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| That fan wasn't the only one who believed in the Beard Photo Credit: WWE.com |
One could focus on fans not grasping the basic tenets of pro wrestling storytelling. Over the years, this kind of booking has become commonplace. Maybe the fans in question were neophytes. Maybe they're just sick and tired of being baited and switched. Maybe they're trolls. Who knows. For a long time, cynical fan like myself, I have a hard time coming to any one of those conclusions, excepting maybe the trolling part.
One could give these fans props for trying to get a free show out of their cable company. WWE has too many pay-per-views in a given year at the $50 price point, and sometimes, fans just want to find ways at consuming EVERYTHING WWE produces without paying for all of it. Sure, ethical boundaries of trolling for loopholes to watch free television might be blurry, but at the same time, I cannot hate people trying to be "frugal" as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin describes himself and other wrestlers on his podcast.
One could even turn to making fun of WWE's response, which from the linked post above, is the following:
While certain fans may not have liked the continuing storyline following Night of Champions, we’re certain that the 3-hour pay-per-view event delivered all the entertainment and excitement expected from WWE.Honestly, I don't know how else WWE could have phrased their response, and I'm okay with that wording. I guess I can see where people might feel like it was weaksauce corporatism, but I guess I've seen enough spineless one-percenter cowardice from various sources including WWE that I'm immune to the small stuff.
No, the angle I want to concentrate on is that people were looking to get a refund because they didn't like the way Daniel Bryan was handled. They wanted to keep their happy ending for the Real Best in the World, the one they paid for. I know every week something happens that makes me want to exclaim "DANIEL BRYAN HAS MADE IT" only to realize the guy's been untouchable since the night after WrestleMania XXVIII. But doesn't the fact that people wanted refunds because their happy ending for Bryan was negated proof that he, as the dorks over at the dirt sheets like to say, draws dimes?
I know we live in 2013, where we're supposed to be a more enlightened fanbase and know the difference between real arguments and knocking down straw men. I know not everyone is going to like Daniel Bryan, but people have to have a special kind of cognitive dissonance to equate that dislike with criticism of his drawing power or popularity. I'm sure they exist. I'm also sure that I never want to interact with someone with their head shoved so far up their ass as to make that kind of argument.
I hope to persuade the rest of us, those who actually read this blog and know the score. I know that there are many among us who are paranoid that just because Bryan doesn't look like he ate a Mario mushroom before coming out from Gorilla that the first slip-up he has will mean he goes back down the card. While I don't care against whom he feuds (as long as he's on my television), I dig seeing him at the top of the card. If you don't think WWE pays attention to these kinds of things, you're delusional. My guess (guess since I don't know anyone who works at Titan Towers) is that they saw this story and thought to themselves that everything they've done to put Bryan in a position to succeed has worked. He's not going anywhere. Just keep telling yourself that before you go to bed at night so you can sleep easier.
And hey, if you subscribe to Cox Cable? Try this tactic the next time you want to order a pay-per-view. I can't hate on anyone trying to get a good or service for free. We all gotta play that game, friends. We all gotta play it.