An interesting debate took place this week on Figure Four Daily Radio. Host Bryan Alvarez stated he believed this week's Daniel Bryan Hijacking Raw segment was one of the best WWE angles in recent memory. Equally respected wrestling correspondent Todd Martin argued passionately the opposite - he thought it sucked. The truth perhaps lands somewhere in the middle. This was a very engaging segment, but it was also ironic and unsubtle. Alvarez was right that it was original, but Martin was right too, it was executed in such a phoney over-produced way it detracted from what it could have been. It was too obvious that it wasn't a case of hijack Raw but a case of WWE kitting some fans out in merchandise and having them act out hijacking Raw. For Martin, that undermined the segment value. It looked as fake as John Cena's infamous punches. Nevertheless, the fans voted with their remote, it was the highest viewed part of Raw. That means it was a success. It also outdid both Hogan and Undertaker segments, which is a great sign for Daniel Bryan's future. However, on deeper reflection, this segment should also pose concerns for Bryan's future. Take a look again at those fans invading the ring with Bryan. All in his merchandise. Some recognisable as the regular fans WWE looks after at shows. Others plants contracted to be there. This wasn't the natural YES movement which has made Bryan popular, it was pre-fabricated manufacture of WWE's version of the YES movement. The concern is that going forward, WWE might end up killing the real Bryan momentum by pre-programming their own YES brand over it. We witnessed this on Monday, the over-production made these fans stand out as phoney. As if everyone would randomly be in the exact same WWE merchandise. It was too obvious. This wasn't a segment to compare to 2011's pipe bomb angle, it was too diminished by McMahon fingerprints all over it. The irony is that the YES movement is now WWE's, not Daniel Bryan's. Fans are thinking that they have overpowered the company when in fact the company has them doing exactly what they want them to do. It now isn't an up-rising of popularity, it now exists as the puppet master WWE pulling the strings and the fans performing accordingly. What was hot and real is now in danger of being cold and fake. It will be interesting to see how the YES movement now survives under the guidance of WWE creative. To get an idea of how it could fare, take a look at how WWE took over the real CM Punk chants at Chicago Raw. They managed to work the audience, getting them to behave as they wanted. By encouraging the Punk chants, it killed the zest of wanting to legitimately lash out at WWE. Could that now happen with the YES Movement? Time will tell, without even knowing it, fans are now caught up in WWE's version going forward. It's a brilliant example of a company working the crowd and poking fun at the real fickleness of the original movement - which is now dripping in the irony of the anti-WWE feeling actually supporting WWE story lines. It wasn't WWE that got hijacked by the YES Movement on Monday, it was the YES Movement that got hijacked by WWE.
