3. You Cant Help Someone Recover After What You Did
The greatest recent example of a proper peoples babyface hero was the grumpiest, angriest garden gnome in all of history. If there had been an eighth dwarf called Huffy, hed have been played by Daniel Bryan. Bryans ridiculous comedy routine, where the crowd would shout YES and hed get weirdly angry and shout NO back was a massive hit. Bryan was supposed to be a heel, but the WWE fans werent having any of it - there was literally nothing he could do to garner any heat. He could have stripped naked in church and eaten a baby and had the congregation loudly encouraging him in the affirmative. In the end, a turn wasnt even really necessary, but Bryan turned nonetheless. You all know the rest of the story: Bryan was clearly meant for greater things than the upper midcard role they had planned for him and just wouldnt lie down and die, and CM Punks sudden departure and the unexpectedly negative reaction to Batista winning the Royal Rumble had WWE nervous about WrestleMania XXX. Bryan was booked to overcome the odds and wrestle two matches on the big day, against what amounted to an Evolution reunion. He triumphed in the most triumphant way possible, and gave us all one of the best WrestleMania moments wed had in years. Right now, Bryan is sidelined due to concussion-related issues, and has spent most of the last two years on the bench. Its looking less and less likely that hell ever compete in a WWE ring again but, if he ever recovers sufficiently to do so, you can guarantee that the crowds reaction to him will still be gargantuan. Hes not just a goat, hes their G.O.A.T.
Jack Morrell
Contributor
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
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