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WWE: Thoughts on Elias, Daniel Bryan Returning to the Ring & More – by Mike Sanchez

TJR Wrestling

Since I was chosen to be a contributor this great site, I’ve always tried to keep my writing principled and to steer away from click-bait stuff without any substance or make any personal attacks on WWE stars. I think I’ve kept to that promise in the year or so I’ve been writing, but sometimes one can form and voice their own opinions and it be unintentionally controversial or draw serious heat from readers. For this, I apologize in advance, as in no way am I intending to piss off the wonderful TJR Wrestling fan base, but I have several opinions that some of you may disagree with.

I want to walk with Elias – Hand on heart, I enjoy everything Elias does on Monday Night Raw. I like his attitude, his guitar playing and his interaction with the fans. I like the old school cheap heat he draws form the audience by trashing their city or their history. I like bad guys, always have. Hans Gruber is the best part of Die Hard and Alan Rickman is one again the business in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Heels are always cool to me. Do I think Elias is the best wrestler on the roster? No, not by a long shot, but I do think he’s improving. Is he the best promo guy? No, but again, I think he’s getting better.

I get the counter argument that he has generic look and his character isn’t new in professional wrestling, but like I said, it’s only my humble opinion. I have high hopes for him going forward and think he could develop into a fan favorite. Then again, I thought the same thing about Bray Wyatt (who incidentally is one of my favorite talkers), but poor Bray just seems lost in his own other-worldly wilderness in WWE. Will Elias walk down that same path?

I wasn’t a massive fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin – Hear me out here. I haven’t just committed sacrilege by being negative towards Stone Cold. I always saw Austin in the same way I see John Cena now. I’ve always had tremendous respect for the guy; I love his matches, I listen to his podcasts and I watch him on Broken Skull Challenge, but I never got invested in his character. I just hated the way he’d forever save the day. I hated how he could clear a ring of other stars all by himself. Guys like Kane, Undertaker, Rock and others would flop once hit with the stunner. I’d groan more than cheer when his music hit. I actually preferred his heel work.

I want to see Roman Reigns main event Wrestlemania – I’m a fan of Roman Reigns. There, I said it. I appreciate that he’s been pushed to the moon by WWE, but I think that’s the only reason why fans can hate on him. I agree, he was pushed a little too quickly and I’ve always been a firm believer that the best faces start out as heels (with perhaps some small exceptions), so Roman never really got that connection with the average WWE fan. That was years ago and people need to move on. If he was a bad or unsafe wrestler, or didn’t sell for opponents, then I’d agree with the criticism, but he is a good worker and he does sell.

I want to see Roman at WrestleMania. I want to see him in the main event. Do I want to see him win? I don’t know. I think there’s a really good situation brewing on Raw with Braun Strowman that can only end with him forcing his way into a title match on the grandest stage of them all. I think Roman should be in such a big match, because his previous mania matches haven’t been terrible in the slightest. He can deliver, but I hope in 2018 he’s a cog in a machine that can build something bigger than Roman taking the title. Strowman has been outstanding this year and should get the limelight he deserves, even if it’s at the cost of Roman eating a pin.

I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan wrestle again – This is where the fan in me has to stop for a moment and think about things for a second. Am I a fan of Daniel Bryan? Hell yes. Was he great when on the main roster? Hell yes. Do I want to see him get back in the ring knowing the potential is there to re-injure himself? Not a chance. As much as I love Bryan wrestling, I couldn’t enjoy any move or spot in the squared circle without wincing. I get the guy is passionate about what he loves, but if the docs are warning him away from doing it, he has to listen. I want to see Bryan live out his days with his wife and daughter like Edge, not as so many other unfortunate stars who’ve had their career cut short by a serious and debilitating injury that could’ve been avoided. Sometimes the head has to rule the heart, and in this case I never want to see Daniel Bryan wrestle again.

Final Thoughts

Phew, I feel a little better now that I’ve got that off my chest. I’m sorry if you’re angry by my opinions, but that’s all they are, opinions. You will have yours and you’ll likely disagree with me. That’s cool. That’s great. I won’t argue with you. It’s healthy to have differences of opinion – at least, that’s what Mrs Sanchez tells me when we disagree on things. Things in which I’m always wrong. Always. Oh, and I hated the Wonder Woman movie too. Even my daughter thought it was boring.

Anyway, feel free to comment on this and if you agree with any points, I’d love to hear why. As always, thanks for reading.