The WWE's Difficult Men

At SummerSlam, Daniel Bryan bested John Cena in an incredible, hard-fought match that saw Bryan — playing the scrappy, scraggly underdog — overcome immeasurable odds to defeat Cena, WWE's most unflappable and dominant hero since the heyday of Hulkamania. Bryan got the lion's share of the crowd's adulation, leaving Cena in the limbo of lukewarm applause that has become his standard. Let's call it "That awkward moment when your biggest hero is also your biggest villain." Cena still gets his cheers, but he also gets a lot of "heat" — the angry response a pro wrestling villain gets from crowds. Despite the abuse Cena suffered at the hands of unappreciative Angelenos in the Staples Center audience, he managed to get through SummerSlam without being the most hated guy on the roster. After Cena left the scene, WWE found a villain so pure at this pay-per-view that even the ironic boos of meta-fans couldn't dilute the audience reaction, and WWE got the best heat that it has seen in ages.

On Monday's episode of Raw, Triple H stood atop the entrance ramp with the entire roster in cowed silence as Bryan was callously thumped in the ring by the Shield. If any wrestler objected, they would be fired. Some might call this a delicious storytelling device. Some might say Triple H is once again acting out his power-trip fantasies in story lines. The message boards fumed with indignation: Triple H is back to burying the roster. He loves to hear himself talk; he loves to be in the spotlight; he loves to boss everybody around. When Orton strolled to the ring and coolly hit Bryan with the finishing blow, fans said, "Get that guy off my TV screen." And that's exactly what they're supposed to be saying. WWE figured out how to turn the meta-fans into old-school marks.

When I said good-bye to Triple H after our interview, he said everybody always asks him what's next for WWE, now that Vince has transformed it from a territorial wrestling operation to a global enterprise. "One word," he said. "Disney." If his heel turn is any indication, WWE might have found the formula. It's expanded beyond childish things — the simplistic storytelling archetypes of good and evil. And in doing so, it's finally figured out how to make good heroes and villains...More?

source: grantland.com