daniel-bryan Page 1 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
This is why Roman Reigns can never be a face again
You know a WWE match is a big deal when it main events over the type of match the Premium Live Event is named for. You would almost never see either of the Royal Rumble matches not take the main spot on that show, and to a lesser extent the same goes for Money In The Bank. That the Bloodline match w...
Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada might be AEW’s biggest dream yet
At its heart, AEW’s working ethos has always been to give fans what they want. What that means, most of the time, is to put on matches that seemed impossible before, or that their fans have been hoping to see one day. Whatever the hiccups at times, whatever the drama, whatever the long way around th...
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn crash the party
On a night and weekend that is meant to celebrate the sheer enormity of WWE–the bombast, the cultural reach, the money, the sheer scale of it all–it was two guys who made their names in various, darkly lit auditoriums and armories and bingo halls and whatever other seedy corner you might find indie ...
I don’t know why I trusted WWE to do anything differently
Let’s start by being complimentary. It’s a new thing for me but I’m getting old and trying to evolve before my cholesterol count gets me. Thanks to the work that Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns have put in over the past six months, what is usually a run-of-the-mill PLE, Elimination Chamber, rose to the l...
Bryan Danielson is on the run of his life
This is what I came for, just eight years later. ...
WWE hits the right notes, even if it can’t play the song
You’d be forgiven if you thought that WWE falls into its best long-term storytelling by accident, including in last night’s Royal Rumble. It’s so fixated on providing “moments,” where the crowd pops to a riotous level and (these days) social media starts spinning and buzzing like a slot machine. Wha...
Sami Zayn must win the Royal Rumble
WWE kicks its Wrestlemania season into fifth gear this week with Saturday night’s Royal Rumble. Even those who have soured on the product New York has been putting out come back in for the Rumble — for the most part — due to its uniqueness and penchant for surprises, and setting up what the build to...
IDIOT OF THE YEAR No. 4: Vince McMahon
Wrestling fans never thought they’d see the day. Vince McMahon is no longer the mover and shaker of professional wrestling. The former chairman and CEO of WWE, the squared circle’s biggest promotion, was forced to resign back in July after multiple sexual misconduct allegations were made public alon...
MJF is stealing the AEW title tonight at Grand Slam, isn’t he?
There’s a pretty famous clip of Kevin Owens, back in his indie days as Kevin Steen and in the original “Kevin Steen Show,” where he tells a hilarious story about playing with his wrestling toys. I won’t spoil it for you, watch this until the end:...
Johnny Wrestling's triumphant return
Of course, he’s back under Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s leadership. Any doubt about the future career path of longtime NXT MVP Johnny Gargano turned to hope in the aftermath of Vince McMahon’s resignation from WWE. “Johnny Wrestling” left the company on good terms. He did it to spend time with his the...
Bryan Danielson knows we’re uncomfortable
Bryan Danielson is a liar. Don’t take my word for it....
Triple H and the WWE aren’t doing away with AEW — at least not right now
It may be the most meaningless short-term consequence of Vince McMahon’s resignation as WWE’s chairman and CEO after 40 years as professional wrestling’s most powerful dignitary — the art form’s creative direction. McMahon almost exclusively called the shots from the top since the first full year of...
Triple H watched other wrestling, which is actually a big deal
Triple H announcing his retirement on Friday with Stephen A. Smith was more of a confirmation than a surprise. The dude nearly died due to heart failure, after all, and he hadn’t been in the ring in three years. He’s in his 50s too, though that hasn’t stopped a host of others. And there was still a ...
WWE is as stale as it’s ever been, but I’m watching Royal Rumble anyway
It’s a good opportunity for the industry giant to bring back lapsed fans....
When in doubt, more Brock Lesnar
You had a feeling when it was announced hours before Sunday’s Day 1 PPV premium live event that Roman Reigns had tested positive for COVID, and that Brock Lesnar was going to be moved to the Raw title match, what would happen. That feeling only grew when then-champion Big E delivered his backstage p...
Some great wrestling matches from the year that was
That time again. This year’s list feels a little more genuine, as wrestling (outside of Japan at least) was able to get out of the TV-studio era and back in front of the crowds it so desperately needs. Whether that was or is a really good idea at the moment, we’ll save for another time. Trying to ju...
So what is WWE’s plan for Roman Reigns?
I’ll admit to watching Survivor Series last night hoping that it would be an unmitigated disaster. Through WWE’s terrible promotion and build to the event, spiced with the disheartening and cold releases of wrestlers due to “budget cuts” even though the company keeps trumpeting record profits, there...
Bryan Danielson is making me feel like I didn’t miss anything
As I’ve written in the past, I got back into wrestling in 2015 because of (then) Daniel Bryan. Thing was, I didn’t get to see him wrestle. Ok, once, in WrestleMania 31’s opening ladder match, which was the usual spot-fest between seven different guys. And he did win that, but it wasn’t the best show...
Did we learn anything from Friday night’s TV wrestling war?
While it’s been fun to project the battle between AEW and WWE as a TV war, the reality has been that they’ve really been separate. Sure, AEW has vacuumed up a lot of talent that WWE left out in the alley when it was perfectly serviceable or better (is this just a Chicago thing? Every one of us had a...