Cup of coffee in the big time: Daniel Bryan and the battle between fans and the machine

WWE is a frustrating thing to love. There’s the strange booking decisions, the politics, the often too-long shows. But there are also the men and women we love to see ply their trade on the biggest stage in the business and the constant hope this time they’ll get it right.

While fans just want to see the performers they enjoy get the opportunities they feel are deserved, the reality is, there’s just so little control in the hands of the wrestlers.

Daniel Bryan explained that in an interview with IGN.

“(My goals are) not along the lines of ‘Okay, time to main event WrestleMania 35!’” Bryan said. “It’s not stuff like that. Creating goals like that are very difficult in WWE and can often leave you disappointed because you don’t have control over a lot of things. The one thing I do have control over is my performance.

“And so I have artistic goals I’m trying to reach and places I’d like to go with my wrestling and my character. And even that sometimes is going up against the creative machine and what they want for you vs. what you want for yourself. That’s a constant whirlwind and back-and-forth trade off and whatnot. So I do have those types of goals but they’re not main eventing WrestleMania or winning the Rumble or things you don’t have any say in.”’

Bryan’s commitment to his craft is what earned him a place in fans’ hearts and drove him to the point where he could main event WrestleMania.

The “creative machine” is what gives us Roman Reigns against the wishes of most and Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar yet again against the wishes of everyone.

But Bryan serves as the constant reminder of how fans can shift the way that machine operates. The way a wrestler and the fans can connect and build momentum to cause change, not through the use of silly online petitions or Twitter hashtag campaigns, but through undeniable reactions.

And so, we have something to cling to as the thing we love bashes us over the head with the things we hate.

We hope. And we appreciate the art.

• NXT aired last night, so get in on our recap and reactions.
• Dave Meltzer really stepped in it when he criticized Peyton Royce for her appearance and plenty of wrestlers are standing up for her.
• Big Show says he’s ready to return to the ring. Is there ever a time a giant doesn’t make things bette—wait, I forgot Khali is a thing.
• Renee Young wants to continue on commentary, and she absolutely should.
• WWE confirmed a knee injury to Sin Cara.
• Triple H had plenty of nice things to say about Neville but left the idea of him returning to WWE as “time will tell.”
• There were very flat ratings for this week’s SmackDown Live.
• Roman Reigns claimed people who boo him are his “closet fans” and that’s ... that’s a thing he said.
• Jeff Jarrett is suing Anthem Sports which seems about right for how things go in Impact Land.

It’s almost SummerSlam weekend! I don’t have a better lead in to this, but let’s just remember how awesome Tyler Bate is.