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This is indeed a follow up to my last column on Daniel Bryan and CM Punk from last week, as I argued that in 2 years, Daniel Bryan could be the burned out guy who just walks out of the company. After all, the McMahons and Triple H have their vision of the WWE and the WWE fans have theirs. After I post a column here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com, I always enjoy reading the feedback whether it's through email, Twitter, or the comments below. One of the first things I check online before I go to work is the feedback, good or bad, that the readers left. That last Bryan/Punk column received great feedback and I was quite proud of my work on that one. As a few remarked, it prompted several people to write column-like responses in the comments below. I love reading your feedback and discussing anything wrestling related on Twitter. It's what drives me. But then I check out the Message Boards or Hashtags on Twitter to see how the internet feels about a topic. I was especially curious about how wrestling fans responded to Daniel Bryan being completely left out of the Royal Rumble 2014 match. WWE fans were FURIOUS and I believe that the WWE researched that same feedback too. In addition to accounting for CM Punk walking out, the WWE Creative Team was busy during the Monday following Royal Rumble to rewrite Daniel Bryan's storylines. WWE is finding it very difficult to slow down Bryan's momentum as caused by WWE fans, although they've been screwing with Daniel Bryan fans since SummerSlam 2013. Fans are still around... The thing that bothered me when reading feedback on Daniel Bryan not being in the Rumble Match (also losing cleanly to Bray Wyatt) and also about the CM Punk walking out story is how many WWE fans are willing to eat the WWE's Shit Sandwiches. That's right, you're sheep... Baaaaaahhhh! The same exact fans who are complaining about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk getting unfair treatment by the WWE Creative Team on one message board thread or hashtag are completely excited about the WWE Network on the other. Huh? That certainly does not sound like satisfied customers to me... Shouldn't pissed of WWE fans about Bryan and Punk consider consuming LESS WWE stuff instead of buying more into it? The WWE is laughing to the bank right now about Daniel Bryan. They do not fear that you may "hijack" the shows. In fact, they are using it as a drawing point. They are purposely trolling Daniel Bryan fans in the booking now and will see how many Shit Sandwiches that the fans are willing to eat. They have NO LONG TERM PLANS FOR DANIEL BRYAN. Sorry, but he's 5'8" (maybe shorter?) and a product of the Independent system. If Daniel Bryan was "the guy", then they wouldn't bother overpaying Batista for a 2 year deal that I bet is 7 figures. The WWE wouldn't bother utilizing Bryan as elevation talent for Bray Wyatt if he was "the guy". Early in their main event prime years, did Austin, Rock, Triple H, or John Cena act as elevation talent for other wrestlers? No, those were the draws and they were booked strong! Many of the WWE fans are absolute sheep. Despite screwing Daniel Bryan repeatedly since SummerSlam 2013... Forget that, we could go back to the 18 second loss at Wrestlemania 28. Heck, we could go back to the Nexus attack during 2010 when the WWE fired his ass for choking an announcer with the tie... DESPITE all that the WWE has done to Daniel Bryan, especially pushing 2 charismatic duds like Randy Orton and Batista ahead of him, fans keep coming back... They keep buying WWE Tickets for Live Events and they are willing to pony up $9.99 of their own money. WWE is going to keep trolling Bryan fans until they began reacting negatively... Probably sometime later during 2014, the WWE will realize that Batista is obsolete and Randy Orton isn't drawing and will throw the title on Bryan. But again, the WWE fans are taking it. And without Vaseline. If WWE fans were truly upset about Daniel Bryan or the 3 year damage done to CM Punk, then they would truly "stick it" to the WWE. As an individual, you have scarce resources to abide by in your life... You have many other goods, services, or forms of entertainment that you wish to consume and yet you give it up to the WWE. Your scarce resources are obviously INCOME and TIME. With income, you buy actual WWE goods and services. Whether you purchase WWE tickets to live events, Pay Per Views, merchandise, or now the WWE Network... It's your hard earned income that is contributing to the WWE's Financial Statements reported as Total Revenues. As long as WWE can fit 10,000 fans into an arena for a RAW/Smackdown television show or a Pay Per View, they're good... That's thousands of sheep that they've easily fenced into an arena. WWE tickets aren't going down in price. I was looking at attending Royal Rumble 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA on Ticketmaster and the WWE priced me out of it. Fans are still willing to spend top dollar on big WWE events and for Rumble 2014, many Pittsburgh fans bought tickets expecting to see Daniel Bryan do more than job to Bray Wyatt in a match. Now, they'll rip $9.99 out of fans' hands monthly for WWE Network. Time is a bigger resource... WWE is betting on you buying the $9.99 WWE Network and watching as much content as possible. If you have interest spending hours watching older WWE programming, such as shows or classic Pay Per Views, they're laughing because that's content they've already made millions on and it just keeps producing revenue... But for WWE Network, do you actually believe that it will be Advertisement free? PLEASE! They will sneak in as much sponsor ship, if not having outright commercials on shows, as they can. They are betting that you'll spend extra time on WWE.com checking out the website before you log into WWE Network. If you thought that WWE.com was loaded with ads before, wait until WWE Network begins... WWE laughs at the fact that they can get you, the consumer, to watch 3 hours of RAW, 2 hours of Smackdown, 1 hour of Main Event, and 3-4 hours of a Pay Per View every month. Look at how much time that many wrestling fans are spending on ONE product with the WWE. During those shows, the WWE shoves as much Advertising down your throats and strongly recommends many WWE products for you to buy. It is endless... Look at how much they are pushing the WWE App right now. I swear, if I hear Michael Cole explain how to download the WWE App one more time, I'll lose it... But by acquiring the WWE App, it's more TIME that WWE fans spend following WWE content. By acquiring the WWE Network, it's going to be more TIME that WWE fans spend following WWE content. Despite your favorite superstars in CM Punk and Daniel Bryan getting the shaft, you are responding in the opposite way as a consumer. Thus, if you're upset about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk yet you're talking about buying WWE Network... I present you the FINGER OF SHAME for lacking balls as a consumer. What to affect the WWE and force change? Don't buy WWE Network. Don't buy OR watch Wrestlemania 30. Don't attend WWE Live Events. Reduce the amount of Pay Per Views you buy or watch. Stop watching WWE programming. Believe me, if the WWE takes a hit on their Income Statement on their Quarterly Financial Results that they HAVE to present to WWE Shareholders (God bless you Securities Exchange Commission!), then they'll listen. If WWE Network is an absolute failure because Daniel Bryan's fans are actually boycotting the network, I'm willing to bet that the booking changes for Daniel Bryan. Instead of buying tickets for WWE Live Events, why not protest outside? If the WWE loses television ratings, it hits them hard on the advertisers... But you keep playing into the WWE's hands... You actually believe that WWE has long-term plans for Daniel Bryan as a main eventer, don't you? Let me explain myself as a wrestling fan... I'm a busy guy. In addition to being a workoholic, I'm a family man who values his time. I watch Monday Night RAW on Mondays because there just isn't much else on... What brought me back to watching WWE programming during late 2009 after I retired from it all during October 2006 was that I was simply bored on Monday Nights. ESPN is totally getting hosed on the Monday Night Football games granted to them by the NFL and the show line ups for Mondays just aren't for me. I was bored on Monday Nights, so I started watching regularly again. I usually watch most of RAW but I just can't do the second-rate WWE programming on Fridays for Smackdown. Usually, I casually watch the replay on Universal HD channel. However, I do not buy or watch all of the WWE Pay Per Views. Go to my Mr. Tito Archives and observe that in the past year, I only have Pay Per View review columns for Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam. I didn't buy OR watch any of the other Pay Per Views. As a consumer, the WWE was unable to stimulate my demand to pay $45-60 or so of my own money to buy a Pay Per View. I'm against stealing WWE Pay Per Views via illegal streaming, as theft is theft, and I can show you my WWE Pay Per View purchases on my Cable bill. But even if I was motivated to steal WWE Pay Per Views, many of the shows weren't even worth my TIME. As a consumer, I'm not willing to spend my TIME or MONEY on subpar Pay Per Views. I usually buy Royal Rumble no matter what... That 30 man Rumble Match is a draw for me and it never ceases to be fun. Wrestlemania is close to an automatic buy as well, although last year's show didn't do much for me other than CM Punk vs. Undertaker. SummerSlam has to earn my purchase... Not always a guaranteed buy, although the past few years have been pretty good. For the other shows, the WWE has to earn my MONEY and my TIME. And I certainly won't buy poorly booked Pay Per Views just to spend 2 more hours writing a column about it. Buying 12 Pay Per Views during the year would be brutal to any WWE consumer. On the WWE Network, you will see every Pay Per View with the monthly $9.99 purchase... One heck of a deal when the non-Wrestlemania shows cost $44.95 and Wrestlemania costs $59.95... But what WWE fans aren't thinking about is TIME. When a Pay Per View occurs, you'll watch 6 or possibly more hours of WWE programming between the Pay Per View and Monday Night RAW on back-to-back nights. That is a lot of dedication to devote to anything let alone a form of entertainment. That is time that you're devoting to a consumer product that upsets you... Mad about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, then why are spending 2 Prime Time nights of your week on the WWE willingly? For me, I'm leaning on NOT buying the WWE Network. I'm already paying a Cable Bill, watching RAW on USA Network, and my desire to watch old stuff is waning. Sorry, but I enjoy the shows when I first see them live... My younger self would re-watch Pay Per Views over and over again, but my older self wants the WWE of 2014 to entertainment. I'm a big fan of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, but I enjoy watching the likes of John Cena, the Shield, Dolph Ziggler, Big E Langston, Antonio Cesaro, Goldust/Cody Rhodes, Usos, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, and other wrestlers. In my opinion, the WWE roster is very talented... I would much rather be entertained by the CURRENT WWE product on Monday Night RAW then to resort to watching OLDER WWE stuff on WWE Network. You can only watch the Mega Powers or the Attitude eras so many times before they wear on you... And WWE isn't booking the CURRENT product well enough to entice me to watch MORE WWE content. Maybe if the WWE was pushing Daniel Bryan to the WWE Title (which the WWE may end up doing by forcing him into the Batista vs. Orton match), my demand to watch more WWE content would have increased... Then, I'd buy the network. But for now, it adds little to my life as a WWE fan. I've seen those older Pay Per Views multiple times now. Give me good NEW content and I may buy. If the WWE would improve its booking and make the 2014 Pay Per Views a MUST buy, then the WWE Network becomes worthwhile to Mr. Tito. WWE has so many throwaway Pay Per Views that I can't even justify the MONEY or TIME. If the WWE crowns Daniel Bryan at either Elimination Chamber or Wrestlemania 30, with the promise of him headlining and defending the title for the rest of 2014, I would consider buying the WWE Network. It's HIS time and the other wrestlers, including Batista and Randy Orton, should lose cleanly to him. You too, Triple H... I'm acting as a consumer and won't give the WWE extra time or money as a consumer. It upsets me to see WWE fans falling for the WWE's games. They won't give you what you truly want unless challenge them with your TIME and your MONEY. Be a man and boycott WWE Network and/or Wrestlemania 30. Stop giving Ticketmaster and the WWE your hard earned cash. All indications are that the Ohio Valley Wrestling "Class of 2002", particularly the charismatic duds named Batista and Randy Orton will be in the way of Bryan. Bray Wyatt already beat him... Sheamus is back and WWE once had him destroy Bryan in 18 seconds. WWE is talking about making Roman Reigns the "heir apparent" to John Cena. Seriously. Until you take action upon yourselves as a consumer, STOP ****ING about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Until you make actual consumer decisions like buying and watching less WWE stuff, you're playing right into their hands. WWE is a virtual pro wrestling monopoly that can name their price and are the only company in town to exploit wrestling fans who wish to still watch. Wrestlemania 30's purchase, for me, is still negotiable. Based on how the WWE has screwed Daniel Bryan, I'm close to a "Bryan as WWE Champion or bust" stance. Settling for Bryan vs. Triple H, with a strong probability of Bryan winning, could get me to buy... But as usual, Undertaker will draw me to the show. The old man's matches have been excellent for consecutive Wrestlemanias now and a battle with Brock Lesnar could peak my interest. Placing Brock Lesnar in the Batista vs. Randy Orton match could be decent especially if Lesnar is allowed to go UFC on both of them. Wrestlemania 30 providing quality and the booking for the Summer of 2014 will determine how much TIME and MONEY I'll spend as a consumer of WWE. Don't be a WWE sheep... Be a consumer with real demands and help CHANGE the WWE product for the better. As much as I disagree with CM Punk walking out of the WWE before his July 2014's expiration, he was sick of his current surroundings and acted. Punk disagreed with the creative direction and took a stance as an employee by walking out. It has caught the attention of the WWE because they had to quickly change their plans and appearance scheduling. Lucky for Punk, he has saved his money and was able to "stick it" to the WWE. And guess what? Vince McMahon has attempted to personally reach out to CM Punk. Sometimes, it takes something drastic to force change... Hurt the WWE financially and reduced viewership, they'll take your demands to push Daniel Bryan seriously. Furthermore, to put the "fear of God" into the future WWE leaders, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, will be very much worthwhile. Be a consumer and demand better of the WWE. Comments and debates are welcome on Twitter. Bring it on. @titowrestling SO JUST CHILL TILL THE NEXT EPISODE! MR. TITO COLUMN ARCHIVES on LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @titowrestling
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