Why Daniel Bryan Vs. The Miz Is ALREADY Such A Disappointment

johnny gargano
WWE

WWE hasn’t built either man; they’ve just waited to pair them together. The dream in-ring feud of 2018, now an improbable reality, was hotter and more anticipated in 2016, at which point there was no realistic chance of it actually happening.

Waiting is the death knell of an industry that otherwise, especially in 2018, evolves at an inexorable pace. While WWE dithered with Daniel Bryan’s push, Seth Rollins claimed his reputation as WWE’s best worker. Johnny Gargano became the company’s most sympathetic babyface. Tommaso Ciampa became the heel fans most wanted to see reckoned with. Juice Robinson Vs. Jay White became the hottest, pure babyface versus heel feud in wrestling. By sitting still with Daniel Bryan, WWE has, to use its own brand of bullsh*t speak, created separation from his momentum. This sh*t isn’t that difficult to work out. They say it all the bloody time!

It’s also infuriating because wrestling can be good all of the time. NXT is. New Japan is, the missable, only quite good World Tag League possibly excepted - but then, the tournament is more a means of resting talent than it is the promotion resting on its laurels.

Daniel Bryan Vs. The Miz isn’t a competition; it is a waiting game storyboarded in the most half-hearted and sudden manner imaginable. Clearly, there’s some sort of backstage something going on pertaining to Bryan’s unsigned contract. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer has alluded to something “really weird” happening. Perhaps even the genuinely carefree Bryan is sick of the waiting game, too.

Can you blame him?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!