Daniel Bryan's latest heel turn shows how the WWE is embracing a bit of nuance in the way it presents its characters.
- WWE Champion Daniel Bryan called out WWE president Vince McMahon and entire baby boomer generation as "the great parasites of this world" in a thrilling promo.
- Bryan's bad-guy persona regularly rails against greed and consumerism and represents a bit of a shift from traditional heel characters.
- Bryan will defend his WWE Championship against A.J. Styles this Sunday at the Royal Rumble.
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan delivered a phenomenal promo on "Smackdown Live" on Tuesday night, railing against WWE president Vince McMahon and the baby boomer generation as "the great parasites of this world."
Bryan is set to defend his title this Sunday at the Royal Rumble against former champion A.J. Styles, and on Tuesday, McMahon hosted a face-to-face meeting between the two men to promote their upcoming match.
Bryan, who recently turned heel - WWE parlance for becoming a bad guy - took the time to call out McMahon and his generation for their greed.
"You and the entire baby boomer generation are the great parasites of this world," Bryan said, prompting boos from the audience. "You and your entire generation - you take, you take, you take - and you give nothing back, putting profits over people, and the planet, every single time."
"It's like you pulled this incredible magic trick!" Bryan continued. "You've concealed from [WWE fans] all the economic and environmental debt that you've created, and they've become satisfied with trading Instagram likes."
You can watch Bryan's promo in full below.
Bryan was recently one of the top babyfaces in the company, playing the role of the lovable underdog that overcomes the odds to become champion.
But his recent heel turn has been a brilliant development and is an excellent example of the company's embrace of a bit of nuance in some of its characters.
Bryan's heel persona is similar to "The Lorax" - he speaks for the trees. He cares about the environment and has chastised opponents and WWE fans for their overconsumption and greed. On Tuesday, those critiques were directed directly at Vince McMahon, who, as a billionaire, undoubtedly deserves them.
The role he plays is not entirely dissimilar to the "Progressive Liberal" Daniel Richards, who earned headlines on the indie scene by embracing a heel character that jeered crowds for their support of Trump and endorsed clean energy from the ring.
Bryan's character is less overtly political - a move that makes sense given WWE's wide audience - but his strong statements against greed and consumption still pit him against many fans in the crowd, even though they would be considered commendable by some.
Throughout wrestling's history, there have been a few reliable character traits that performers take on to encourage boos out of the crowd - rich, arrogant men who think they're better than the audience, or representatives of foreign nations that play into a jingoistic ideology that can sometimes become problematic.
Bryan's character thinks he's better than the audience, but not for his wealth or his strength or his fame, but rather for his concern for the future of the planet and his anti-consumerist beliefs.
Thanks to WWE's recent deal with FOX, "Smackdown Live" will have a much wider audience by the end of the year, it's exciting to see the show attempting and succeeding at stories with a bit more complexity than casual wrestling fans might remember from their childhood.
Bryan will fight to defend his WWE Championship on Sunday against Styles at the Royal Rumble. Both are outstanding in-ring performers, and the match should be a great one, but given the brilliant run that Bryan is currently on, it would be a shock to see him drop the belt.
Non wrestling fans who are wondering what's up with wrestling, check this shit out pic.twitter.com/lxmWIQxl2S
- ORIN (@orinanne) January 23, 2019