, and pinned him clean to move into third in the standings. AJ Styles overtook third later in the night by a single point, but fourth still isn’t bad this early, and the win gave Daniels his first ever singles victory over Joe in TNA.

Tensai/Sweet T: See: Barrett, Wade.

Manik: Won Ultimate X to become the NEW X-Division Champion, and he had a cool vignette where he was unmasked, talking about how Manik was his “alter-ego”. It flies in the face of the conventional reasoning of being masked in the first place, but I don’t mind it here. I like the fact that they didn’t just ignore the fact that he was unmasked as TJ Perkins for an entire episode of Impact a few weeks back, and it makes me feel like TJ is Manik now. Like, before, he was just another guy wearing the Suicide costume. But now he is the guy, permanently, and the suit is just an aspect of him. Gives me more of a reason to care, and I like that.

Rob Van Dam: Suffered his first singles loss since making his big return. Granted, it was against the World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio… but a lot of people were hoping for a World Title match for RVD at Summerslam, and with the non-title loss here, that looks a lot less likely.

The Wyatt Family: Harper and Rowan made their in-ring debut on Smackdown, and Bray followed it up with another good promo. They’ve really hit the ground running since they were called up, without missing a beat from their act in NXT. They grab your attention, and if you know they’re coming up, you don’t change the channel. Looking forward to seeing Bray in singles on the big show.

Jack Swagger: Lost three times on TV this week, and it looks like he’s been relegated to second choice in his own tag team. He’s got no one to blame for his stalled momentum but himself after his drug arrest several months ago, but it looks like he’s fallen all the way back to his jobber status from back before his hiatus.

CM Punk: Had two great promos on RAW and Smackdown to continue building to his match with Lesnar at Summerslam. The guy could probably cut money promos in his sleep at this point, and CM Punk on cruise control delivering a cookie-cutter promo is still probably better than 95% of the roster. The match with Fandango was good as well. (Side note: He may be losing a lot, but Fandango’s showing that he belongs in the ring. His stock’s rising too, albeit more slowly.)

Curtis Axel: He was nowhere to be found this week. It looked like he may be headed for at least a one-off match with Daniel Bryan after Money in the Bank, but it looks like that’s been dropped by the wayside, and he’s seemingly been lost in the shuffle of Heyman guys. Sometimes standing still is the same as going backwards, especially when you’re a champion.

Knock knock!

Who’s there?

WWE RPI Rankings 7.27.13

Smart Marks 7.27.13

The Ten Count 7.26.13

The Piledriver Report 7.26.13

Fact or Fiction 7.25.13

That Was Then 7.25.13

Follow Craig Stevens on Twitter

That does it for this edition of The Pay Window! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and as always-