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Rolling Stone: How Daniel Bryan Became Wrestlemania's Hottest Star


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Daniel Bryan's House of Yes!
How an eco-minded vegan grappler became pro wrestling's hottest star

 

Backstage at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, five hours before a late March taping of WWE's Monday Night Raw, Daniel Bryan, the unlikeliest of wrestling heroes, settles into a chair in guest host Arnold Schwarzenegger's dressing room. The hulking ex-Governator, who has yet to arrive, possesses the physique one expects to see milling about these premises. Ditto for 6'5", 235-pound, current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton, who's chatting up female competitor and E! Total Divas star Nikki Bella down the hall. Bryan, by contrast is a mere 5'8", weighs less than 200 pounds and ? with his shaggy shoulder-length hair, rustic beard, flannel button-down and eco-friendly Toms shoes ? looks like, say, a member of Band of Horses who showed up at the arena on the wrong day.

 

But make no mistake, 2014 is Bryan's time. The 32-year-old Aberdeen, Washington native, who's engaged to WWE starlet Brie Bella (also currently seen on Total Divas) and who will take on Triple H at Wrestlemania XXX on April 6th, has engineered a connection with wrestling fans unseen since Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the late Nineties. Except where Johnson boasted about delivering smackdowns, or his contemporary, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, bragged of opening cans of whoop-ass, Bryan's popularity has spawned a much simpler, cuddlier catchphrase: "Yes!"

 

"When you look at Austin, if he'd happened in different eras, he would have been hated," reasons Bryan about his current zeitgeistiness. "Hulk Hogan, if he came out now saying, 'America, take your vitamins,' and he's this jacked-up dude, you would get people going, 'Wait, what? I hate this guy.' To me, it's whether you fit into the atmosphere."

 

Fortunately for Bryan, topics such as sustainable living and veganism, both squarely in his philosophical wheelhouse, have become part of the mainstream conversation. And with his jacked-but-not-gross-jacked physique and relatable, earthy aesthetic, as well as his presence in WWE anti-bullying campaigns and underdog appeal, Bryan has become a grassroots success — he's wrestling's first artisanal star.

 

But it wasn't until 2012, after almost 15 years of professional scuffling, that Bryan stumbled on his game-changing catchphrase. An avid mixed martial arts fan, he semi-satirically adopted fighter Diego Sanchez's ritualistic, pre-match repetition of "Yes!" — goofily hoisting his index fingers in the air each time he said it. Suddenly, in the tradition of Ric Flair's "Woo," Bryan had a trademark call-and-response to go along with his growing confidence and skill in the ring.

"The whole arena was chanting, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!'" Bryan recalls of the night that same year when he realized fans had latched on to his motto. "I didn't predict it; I didn't plan it. It just happened, and you feel lucky to be a part of it."

 

That little motivational cry has since been invoked on Twitter by the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks and become a regular occurrence at Michigan State men's basketball games. The meme-worthiness of the phrase has helped contribute to Bryan's accruing of nearly 1.5 million Twitter followers.

 

And while there'll likewise always be a place in professional wrestling for decidedly inorganic muscle-bound giants, Bryan, "has broken the mold," argues his fiancée Bella. "Daniel is making not only your hardcore wrestling fan base, but your casual viewer, look at the smaller guys differently."

 

Bryan has been defying categorization since growing up a middle-class kid in the Pacific Northwest. His therapist mother and logger father divorced while he was a child, and he was a self-described anti-social teenager. Still, he participated in every sport his high school offered, even if he was bad at all of them. "I wasn't a great athlete," he says with a laugh. "I loved playing football, but I hated the games because it's a lot of pressure. I just loved putting on the pads and hitting my friends. If you watch dogs play, they run and they fight, but they don't fight to hurt each other. They just play. And that's been me my entire life."

In 1999, inspired by popular cruiserweight wrestlers like Dean Malenko, Bryan decided not to go college, enrolling instead in WWE legend Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy. After a brief fling with the big time in 2001 (he was let go following WWE's consolidation with the rival World Championship Wrestling outfit), Bryan semi-retreated back to his mother's house in Aberdeen, Washington, and signed up for classes at community college, intending to someday teach English.

 

But his heart was still in the squared circle. By 2002, Bryan was back touring with small indie wrestling promoters. It took eight years, and a near-career-ending detached retina, before he was called back to the WWE. It wasn't a smooth re-entry: he was fired for spontaneously choking ring announcer Justin Roberts and spitting on superstar John Cena while in character during an infamous 2010 Raw segment, only to be re-hired two months later.

 

If Bryan, an avid reader who recently polished off books by Malcolm Gladwell and Stephen Hawking, has learned anything from this roller coaster ride, it's the benefit of playing passenger. "You have to realize that a lot of life is just fortune and the ebbs of flows of what goes on," he says humbly.

 

Whether or not he emerges from Wrestlemania victorious or Yes! turns into a cultural meh, Bryan has plans for a future that's both literally and figuratively grounded. "Brie and I would like a simple organic farm that's not farming to sell stuff, but just to be self-sufficient," he explains. That's important, he adds, because "you never know what the world's gonna be like." He's proof of that.

 

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Great read. He's somewhat right, but to say that if Stone Cold was in a different era they would have hated him or if Hulk was in another era they'd have hated him like they were merely a product of their gimmick is stupid. They made it work. Hulk he's closer to being right with since he was basically just force fed to a crowd that thought it was real for the most part, but even then Hulk created such a persona with it to mix with the uber branding.

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Great read. He's somewhat right, but to say that if Stone Cold was in a different era they would have hated him or if Hulk was in another era they'd have hated him like they were merely a product of their gimmick is stupid. They made it work. Hulk he's closer to being right with since he was basically just force fed to a crowd that thought it was real for the most part, but even then Hulk created such a persona with it to mix with the uber branding.

 

I actually think he's right. Let me put it this way, take a Meme that has received a lot of popularity as of late (if you are familiar with it, let's go with Doge). Go back about 20 years from now and throw that up onto the early days of the internet. People won't know what the f*ck is it and won't get it. I believe that is what Bryan is getting at with his comment. It's the timing and era that these phrases are coined that make them still work today.

 

Another example would be Hogan's "take your vitamins" sthick. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we still had that kind of old-school Americana life style. Supplementary vitamins were a thing back then (Hell, they still were in the early 1990s. I know because I took them as a kid still), so what better a topical item to pick from for a face than that?

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Great read. He's somewhat right, but to say that if Stone Cold was in a different era they would have hated him or if Hulk was in another era they'd have hated him like they were merely a product of their gimmick is stupid. They made it work. Hulk he's closer to being right with since he was basically just force fed to a crowd that thought it was real for the most part, but even then Hulk created such a persona with it to mix with the uber branding.

 

I actually think he's right. Let me put it this way, take a Meme that has received a lot of popularity as of late (if you are familiar with it, let's go with Doge). Go back about 20 years from now and throw that up onto the early days of the internet. People won't know what the f*ck is it and won't get it. I believe that is what Bryan is getting at with his comment. It's the timing and era that these phrases are coined that make them still work today.

 

Another example would be Hogan's "take your vitamins" sthick. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we still had that kind of old-school Americana life style. Supplementary vitamins were a thing back then (Hell, they still were in the early 1990s. I know because I took them as a kid still), so what better a topical item to pick from for a face than that?

 

 

The very specific phrases were a topical thing, but not the people themselves. Just like your meme example. Doge may have not specifically worked, but memes have always been a thing. Rick Rolling anyone? Hulk Hogan would have worked, he just wouldn't be saying take your vitamins. But Hulk Hogan is still Hulk Hogan and still plays the character and gives you something to love no matter what. Same with Austin. There have always been foul mouthed rednecks who hate their boss, always will be. Hell, general blue collar people. Austin works at any point in time because of the character, not topical phrases. Timing has a lot to do with it, but these people also have unmatched presence and charisma to make things work and know how to respond.

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Nice read. I didn't expect Rolling Stone to hit all the points.

 

Exactly. I didn't expect them to cover wrestling at all; I don't think they've mentioned it in the last 5 years, let alone a feature article (which is surprisingly well-written, also compared to some of their music-related articles).

 

It's amazing how Bryan has become this big mainstream star over the years. I just hope WWE does the only right thing by putting the title on him at WM.

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I'm not at all surprised that Bryan-Mania is seeping into the mainstream. The difference between Daniel Bryan and all of the past mega stars is that when someone who is unfamiliar with wrestling sees Bryan on a poster or in the ring when they're flipping channels, they can't help but chuckle to themselves and think, "Heh. Who is this weirdo?" They're drawn to him because he really stands out, and they become curious as to why someone who looks like Daniel Bryan is wrestling in WWE. If he was 6'8, 300 lbs with a movie star smile, they wouldn't even notice him, or they'd just think to themselves, "Oh, thats that fake wrestling stuff. That hasn't been relevant in pop culture since 90's". Bryan is doing a lot to change how the mainstream perceives pro wrestling. He's not someone that you can accuse of doing steroids, and he's not loud or obnoxious. He's a huge advocate of saving the environment and he reads Steven Hawking. He's showing the world that not all wrestlers and wrestling fans are dumb hicks. This is the kind of thing that appeals to a magazine like Rolling Stone. Non-fans can respect a guy like John Cena for being a good role model and being involved with charities, but he's just not as interesting of a person as Bryan. John Cena looks and acts how the average person imagines a stereotypical professional wrestler would. Bryan does not.

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As talented as Bryan is, I feel as if he is the "sacrificial lamb" or sorts for disenchanted WWE fans who are tired of Cena and other hulking, lumbering and aging supertars that keep being shoved down our throats. Fans wanted guys like Punk, Ryder, and smaller but more in-ring talented guys to be featured more and WWE refused, so fans seemed to take up rooting for the smallest, shaggiest, most anti-WWE type of guy. It's the fans way of saying F-you to WWE by cheering on for Bryan, whom WWE obviously is not too happy about.

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Great read. He's somewhat right, but to say that if Stone Cold was in a different era they would have hated him or if Hulk was in another era they'd have hated him like they were merely a product of their gimmick is stupid. They made it work. Hulk he's closer to being right with since he was basically just force fed to a crowd that thought it was real for the most part, but even then Hulk created such a persona with it to mix with the uber branding.

Timing is one if not the most important aspect in connection and monumetal surges and breakthroughs in popularity. Many pro-wrestlers from Foley to Austin have said, they could have their runs again and do everything the same and it wouldn't connect to the audience and it wouldn't work as well as it did before. It's like magic, so many things have to be perfect and the moon has to shine just right for everything to work, timing is so important.

 

Some may say that I'm just defending and justifying whatever is said because of who's said it, Bryan in this case but it's something that is echoed by many, not small with all due respect, lesser known pro wrestlers but by huge, mainstream, uber popular pro wrestlers.

 

John Cena is a decent example, it's arguable that he wouldn't have gotten over with his babyface sthick in the AE, sink of swim in that era, a sentiment that again is echoed by many performers. Austin in the golden era probably wouldn't have worked, there's many reasons as to why socially it wouldn't have clicked. I think Bryan is not only right but he's just echoing and reverberating what other performers have said. Characters, gimmicks and the person behind the character are all vastly important, but equally and imo moreso, timing is; social significance and moments that are defined by timing.

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Timing does make a huge difference. ECW is a great example. I truly believe it was the greatest promotion of all time. A lot of fans miss the boat when it comes to ECW. They think it was all about blood and guts or pushing the envelope on TV. That isn't what made it great. Other people will talk about all of the amazing technical wrestlers that went through ECW, like Rey, Benoit, and Eddie. They had fantastic matches, but the superb in-ring action isn't what made it special either. The reason I think ECW was the best is because they created their own world that was very detailed and it echoed the counterculture of the time perfectly. If you watch ECW now, its like the ultimate time capsule back to 90's punk, goth, gangster rap, and grunge. All of the characters were fresh, edgy, and fit into the atmosphere they were trying to create perfectly. If you tried to create ECW today, it wouldn't be the same because the culture has changed. I think Chikara is doing a great job in following in ECW's footsteps though. Of all the promotions out there today, Chikara probably has the best idea of who they want to be and how they want to tell their stories. My only complain with WWE right now is that its still kind of a clusterfück where you have all of these different characters, some meant to be comical, some meant to be completely serious, that seem like they're from different genres and they don't really mesh well at all. Its like the company has been having an identity crisis ever since the early 2,000s. Not only do they struggle to make the over all tone and feel of the show consistent, they also can't seem to come up with culturally relevant characters. For example, a gimmick like Cryme Tyme probably would have been way more successful back in the 90's, and CJ Parker (the hippy on NXT) probably could have been a huge star about 45 years ago...

 

In the case of Daniel Bryan, timing has played a big role in his success. In addition to being a great athlete and very charismatic, I think the character Bryan plays is more topical and in-touch with the fans than most of the other characters on WWE's roster. Like Rockstar is saying, if you transplanted Bryan back in 1998, he'd probably still be successful because he has the 'it' factor, but he might not be quite as successful because the character of a super humble underdog/technical wrestling master wouldn't have connected with the fans the way it does today.

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