9 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Dec 11)

5. The King Of Condescension

Daniel Bryan Mustafa Ali
WWE.com

F*cking hell, this Daniel Bryan heel character is excellent. Excellent.

The WWE Champion doubled-down on his condescending environmentalist shtick last night, ripping into the 'idiots ruining the planet with their consumption.' The fans, he claimed, are parasites. They take, take, take without ever giving anything back, especially in a city of excess like Las Vegas, and while they claimed the love the old Daniel Bryan, 'he is dead along with the Yes! Movement.'

Similar themes continued when Mustafa Ali arrived, as Bryan questioned why the 205 Live star needed to drive around in something as large as an SUV. That being said, the promo was far from one-note. It took a detour trough interesting territory as Ali claimed Bryan had inspired not only him, but most of the 205 Live roster, and that the Cruiserweight crew were particularly disappointed by his recent turn, which makes all the sense in the world.

Bryan is legitimately one of the most influential wrestlers on the planet, particularly to Ali's generation, so it was cool to see WWE lean into that to build heat for their singles match. The impact he has had on this era of wrestling can't be overstated. Those old classic Ring Of Honor bouts with Nigel McGuinness, KENTA, Takeshi Morishima, and more were a huge reason why so many current WWE Superstars wrestle the way they do today. Cheers to WWE for acknowledging that, giving Daniel's character a new wrinkle in the process.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.